AT&T vs NEC: Revenue, Profit and Business Model
AT&T reported $125.6B of revenue in FY2025 and $22B of net income. NEC reported ~$24B of revenue in FY2026 and ~$1.8B 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.
NEC
NEC's numbers show a company trading revenue for margin. Revenue moved from ~$20.2 billion (3,014.1 billion yen) in FY22/3 to ~$24 billion (3,582.7 billion yen) in FY26/3, but the bigger change was profitability: FY26/3 adjusted operating profit reached ~$2.59 billion (386.8 billion yen) (10.8% margin, up 2.4 points), net profit attributable to owners was ~$1.81 billion (270.2 billion yen), and non-GAAP net profit was ~$1.87 billion (279.8 billion yen), a record under IFRS. Momentum carried into FY27/3: first-quarter revenue rose 14.5% to ~$5.49 billion (819.8 billion yen), net profit was ~$333 million (49.7 billion yen), and NEC raised full-year guidance to ~$23.7 billion (3,540 billion yen) revenue and ~$2.88 billion (430 billion yen) adjusted operating profit.
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 |
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.
NEC
- IT Services70.0%
FY26/3 revenue was ~$16.8 billion (2,508.9 billion yen), including Domestic IT and International digital government/digital finance work.
- Social Infrastructure26.1%
FY26/3 revenue was ~$6.27 billion (935.3 billion yen), including telecom services and aerospace/national security systems.
- Others3.9%
FY26/3 other revenue was ~$928 million (138.5 billion yen).
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.
NEC
How it makes money
NEC makes money by selling technology projects and recurring services to governments, enterprises and telecom carriers. In FY26/3 (year ended March 31, 2026), IT Services produced ~$16.8 billion (2,508.9 billion yen), about 70% of revenue: system integration, managed services and the BluStellar DX offering in Japan, plus digital government and digital finance software abroad through subsidiaries such as Avaloq, KMD a…
Growth strategy
Under its 2025 Mid-term Management Plan, which NEC says it achieved in FY26/3, the company prioritized digital government and digital finance, 5G, and core DX (now branded BluStellar) as growth businesses while monitoring and pruning low-profit work.
Competitive advantage
NEC's edge comes from decades of trusted delivery to Japanese ministries, municipalities, the Ministry of Defense and NTT-group carriers, which makes it hard to displace on security-sensitive systems. Its face and fingerprint algorithms have repeatedly placed at or near the top of US NIST benchmark tests, which supports border-control and airport contracts abroad.
Questions about AT&T vs NEC
Which company has higher revenue — AT&T Inc. or NEC Corporation?
AT&T Inc. reported $125.6B (FY2025), while NEC Corporation reported ~$24B (FY2026). By last reported revenue, AT&T Inc. is the larger business, with NEC Corporation reporting a smaller revenue base. Note: these are from different fiscal years and are not a direct like-for-like comparison.
What is the market cap of AT&T Inc. vs NEC Corporation?
AT&T Inc.'s market capitalisation stands at $174.4B, while NEC Corporation's is $40.2B. AT&T Inc. carries the higher market valuation, reflecting investors' expectations of its future earnings power relative to NEC Corporation.
Which is more financially efficient — AT&T Inc. or NEC Corporation?
AT&T Inc. generates $945k / employee in revenue per employee, while NEC Corporation generates $236k / employee. AT&T Inc. 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 NEC Corporation make money?
AT&T Inc. and NEC Corporation generate revenue in fundamentally different ways. AT&T Inc.: AT&T runs a capital-intensive network business. NEC Corporation: NEC makes money by selling technology projects and recurring services to governments, enterprises and telecom carriers.
Which company is valued higher relative to revenue — AT&T Inc. or NEC Corporation?
On a price-to-sales (P/S) basis, AT&T Inc. trades at 1.4x P/S and NEC Corporation at 1.7x P/S. NEC Corporation commands a higher revenue multiple, typically indicating that investors expect faster growth or higher future margins compared to AT&T Inc.. A higher multiple is not inherently better — it may also signal that the stock is priced for perfection.
Is AT&T Inc. bigger than NEC Corporation?
By last reported revenue, AT&T Inc. ($125.6B (FY2025)) is the larger company compared to NEC Corporation (~$24B (FY2026)). 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 NEC overview