T · 8-K · 20261021PR000370

Operating Expense Trends

AT&T INC. · 2026-10-21 · Importance 41 · Surprise 22 · No source text

Consolidated operating expenses increased to $28.2 billion from $24.6 billion, primarily because of the $2.6 billion Mexico impairment, employee separation charges, higher wireless equipment costs, advertising, bad debt and acquired fiber customer costs. Advanced Connectivity operating expenses rose 3.6% to $21.9 billion as wireless equipment, advertising, acquired fiber customer costs and subscriber-related bad debt increased. Transformation initiatives partially offset those increases, while lower depreciation from fully depreciated legacy assets also reduced expense growth. Legacy operating expenses declined 23.5% to $1.0 billion because copper-network decommissioning reduced personnel and other direct costs.

Key facts

• Operating expenses for third-quarter 2026 were $28.2 billion, versus $24.6 billion in the year-ago quarter. source
• Advanced Connectivity operating expenses for third-quarter 2026 were $21,853 million, up 3.6% year over year. source
• Legacy segment operating expenses for third-quarter 2026 were $1,021 million, down 23.5% year over year. source
• The increase in operating expenses included a non-cash impairment charge of $2.6 billion associated with the held-for-sale Mexico wireless business, employee separation charges, increased wireless equipment costs, higher advertising and higher bad debt expenses. source
• Latin America segment operating expenses for third-quarter 2026 were $1,195 million, up 11.4% year over year. source

Impact estimates