AT&T is undertaking its largest fiber expansion year, planning for 8 million new locations, including over 4 million acquired from Lumen. The company expects $23 billion to $24 billion in capital investment in 2026, with buybacks and dividends of roughly $18 billion consuming essentially all free cash flow. Management is now justifying the build by positioning the network for AI traffic, shifting from product-by-product justification based on customer wins. The company gained over 1 million Advanced Connectivity subscribers in Q2 2026, a blended metric combining AT&T Fiber, fixed wireless, and postpaid phones. Adjusted EBITDA margin reached 39.1% in Q2 2026, its highest since refocusing on advanced connectivity. However, the stock is down about 7% over the past year, while the S&P 500 gained nearly 19%.