AT&T Stock Rises After Offering Free Cash Flow Guidance

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AT&T, at an industry conference on Thursday, shared its third-quarter free cash flow guidance. Investors appear happy: AT&T stock is rising after the release.

At a Bank of America conference call on Thursday, Chief Financial Officer Pascal Desroch said AT&T (ticker: T ) expects to generate between $4.5 billion and $5 billion in free cash flow for the current quarter through September. The company reiterated its full-year free cash flow guidance of $16 billion or more. AT&T set its full-year forecast in January and continues to reaffirm the rating in meetings and calls to discuss earnings.

AT&T shares rose 2 percent to $14.90 in premarket trading Thursday.

It still had to wait for the third quarter of free cash flow. The company generated about $5 billion in the first two quarters, which means it needs to make up $11 billion in the third and fourth quarters to meet full-year guidance. Analysts tracking the company expect AT&T to generate $4.955 billion in free cash flow in the third quarter and the rest of the fourth quarter.

Free cash flow is an important metric to watch for telecom stocks. Investors love their dividend payouts from free cash flow. AT&T currently pays an annual dividend of $1.12, down from $1.35 in 2022 and a five-year average of $1.86.

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Write to Karishma Vanjani at [email protected].