AT&T CEO John Stankey on Q2 results, Starlink competition and future of telecom
Speakers
John Stankey
— CEO, AT&T
Becky Quick
— Co-Anchor, Squawk Box
Summary
AT&T CEO John Stankey discussed strong Q2 results, highlighting accelerating growth, record strategic account adds, and aggressive share buybacks as a great buying opportunity. He dismissed Starlink as a competitive threat, citing AT&T's fiber infrastructure and converged product advantage, and noted a joint venture with T-Mobile and Verizon for satellite connectivity.
- AT&T beats earnings estimates with $0.65 EPS, free cash flow strength.
- CEO says accelerating growth driven by fiber (370k adds) and wireless (430k adds).
- Company expects upper-end EBITDA and EPS guidance for the year.
- Accelerated buybacks planned; Stankey calls suppressed stock a great buying opportunity.
- CEO dismisses Starlink threat, says AT&T's fiber and converged product put it in a very strong position.
- AT&T formed a JV with T-Mobile and Verizon to buy satellite capacity as an insurance policy.
- Stock trades up about 3.3% pre-market.
Ideas
Accelerating growth and aggressive buybacks make AT&T attractive.
AT&T has the best broadband product built on fiber, a getting-stronger wireless business, and converged customers that reduce churn. New competitors like Starlink are very late and face decades of catch-up infrastructure investment indoors. AT&T already handles 98%+ of traffic and does not need a satellite partner for distribution; it is in a very strong competitive position with the right assets.
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This CNBC video, published July 22, 2026, features John Stankey discussing T. 1 trade idea extracted by AI with direction and confidence scoring.
Speakers: John Stankey · Tickers: T