AT&T's fiber revenue per user to keep sliding as bundle discounts weigh

Oct 21 — AT&T expects average revenue per fiber customer to extend ​its third-quarter decline into the fourth, as more customers sign up for discounted bundles, suggesting its subscriber-growth strategy is coming ‌at the cost of lower spending per user.

The company's shares fell 6.5% on Wednesday, while ⁠rivals T-Mobile and Verizon dropped ​about 3%.

Bundling broadband plans with ⁠wireless services and heavy discounts is seen as a critical move ‌by US telecom carriers ‌as a way to attract and retain customers in a ⁠competitive market.

About 43% of households signing ⁠up for AT&T's internet services also opted for its wireless plans.

CEO John Stankey said AT&T had "every reason to believe that a converged customer that's sitting on fiber is going to be a sticky and high lifetime value customer."

The broader telecom industry is ‌banking on customer loyalty amid concerns that SpaceX's ​plans to build a terrestrial wireless network could intensify competition.

AT&T has made significant investments in expanding its fiber network, including through its $5.75 billion acquisition of Lumen's consumer fiber business in 2025.

MoffettNathanson analysts said AT&T's recent price increases for fiber internet suggest the company may have concluded that "discounting doesn't drive enough incremental volume to ​be worthwhile."

Average revenue per user across AT&T's fiber base fell 4% in ‌the third quarter, reflecting ‌discounts, ⁠introductory pricing in new markets and the addition of lower-priced Lumen customers.

During the quarter, AT&T added 379,000 net monthly bill-paying wireless subscribers, compared with 379,300 additions estimated by FactSet.

AT&T beat quarterly revenue and profit estimates ‌and lifted its annual ​adjusted profit forecast to about $2.40 per ‌share, up from a ⁠prior range ​of $2.25 to $2.35.

(Reporting by Harshita Mary Varghese in Bengaluru; Editing by Jonathan Ananda and ​Vijay Kishore)

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