TDS
Telephone and Data Systems, Inc.
TDS's fundamentals are weak: revenue fell 68% and free cash flow turned negative, though its operating margin rose 39 points to 40%. Its PE of 7.5x looks cheaper than it really is, because one-off gains boosted its recent earnings. Analysts expect earnings to recover and profitability to improve.
TDS Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Under pressure | |
| Strong | |
| Weak | |
| Strong |
TDS's profitability and balance sheet are currently strong, but its revenue and cash flow are under pressure.
TDS PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Current | 7.5x | $30.73 | — |
| Cheap | 12x | $48.62 | +58% |
| Fair | 17x | $71.06 | +131% |
| Expensive | 23x | $94.77 | +208% |
| Forward | 116x | $30.73 | — |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
TDS's PE is in its cheap range at 7.5x, but its recent earnings include one-off gains. On analysts' estimates for next year's earnings, today's price would be 116x, in its expensive range.
TDS Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly deteriorating | |
| Returning to profit | |
| Stable | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| High |
Analysts expect TDS to return to profit, with revenue holding steady.
TDS Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $0.26 | -94% |
| Q3 2026 | $4.09 | +$5.16 |
| Q2 2026 | $3.00 | +$3.96 |
| Q1 2026 | $0.53 | +$1.57 |
| Q4 2025 | -$0.65 | +$0.20 |
| Q3 2025 | -$1.07 | +$4.34 |
| Q2 2025 | -$0.96 | +$3.88 |
| Q1 2025 | -$1.04 | +$3.84 |
| Q4 2024 | -$0.85 | +$4.21 |
TDS has returned to profit: it earned $4.09 per share over the past year, after losing money the year before. Its recent earnings include one-off gains.
TDS Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $306.7M | -0.6% |
| Q2 2026 | $309.3M | -74% |
| Q1 2026 | $309.5M | -73% |
| Q4 2025 | $330.7M | -73% |
| Q3 2025 | $308.5M | -75% |
| Q2 2025 | $1.2B | -4.2% |
| Q1 2025 | $1.2B | -8.6% |
| Q4 2024 | $1.2B | -5.5% |
TDS's revenue has slid since its 2022 peak: $307M last quarter, about level with the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -9.8% | +12 points |
| Q2 2026 | 121% | +117 points |
| Q1 2026 | 46% | +43 points |
| Q4 2025 | 5.1% | +2.2 points |
| Q3 2025 | -22% | -16 points |
| Q2 2025 | 3.4% | +0.2 points |
| Q1 2025 | 3% | -2.3 points |
| Q4 2024 | 2.9% | +43 points |
TDS's operating margin was −9.8% last quarter, up 12 points from the same quarter a year ago, near the bottom of its range since 2019.
TDS Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -$305.5M | -$292.8M |
| Q2 2026 | -$113.3M | -143% |
| Q1 2026 | -$81.6M | -243% |
| Q4 2025 | -$108.9M | -$91.9M |
| Q3 2025 | -$12.7M | -112% |
| Q2 2025 | $264M | +42% |
| Q1 2025 | $57M | +$68M |
| Q4 2024 | -$17M | +$69M |
TDS has burned cash in six of the last eight quarters: −$609M over the past year, against $291M the year before.
TDS Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -1.1% | -1.3M shares |
| 1 year | -3.2% | -3.8M shares |
| 3 years | +1.8% | +2M shares |
| 5 years | -0.9% | -1M shares |
| Available history | -0.9% | -1M shares |
TDS has 115M diluted shares, down 3.2% from a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q4 2025 | $67.4M |
| Q4 2024 | — |
| Q3 2024 | — |
| Q2 2024 | — |
| Q1 2024 | — |
| Q4 2023 | — |
| Q3 2023 | — |
| Q2 2023 | $3M |
TDS Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -1.1x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2026 | -1.8x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2026 | -1.1x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2025 | 0.1x | Very low |
| Q3 2025 | -0.1x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2025 | 3.6x | Elevated |
| Q1 2025 | 3.8x | Elevated |
| Q4 2024 | 3.7x | Elevated |
TDS has more cash than debt.
TDS Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 33.6 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 25.1 | Neutral |
TDS's weekly RSI is 34 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 25 (neutral).
TDS PE vs Communication Services Sector
| Metric | TDS | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 7.5x | 16x | 54% below |
| PE % | 0 | 26 | 26 pts below |
TDS is trading at 7.5x earnings, a 54% discount to the Communication Services sector's median of 16x, though its recent earnings include one-off gains.
TDS Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $34.0 | 9.6% below |
| 20 week MA | $34.6 | 11% below |
| 50 week MA | $39.4 | 22% below |
| 100 week MA | $38.1 | 19% below |
| 200 week MA | $27.8 | 11% above |
TDS has fallen below most of its moving averages, though it's still 11% above its 200-week average.
TDS Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $24.9 | $18.3 | -27% |
| 2021 | $18.3 | $20.6 | +13% |
| 2022 | $20.6 | $10.6 | -49% |
| 2023 | $10.6 | $18.4 | +74% |
| 2024 | $18.4 | $34.8 | +90% |
| 2025 | $34.8 | $40.3 | +16% |
| 2026 YTD | $40.3 | $30.7 | -24% |
TDS has finished higher in four of the last six years, two of them by more than 50%. It's down 24% so far in 2026.