Telephone & Data Systems
NYSE: TDS
$33.63 ▼ -0.74  (-2.15%)
At close: Jul 27, 2026 · 3:59 PM UTC
Financial Ratios
Market Cap3.85 Bn
P/E61.63
P/S1.80
Div. Yield0.01
ROIC (Qtr)0.00
Total Debt (Qtr)680.22 Mn
Revenue Growth (1y) (Qtr)6.55
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About

Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. provides high quality communications services through its wholly owned subsidiary TDS Telecom which had 1,100,000 broadband video voice and wireless connections as of December 31, 2025. The company also leases tower space and offers ancillary services holds noncontrolling interests in wireless operating companies and holds certain wireless spectrum licenses through its majority owned subsidiary Array Digital Infrastructure, Inc. As of the…

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Sector: Communication Services Industry: Telecom Services CIK: 0001051512

Investment Thesis

▲ Bull case
  • TDS Telecom's fiber expansion is accelerating with 40,000 marketable fiber service addresses delivered in Q1 2026, nearly triple the prior year's figure and the highest first-quarter total in company history, driven by record internal and external construction crew counts and a robust pipeline of addresses under construction, positioning the company well for the spring and summer build season and supporting its long-term goal of reaching 2.1 million marketable fiber service addresses; this execution momentum, combined with investments in internal construction teams and upgraded tools, provides greater control over build quality and long-term efficiency, while the Fiber Deeper program and federal A-CAM program enable fiber upgrades in existing markets and economical deployment in underserved areas, helping to drive copper out of the network and improve overall network economics.
  • Array's spectrum monetization strategy is progressing as planned, with the sale of certain 100 MHz licenses to T-Mobile closing earlier in the week and FCC approvals secured for the sale of 600 MHz and AWS licenses to T-Mobile and Verizon, expected to close in Q2 or Q3 2026, while the company continues to pursue opportunistic monetization of its remaining C-band spectrum, viewed as a highly compelling 5G asset with a mature ecosystem and no near-term buildout requirements, allowing ample time to realize value; the previously announced spectrum license sales, assuming closure prior to the Array merger transaction, will generate approximately $900 million in net proceeds to be distributed as $10.40 per share dividends to Array stockholders, providing immediate shareholder returns and strengthening the combined company's capital structure post-merger.
  • TDS Telecom's residential fiber revenue grew 13% year-over-year in Q1 2026, an uplift of approximately $11 million, helping to offset legacy revenue stream pressures from copper and cable declines, while residential fiber net adds increased 32% year-over-year to approximately 11,000, driven by footprint expansion and ongoing copper-to-fiber conversions, with 79% of fiber addresses now capable of gig speeds and the company now able to launch multi-gig speeds in its cable footprint, reflecting successful operational transformation through billing conversion in cable markets and introduction of a new Field Force platform that simplifies back-office processes and improves customer experience.
  • The proposed all-stock acquisition of Array's remaining shares at an exchange ratio of 0.86 TDS shares per Array share (subject to spectrum sale closures and $10.40 per share Array dividends) will eliminate duplicative corporate costs, streamline governance, increase share liquidity, and strengthen the capital structure of the enterprise, providing greater flexibility to pursue strategic investments across towers and fiber; TDS currently owns 81.9% of Array, and the transaction will position the combined company for long-term growth by combining Array's tower-focused fundamentals with TDS Telecom's growing fiber business, allowing Array stockholders to retain a significant interest in the tower business while gaining exposure to TDS Telecom's fiber growth prospects.
  • TDS Telecom's operational transformation is yielding tangible benefits, including the completion of billing conversion in cable markets and the rollout of a new Field Force platform, which simplify back-office processes and improve customer experience, while investments in internal construction teams and equipment are improving long-term build efficiency and providing a strategic advantage; the company remains on track with its transformation roadmap, with leadership strengthened in key sales and customer-experience roles to support fiber sales and conversion, and presales velocity showing excellent results in the low-20% range, indicating strong demand capture as new addresses become marketable.
▼ Bear case
  • TDS Telecom's total operating revenues declined 3% year-over-year in Q1 2026, or 1% excluding divestitures, reflecting continued legacy revenue-stream pressures from copper and cable markets that are only partially offset by fiber growth, with cable revenues down roughly 10% versus 2025 and residential revenue per connection increasing just 1% year-over-year, indicating limited pricing power and ongoing challenges in offsetting declines through fiber revenue alone, despite the 13% fiber revenue uplift.
  • Array's operating expenses in Q1 2026 were significantly distorted by a $156.6 million gain on license sales and exchanges, net, which drove operating income to $160.8 million versus a $29.6 million loss in the prior year, masking underlying operational challenges; excluding this one-time gain, Array's core tower business continues to face pressure from transition and wind-down costs, with SG&A expenses still including costs to support the wind-down of legacy wireless operations, and adjusted EBITDA guidance for 2026 remains unchanged at $200-$215 million, suggesting limited near-term margin expansion potential despite cost-saving initiatives.
  • TDS Telecom's capital expenditures totaled $126 million in Q1 2026, reflecting higher construction activity and accelerated investments in internal construction crews and equipment, but the company is guiding toward the lower half of its 2026 total Telecom revenue range of $1.015-$1.055 billion due to current headwinds in copper and cable markets, and adjusted EBITDA guidance remains between $310-$350 million, indicating that fiber growth is not yet sufficient to fully offset legacy declines and transformation costs, with free cash flow from continuing operations negative at $81.1 million in Q1 2026.
  • Array's tower tenancy rate excludes DISH Wireless due to the low probability of collection on outstanding amounts, and while the normalized tenancy ratio showed sequential growth from 0.95 to 0.96, the company ceased recognizing DISH revenue in Q1 2026 and has fully reserved all unpaid 2025 amounts, highlighting a material and ongoing revenue headwind from a major tenant that is not expected to resume payments, with DISH having until January 2028 to finalize its 2,015 committed sites under the new MLA, after which Array anticipates 800 to 1,800 tenantless towers following integration completion and interim site termination.
  • TDS Telecom's residential fiber churn increased to 1.3% in Q1 2026 from 0.9% in Q1 2025, signaling potential challenges in customer retention despite network expansion, and while the company is investing in sales and customer-experience roles, the increase in churn could reflect early-stage issues in newly built areas or inadequate support for converting fiber addresses to paying customers, undermining the effectiveness of the build-out strategy if not addressed.

Segments Breakdown of Revenue (2025)

Product and Service Breakdown of Revenue (2025)

Peer Comparison

Companies in the Telecom Services
S.No. Ticker Company Market CapP/EP/STotal Debt (Qtr)
1 AMX America Movil Sab De Cv/ 1,543.97 Bn206.8028.10-
2 TLK Perusahaan Perseroan Persero Pt Telekomunikasi Indonesia Tbk 1,427.96 Bn1,360.7964.002.63 Bn
3 TV Grupo Televisa, S.A.B. 958.85 Bn-1,888.96287.694.65 Bn
4 CHT Chunghwa Telecom Co Ltd 334.17 Bn253.0942.870.22 Bn
5 VZ Verizon Communications Inc 198.41 Bn11.161.43172.46 Bn
6 TMUS T-Mobile US, Inc. 192.12 Bn17.862.0890.74 Bn
7 T At&T Inc. 169.04 Bn7.891.33143.95 Bn
8 VEON VEON Ltd. 90.84 Bn114.5617.20-