AT&T Vs. Verizon: How The Country’s Biggest Carriers Fared In Q4 2025

Verizon’s “strategic turnaround” propelled the carrier toward its highest quarterly net wireless adds since 2019, while AT&T’s mobility revenue also was on the rise in the final quarter of the year. Meanwhile, business services revenue continued to disappoint for both carriers in Q4 2025.

The biggest telecom companies in the country this week announced their fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 earnings. Both AT&T and Verizon ended the year strong by beating Wall Street’s estimates for the final quarter of the year, with a strong overall showing for the full 2025 year too.

AT&T kicked off the telecom earnings season by meeting or exceeding its 2025 financial guidance and staying the course. Meanwhile, Verizon, under the leadership of former PayPal CEO Dan Schulman as its new CEO since October, delivered its highest quarterly total mobility and broadband volumes since 2019, which the carrier said signaled the start of its “comprehensive strategic turnaround.”

Despite the wins in other segments, however, both carriers saw their business services revenue continue their downward trajectories. Then there were the acquisitions. Verizon closed on its $20 billion Frontier Communications deal earlier this month, which will expand fiber access to over 30 million homes and businesses, while AT&T said during its earnings call that it will soon become the new owner of Lumen Technologies’ 11-state Mass Markets fiber internet business for $5.75 billion in cash. Via the terms of the deal, AT&T will get about 95 percent of Quantum Fiber, about 4 million fiber locations and about 1 million subscribers. Lumen will keep enterprise fiber customers and mass market copper-based customers, the companies said. The deal should close in the first half of the year, AT&T said.

With revenue growth largely steady, here are the financial results from the two leading telecom giants in Q4 and full-year 2025. Shares in both companies were up on Friday.

Business Services

AT&T’s Business wireline services, which includes advanced Ethernet-based fiber services, fixed wireless services, IP voice and managed professional services for business customers, continued to decline in Q4 2025. The segment decreased 7.5 percent during the quarter to $4.20 billion with $1.9 billion being generated by AT&T’s new Advanced Connectivity reporting segment, which represents the carrier’s domestic 5G and fiber based wireless, internet and other advanced connectivity services. Business wireline equipment declined 7.1 percent to $157 million during the fourth quarter. Legacy and other transitional services declined 17.5 percent to $2.14 billion. Business fiber and advanced connectivity services, on the other hand, climbed 6.8 percent to $1.91 billion.

Verizon also saw operating revenue for its business services decline to the tune of 1.7 percent year over year, with revenues of $7.37 billion compared to $7.50 billion a year ago. Verizon Business includes the company’s Enterprise, Business Markets, and public sector and wholesale businesses. Enterprise and public sector continued to decline, falling 6.7518 percent during the fourth quarter to $3.31 billion compared with $3.55 billion a year ago. Business Markets and other revenue rose 3.720 percent during the fourth quarter to $3.57 billion compared with $3.44 billion in the year-ago period. Wholesale revenue fell 10 percent to $466 million during fourth-quarter 2025 from $518 million one year before.

Wireless Results

Dallas-based AT&T’s mobility services revenue continued to climb, rising 5.3 percent to $24.35 billion, up from $23.13 billion a year ago. Mobility equipment revenue also rose 12.7 percent to $7.40 billion during the quarter compared with $6.57 billion a year ago. AT&T said it added an impressive 421,000 postpaid phone net additions during the fourth quarter.

Verizon saw its consumer wireless service revenue climb slightly by .9 percent to $20.25 billion, up from $20.06 billion in the year ago quarter. Verizon Business wireless service revenue in fourth-quarter 2025 was $3.59 billion, a slight increase of .5 percent year-over-year for a combined $21 billion in overall wireless service revenues in 2025, an increase of 1.1 percent compared to the year earlier. The company said it added 616,000 postpaid phone customers during the quarter -- the highest quarterly net adds since 2019.

Q4 2025 Financials

Total operating revenue for AT&T’s fourth quarter that ended December 31, was $33.47 billion versus $32.30 billion in the year-ago quarter, up 3.6 percent, which the carrier attributed to higher converged fiber and 5G customers. Net income was $4.17 billion. Diluted earnings per share during AT&T’s fourth quarter was 53 cents compared to 56 cents a year ago. AT&T’s fourth-quarter 2025 results beat Wall Street’s expectations of $32.87 billion for the quarter.

For the quarter that ended December 31, Verizon’s total operating revenue was $36.38 billion versus $35.68 billion in the year-ago quarter, up 1.9 percent. Net income was $2.45 billion. Diluted earnings per share during Verizon’s third quarter was $1.09 cents, down 0.9 percent year over year. Verizon’s Q4 2025 revenue beat Wall Street estimates of $36.1 billion.

Full-Year 2025 Financials

AT&T’s full 2025-year revenue totaled $125.65 billion, up 2.7 percent from $122.34 billion and adjusted earnings per share of $2.12 versus $1.95 a year ago, which the company said was driven by fiber consumer and business subscriptions and converged services.

Meanwhile, Verizon’s 2025 revenue totaled $138.19 billion, up 2.5% compared to $134.79 billion and adjusted earnings per share of $4.71 versus $1.95 a year ago, which said was propelled by the company’s turnaround strategy, according to the Basking Ridge, N.J.-based carrier.