AT&T Inc.: Form 10-Q for the period ended Jun 30, 2025

We actively manage the timing of our supplier payments for operating items to optimize the use of our cash. Among other things, we seek to make payments on 90-day or greater terms, while providing the suppliers with access to bank facilities that permit earlier payments at their cost (referred to as supplier financing program). In addition, for payments to suppliers of handset inventory, as part of our working capital initiatives, we have arrangements that allow us to extend the stated payment terms by up to 90 days at an additional cost to us (referred to as direct supplier financing). The net impact of direct supplier financing, including principal and interest payments, was to decrease cash from operating activities approximately $2,146 and $2,120 for the six months ended June 30, 2025 and 2024, respectively. All supplier financing payments are due within one year. (See Note 10)

Cash Used in Investing Activities

For the first six months of 2025, cash used in investing activities totaled $11,044 and consisted primarily of $9,174 (including interest during construction) for capital expenditures. During the first six months of 2025, investing activities also included $38 of FirstNet sustainability payments net of reinvestment, and $620 for our investment in a new strategic partner related to wireline network transformation accounted for under the equity method of accounting.

We enter into multi-year software licensing arrangements, which are typically paid over the license terms of two to five years and referred to as vendor financing. Additionally, for capital improvements, we have negotiated favorable vendor payment terms of 120 days or more with some of our vendors, which are also referred to as vendor financing. Vendor financing is excluded from capital expenditures and reported as financing activities. For the first six months of 2025, vendor financing payments were $423, compared to $1,391 for the first six months of 2024. Capital expenditures for the first six months of 2025 were $9,174, and when including $423 cash paid for vendor financing, capital investment was $9,597 ($88 higher than the prior-year comparable period).

The vast majority of our capital expenditures are spent on our networks, including product development and related support systems. During the first six months of 2025, we placed $831 of productive assets in service under vendor financing arrangements (compared to $523 in the prior-year comparable period). The amount of capital expenditures is influenced by demand for services and products, capacity needs and network enhancements.

On July 2, 2025, we completed the sale of our interest in DIRECTV to TPG. Upon close, we will record a current note receivable of approximately $3,600, which we expect to receive the majority of by the end of 2025, and a long-term note receivable of $500.

Cash Provided by or Used in Financing Activities

For the first six months of 2025, cash used in financing activities totaled $598 and was primarily comprised of dividend payments, preferred and common stock repurchases, debt repayments and vendor financing payments, offset by issuances of long-term debt and preferred interests.

A tabular summary of our debt activities for the six months ended June 30, 2025 is as follows:

The weighted average interest rate of our long-term debt portfolio, including credit agreement borrowings and the impact of derivatives, was approximately 4.2% as of June 30, 2025 and as of December 31, 2024. We had $130,929 of total notes and debentures outstanding at June 30, 2025. This also included Euro, British pound sterling, Canadian dollar, Swiss franc and Australian dollar denominated debt that totaled approximately $36,181.

At June 30, 2025, we had no interest rate swaps.

We have fixed-to-fixed cross-currency swaps on foreign currency-denominated debt instruments with a U.S. dollar notional value of $36,499 to hedge our exposure to changes in foreign currency exchange rates and interest rates. These derivatives have been designated as fair value hedges with a net fair value of $(890) at June 30, 2025.

The registrant maintains disclosure controls and procedures that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by the registrant is recorded, processed, summarized, accumulated and communicated to its management, including its principal executive and principal financial officers, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure, and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms. The Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer have performed an evaluation of the effectiveness of the design and operation of the registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures as of June 30, 2025. Based on that evaluation, the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer concluded that the registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures were effective as of June 30, 2025.

There have not been any changes in our internal control over financial reporting during our most recent fiscal quarter that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

CAUTIONARY LANGUAGE CONCERNING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Information set forth in this report contains forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties, and actual results could differ materially. Many of these factors are discussed in more detail in the “Risk Factors” section herein and in our most recent Form 10-K. We claim the protection of the safe harbor for forward-looking statements provided by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

The following factors could cause our future results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements:

• Adverse economic and political changes, public health emergencies and our ability to access financial markets on favorable terms.
• Increases in our benefit plans’ costs, including due to worse-than-assumed investment returns and discount rates, mortality assumptions, medical cost trends, or healthcare laws or regulations.
• The final outcome of FCC and other federal, state or foreign government agency proceedings (including judicial review of such proceedings) and legislative and regulatory efforts involving issues important to our business, including, without limitation, pending Notices of Apparent Liability; the transition from legacy technologies to IP-based infrastructure, including the withdrawal of legacy TDM-based services; universal service; broadband deployment; wireless equipment siting regulations; E911 services; rules concerning digital discrimination; competition policy; privacy; net neutrality; copyright protection; availability of new spectrum on fair and reasonable terms; and wireless and satellite license awards and renewals, and our response to such legislative and regulatory efforts.
• Enactment of or changes to state, local, federal and/or foreign tax laws and regulations, and actions by tax agencies and judicial authorities, and the resolution of disputes with any taxing jurisdictions, pertaining to our subsidiaries and foreign investments.
• U.S. and foreign laws and regulations regarding intellectual property rights protection and privacy, personal data protection and user consent, which are rapidly evolving.
• Our ability to compete in an increasingly competitive industry and against competitors that can offer product/service offerings at lower prices due to lower cost structures and regulatory and legislative actions adverse to us, including non-regulation of comparable alternative technologies and/or government-owned or subsidized networks, and our response to such competition and emerging technologies.
• Disruptions in our supply chain that have a material impact on our ability to acquire needed goods and services.
• The development and delivery of attractive and profitable wireless and broadband offerings and devices, including our ability to match speeds offered by competitors; and the availability, cost and/or reliability of technologies required to provide such offerings.
• Our ability to adequately fund additional wireless spectrum and network development, deployment and maintenance; and regulations and conditions relating to spectrum use, licensing, obtaining additional spectrum, technical standards and deployment and usage, including network management rules.
• Our ability to manage growth in wireless data services, including network quality.
• The outcome of pending, threatened or potential litigation and arbitration.
• The impact from major equipment, software or other failures or errors that disrupt our networks or cyber incidents; the effect of security breaches related to the network or customer information; our inability to obtain handsets, equipment/software or have handsets, equipment/software serviced in a timely and cost-effective manner from suppliers; severe weather conditions or other natural disasters including earthquakes and forest fires; public health emergencies; energy shortages; or wars or terrorist attacks.
• The issuance by the FASB or other accounting oversight bodies of new or revised accounting standards.
• The imposition of tariffs and their duration and uncertainty surrounding further tariffs and congressional action regarding spending and taxation, which may result in changes in government spending and affect the ability and willingness of businesses and consumers to spend in general.
• Our ability to realize or sustain the expected benefits of our business transformation initiatives, which are designed to reduce costs, enable legacy rationalization, streamline distribution, remove redundancies and simplify and improve processes and support functions.
• Our ability to successfully complete divestitures, as well as achieve our expectations regarding the financial impact of completed and/or pending transactions.

Readers are cautioned that other factors discussed in this report and in our most recent Form 10-K, although not enumerated here, also could materially affect our future earnings.

We discuss in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024 various risks that may materially affect our business. We use this section to update this discussion to reflect material developments since our Form 10-K was filed.

We may not realize or sustain the expected benefits from our business transformation initiatives, and these efforts could have a materially adverse effect on our business, operations, financial condition, results of operations and competitive position.

We have been and will be undertaking certain transformation initiatives, which are designed to reduce costs, enable legacy rationalization, streamline and modernize distribution and customer service, remove redundancies and simplify and improve processes and support functions. Our focus is on supporting added customer value with an improved customer experience. We intend for these efficiencies to enable increased investments in our strategic areas of focus, which include improving broadband connectivity (for example, fiber and 5G). We also expect these initiatives to drive efficiencies and improved margins. If we do not successfully manage and timely execute these initiatives and investments, which may include acquisitions, joint ventures and other strategic transactions, or if they are inadequate or ineffective, we may fail to meet our financial goals and achieve anticipated benefits, improvements may be delayed, not sustained or not realized, and our business, operations and competitive position could be adversely affected. In addition, any such transaction entails certain risks and could present financial, managerial and operational challenges. Further, we are using and intend to further use artificial intelligence (AI)-driven efficiencies in our network design and operations, software development, sales, marketing, customer support services and general and administrative costs. The models used in those products, particularly generative AI models, may produce output or take action that is incorrect, release private or confidential information, reflect biases included in the data on which they are trained, infringe on the intellectual property rights of others, or be otherwise harmful. Any of these risks could expose us to liability or adverse legal or regulatory consequences and harm our reputation and the public perception of our business or the effectiveness of our security measures.