AT&T vs Telephone and Data Systems
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KIRA’s take AI analyst
I put AT&T and Telephone and Data Systems side by side, using each one’s latest annual report. Here is what stands out:
- AT&T is the larger business, with $125.6B of revenue in fiscal 2025 against $1.2B for Telephone and Data Systems, about 102 times as much.
- AT&T grew revenue faster (2.7%, against −5.3%).
- AT&T kept more of each dollar of sales as operating profit (19.2% operating margin, against −7.9%).
- Telephone and Data Systems turned more of its sales into free cash flow (16.2% FCF margin, against 15.5%).
- AT&T earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (8.7%, against −1.5%).
- Investors pay more for each dollar of Telephone and Data Systems’s earnings: a P/E of 11.7x against 11.3x for AT&T.
Who comes out ahead
Of the 10 measures where higher (or lower) is clearly better, how many each company leads.
AT&T
T
8/10
Revenue growth5-year growthOperating marginNet marginReturn on capitalReturn on equityPiotroski F-scoreShare count change
Telephone and Data Systems
TDS
2/10
FCF marginNet debt / EBITDA
Side by side
Best in the row
| Latest fiscal year | T FY25 | TDS FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $142.7B | $4.1B |
| Revenue | $125.6B | $1.2B |
| Free cash flow | $19.4B | $199M |
| Net income | $22.0B | −$6.2M |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | 2.7% | −5.3% |
| 5-year growth | −2.6% | −25.1% |
| Share count change | −0.4% | 4.3% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | — | — |
| Operating margin | 19.2% | −7.9% |
| Net margin | 17.5% | −0.5% |
| FCF margin | 15.5% | 16.2% |
| Return on capital | 8.7% | −1.5% |
| Return on equity | 17.9% | −0.1% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | $117.9B | $62.6M |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 2.6x | 0.3x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $12.7B | $196M |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | 11.3x | 11.7x |
| Piotroski F-score | 7 | 5 |
Ten years
Revenue
Operating margin
Free cash flow
Return on capital
Each company's latest fiscal year; fiscal years end in different months. The best value in each row is highlighted where higher (or lower) is clearly better. Not investment advice.