AT&T vs BP: Revenue, Profit and Business Model
AT&T reported $125.6B of revenue in FY2025 and $22B of net income. BP reported $189.3B of revenue in FY2025 and $55M of net income.
Latest financial snapshot
Financial summary
AT&T
AT&T's financial story is large revenue, large debt and a slow correction. The company funded the $48.5 billion DirecTV purchase in 2015 and the $85.4 billion Time Warner purchase in 2018 largely with borrowing, and net debt passed $180 billion after Time Warner closed. It then reversed course: WarnerMedia was separated in 2022, the dividend was cut, and the remaining 70% DIRECTV stake went to TPG in July 2025 for a $5.6 billion gain. FY2025 revenue was $125.6 billion, with $23.4 billion of total net income, $46.4 billion of adjusted EBITDA and $16.6 billion of free cash flow against $117.4 billion of net debt. Roughly $22 billion a year of capital investment goes mostly into fiber and 5G.
BP
BP's 2025 revenue was $189.3 billion, nearly flat on 2024's $189.2 billion and below 2023's $210.1 billion. Underlying replacement-cost profit, the measure BP and analysts use to strip out inventory effects and one-off items, fell to $7.5 billion from $8.9 billion in 2024 as oil prices weakened, and profit attributable to shareholders was just $55 million after fourth-quarter charges. Operating cash flow was $24.5 billion and net debt ended the year at $22.2 billion. In February 2026 the board suspended buybacks so surplus cash could go to the balance sheet. Higher oil and gas prices linked to the conflict involving Iran, plus strong trading, lifted underlying replacement-cost profit to $3.2 billion in Q1 2026 and $5.7 billion in Q2 2026. With the Q2 results BP raised its quarterly dividend 4% to 8.66 cents per share and guided to $13.5-14 billion of capital spending for 2026.
Revenue and profit by year
AT&T
| Year | Revenue | Net income | Margin | Growth | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $125.6B | $22B | 17.5% | +2.7% | Source |
| FY2024 | $122.3B | $10.9B | 8.9% | -0.1% | Source |
| FY2023 | $122.4B | $14.4B | 11.8% | +1.4% | Source |
| FY2022 | $120.7B | -$8.5B | -7.1% | -9.9% | Source |
| FY2021 | $134B | $20.1B | 15.0% | -6.3% | Source |
| FY2020 | $143.1B | -$5.2B | -3.6% | -21.1% | Source |
| FY2019 | $181.2B | $13.9B | 7.7% | +6.1% | Source |
| FY2018 | $170.8B | $19.4B | 11.3% | +6.4% | Source |
| FY2017 | $160.5B | $29.4B | 18.3% | -2.0% | Source |
| FY2016 | $163.8B | $13B | 7.9% | — | Source |
BP
| Year | Revenue | Net income | Margin | Growth | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $189.3B | $55M | 0.0% | +0.1% | Source |
| FY2024 | $189.2B | $381M | 0.2% | -10.0% | Source |
| FY2023 | $210.1B | $15.2B | 7.3% | — | Source |
Where the revenue comes from
AT&T
- Mobility~71%
Wireless service plans and device sales. Segment revenue was $89.5 billion in 2025, of which $67.4 billion was service revenue and $22.1 billion equipment.
- Business Wireline~14%
Connectivity for businesses, from fiber and dedicated internet to legacy voice and data. Revenue fell to $17.2 billion in 2025 from $18.8 billion in 2024.
- Consumer Wireline~11%
Home broadband, led by AT&T Fiber and AT&T Internet Air. Revenue was $14.2 billion in 2025, with fiber revenue up 17.0% to $8.6 billion.
- Latin America~3%
Wireless service in Mexico. Revenue was $4.4 billion in 2025, up from $4.2 billion, with $145 million of operating income.
BP
- Upstream oil and gas production
Not formally reported
Sales of crude oil, natural gas and LNG from BP-operated and partner fields in the Gulf of America, North Sea, Brazil, Middle East, Azerbaijan, Trinidad, Egypt and US onshore basins. Reported as the Upstream segment from July 1, 2026.
- Refining and fuels marketing
Not formally reported
Refined products such as gasoline, diesel and jet fuel sold wholesale and through about 21,000 BP, Amoco, ARCO and Aral retail sites. This is where most of BP's $189.3B of 2025 sales revenue is booked, because it includes resold crude and products.
- Convenience, lubricants and EV charging
Not formally reported
Higher-margin non-fuel income from convenience stores (ampm, Thorntons, TravelCenters of America, M&S Food in the UK), Castrol lubricants (BP's share falls to 35% once the Stonepeak sale closes) and bp pulse charging.
- Supply, trading and shipping
Not formally reported
Physical and financial trading of crude, products, gas, LNG and power that optimises BP's own flows and earns trading margins; strong trading was a major driver of the $5.7B Q2 2026 underlying profit.
- Low-carbon energy
Not formally reported
Smaller revenue from renewable natural gas (Archaea Energy), biofuels, and BP's 50% share of offshore wind joint venture JERA Nex bp.
Business model and strategy
AT&T
How it makes money
AT&T runs a capital-intensive network business. It buys licensed wireless spectrum, builds and upgrades cell sites, and trenches fiber, then charges consumers and businesses a monthly fee to use that network. Capital investment was $22.0 billion in 2025 against $125.6 billion of revenue.
Growth strategy
With the US smartphone market saturated, AT&T's growth depends on home internet and on keeping the wireless customers it has. It is building fiber, which passed 32.0 million consumer and business locations at the end of 2025 and carried 10.4 million subscribers, and it sells AT&T Internet Air fixed wireless where fiber is not available.
Competitive advantage
AT&T's advantage is the cost of replicating what it already owns. Its fiber network passed 32.0 million consumer and business locations at the end of 2025, and its mid-band 5G service covers more than 310 million people. Keeping that going took $22.0 billion of capital investment in 2025 alone, which is why the national market has three carriers rather than thirty.
BP
How it makes money
BP earns money at each stage of the oil and gas chain. Upstream, it finds and produces crude oil and natural gas in the Gulf of America (Gulf of Mexico), the North Sea, Brazil, Iraq, Azerbaijan, Oman, Trinidad, Egypt and US onshore basins; output averaged 2.3 million barrels of oil equivalent per day in Q1 2026 and 2.2 million in Q2 2026.
Growth strategy
BP's current strategy dates from its February 2025 reset, which raised upstream oil and gas investment to about $10 billion a year, cut planned spending on transition businesses to $1.5-2 billion a year, and set targets of $20 billion of divestments and $14-18 billion of net debt by 2027.
Competitive advantage
BP's edge rests on three things that are hard to copy. The first is deepwater know-how and infrastructure, including five operated production hubs in the Gulf of America and a growing position offshore Brazil. The second is one of the industry's largest supply, trading and shipping businesses, which turned volatile oil and gas prices into profit in Q2 2026.
Questions about AT&T vs BP
Which company has higher revenue — AT&T Inc. or BP plc?
AT&T Inc. reported $125.6B (FY2025), while BP plc reported $189.3B (FY2025). By last reported revenue, BP plc is the larger business, with AT&T Inc. reporting a smaller revenue base.
What is the market cap of AT&T Inc. vs BP plc?
AT&T Inc.'s market capitalisation stands at $174.4B, while BP plc's is $112.2B. AT&T Inc. carries the higher market valuation, reflecting investors' expectations of its future earnings power relative to BP plc.
Which is more financially efficient — AT&T Inc. or BP plc?
AT&T Inc. generates $945k / employee in revenue per employee, while BP plc generates $2.02M / employee. BP plc shows higher revenue efficiency per headcount, though this reflects business model differences — capital-light software companies routinely outperform labour-intensive manufacturers on this metric.
How do AT&T Inc. and BP plc make money?
AT&T Inc. and BP plc generate revenue in fundamentally different ways. AT&T Inc.: AT&T runs a capital-intensive network business. BP plc: BP earns money at each stage of the oil and gas chain.
Which company is valued higher relative to revenue — AT&T Inc. or BP plc?
On a price-to-sales (P/S) basis, AT&T Inc. trades at 1.4x P/S and BP plc at 0.6x P/S. AT&T Inc. commands a higher revenue multiple, typically indicating that investors expect faster growth or higher future margins compared to BP plc. A higher multiple is not inherently better — it may also signal that the stock is priced for perfection.
Is AT&T Inc. bigger than BP plc?
By last reported revenue, BP plc ($189.3B (FY2025)) is the larger company compared to AT&T Inc. ($125.6B (FY2025)). Revenue scale is one dimension of size — market capitalisation, employee count, and geographic reach are also relevant depending on the context.
Figures come from each company's filings and the sources linked beside them. Amounts reported in another currency are shown in US dollars at an approximate rate and marked with ~. Back to the AT&T vs BP overview