Telephone and Data Systems
TDS NYSE· Integrated Telecommunication Services
Last close · Oct 26, 2026
$35.67
KIRA · Stoqly’s AI analyst, in plain words
- Telephone and Data Systems had $1.2B of revenue in fiscal 2025, down 5.3% on the year before. Over five years, revenue changed −25.1% a year on average.
- Its operating margin was −7.9%, up 6.8 pts: of every 100 in sales, about −8 is left after running the business.
- Telephone and Data Systems lost $6.2M in fiscal 2025.
- Free cash flow was $199M in fiscal 2025, 16.2% of revenue.
- Telephone and Data Systems returned $196M to shareholders in fiscal 2025, 98% of free cash flow. The diluted share count rose 4.3%.
- Telephone and Data Systems owes $62.6M more than it holds in cash, about 0.3 years of operating profit.
Market cap
$4.1B
P/E
11.9x
Revenue
$1.2B
Net income
−$6.2M
Free cash flow
$199M
Operating margin
−7.9%
Telephone and Data Systems in 30 seconds · fiscal 2025
Are sales growing?
−5.3%
No. Sales fell 5.3% last year.
Does it make a profit?
−0.5%
No. It lost money last year.
Does profit turn into cash?
16.2%
Yes. 16.2% of sales ends up as free cash.
Is debt under control?
0.3x
Yes. It could repay its debt with 0.3 years of operating profit.
How healthy are the accounts?
5 / 8
Mixed. It passes 5 of 8 health tests.
How is the share priced?
11.9x
One share costs 11.9 times its yearly profit per share. Typical for its sector: 17.3x.
What Telephone and Data Systems does
No business description yet.
- Fiscal year ends
- December 31, 2025
- Latest annual report
- 10-K · Feb 24, 2026
- Legal name
- TELEPHONE AND DATA SYSTEMS, INC.
- CIK
- 0001051512
Telephone and Data Systems · TDS
Results and finances
The last 5 fiscal years. Amounts in USD.
| Fiscal year | FY21 | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sales and profit | |||||
| Revenue | $5.3B | $5.4B | $1.4B | $1.3B | $1.2B |
| Revenue growth | 2.0% | 1.6% | −75.0% | −4.3% | −5.3% |
| Operating margin | 4.9% | 2.3% | −50.4% | −14.8% | −7.9% |
| Net income | $156M | $62.0M | −$500M | −$27.7M | −$6.2M |
| Net margin | 2.9% | 1.2% | −36.9% | −2.1% | −0.5% |
| Diluted EPS | $1.00 | −$0.07 | −$5.05 | −$0.85 | −$0.65 |
| Cash | |||||
| Cash from operations | $1.1B | $1.2B | $1.1B | $1.1B | $590M |
| Capital expenditure | $1.1B | $1.2B | $643M | $365M | $391M |
| Free cash flow | −$28.0M | −$6.0M | $498M | $780M | $199M |
| FCF margin | −0.5% | −0.1% | 36.8% | 60.2% | 16.2% |
| Dividends paid | $119M | $151M | $153M | $104M | $87.7M |
| Share buybacks | $8.0M | $40.0M | $5.8M | $0.0M | $108M |
| Share count change | 0.9% | −1.7% | −1.1% | 0.9% | 4.3% |
| Debt and strength | |||||
| Cash and short-term investments | $367M | $360M | $236M | $364M | $766M |
| Debt incl. finance leases | $2.9B | $3.8B | $4.1B | $2.4B | $829M |
| Shareholders' equity | $5.9B | $5.8B | $5.2B | $5.1B | $4.8B |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 2.3x | 3.4x | — | 22.1x | 0.3x |
| Current ratio | 1.7x | 1.3x | 1.4x | 1.6x | 2.1x |
| Interest coverage | 1.1x | 0.7x | −11.0x | −1.8x | −0.9x |
| Returns and quality | |||||
| Return on capital | 2.6% | 0.7% | −5.4% | −1.7% | −1.5% |
| Return on equity | 2.9% | 1.1% | −9.1% | −0.5% | −0.1% |
| Piotroski F-score | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 5 |
| Altman Z'' | 2.3 | 1.8 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 2.7 |
Insiders bought, 12 months
$0.0M
0 insiders
Insiders sold, 12 months
$3.9M
3 insiders
Of sales under plans
6%
$0.2M
How to read these numbers
- Revenue:
- Total sales reported in the income statement.
- Operating margin:
- Operating income as a share of revenue.
- Net income:
- Profit after all expenses, interest and tax.
- Free cash flow:
- Cash from operations minus capital spending.
- Net debt / EBITDA:
- Years of EBITDA needed to pay off net debt. Below zero means more cash than debt.
- Return on capital:
- After-tax operating income as a share of the money invested in the business: debt plus equity, minus cash.
Telephone and Data Systems · TDS
Charts and comparison
Ten years at a glance, and how it stacks up against similar companies.
Revenue
Net income
Margins, % of revenue
Cash vs debt (incl. leases)
Free cash flow
Dividends and buybacks
Similar companies
Each company’s latest fiscal year. Fiscal years end in different months, so periods don’t line up exactly.
| Company | Market cap | Growth | Op. margin | FCF margin | ROIC | P/E | F-score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Telephone and Data Systems TDS | $4.1B | −5.3% | −7.9% | 16.2% | −1.5% | 11.9x | 5 |
| AT&T T | $142.7B | 2.7% | 19.2% | 15.5% | 8.7% | 11.3x | 7 |
| Verizon VZ | $179.8B | 2.5% | 21.2% | 14.6% | 9.4% | 11.2x | 5 |
| Sphere Entertainment SPHR | $4.0B | 18.8% | −18.8% | — | −4.8% | — | 7 |
| ZoomInfo GTM | $1.3B | 2.9% | 18.1% | 31.2% | 5.3% | — | 7 |
Price compared with profit (P/E)
How many times its yearly profit per share one share costs. Higher means investors pay more for each unit of profit.
KIRA
At $35.67 a share, the company is worth $4.1B: 11.9 times its earnings of the last four quarters.
Telephone and Data Systems grew sales faster than 0 of its 4 similar companies. Its P/E is higher than 2 of 2.
Source: SEC EDGAR XBRL filings (CIK 0001051512). Data updated October 19, 2026. For information only — not investment advice. Check the original filings before relying on any figure.