Telephone And Data Systems — Income Statement, Cash Flows & Balance Sheet
Is TDS profitable?
TDS swung to a profit from continuing operations in 2025, but large one-time items — not the core business — did most of the heavy lifting.
| Metric | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | Change (2024→2025) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total operating revenues | $1,355M | $1,297M | $1,228M | -5% |
| Operating income (loss) | -$683M | -$191M | -$97M | Improved |
| Loss on impairment of intangible assets | $547M | $137M | $49M | Improved |
| Equity in earnings of unconsolidated entities | $159M | $164M | $176M | +7% |
| Net income (loss) from continuing operations | -$548M | -$81M | +$151M | Turned positive |
| Net income (loss) attributable to TDS common shareholders | -$569M | -$97M | -$75M | Slight improvement |
The shift to a positive net income from continuing operations is real, but it is largely driven by a large non-cash tax benefit (a valuation allowance release tied to the T-Mobile sale) rather than core operating strength. Revenue is declining steadily across all three years, and the operating line remains in the red. Common shareholders still ended up with a per-share loss after preferred dividends are subtracted.
Recurring impairment charges on wireless spectrum licenses have obscured the true operating picture for three straight years.
| Item | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Loss on impairment of intangible assets | $547M | $137M | $49M |
| Income tax benefit | -$16M | -$22M | -$62M |
Impairments are non-cash charges (write-downs of asset values, not cash spent) that have significantly depressed reported earnings each year. The good news is they are shrinking. The 2025 charge of $49M relates to high-band spectrum that has lost market value industry-wide.
Where does TDS's revenue come from?
TDS Telecom — the broadband and wireline business — is the stable backbone, while Array is transitioning into a tower-leasing company after selling its wireless operations.
| Segment | 2023 Revenue | 2024 Revenue | 2025 Revenue | Change (2024→2025) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TDS Telecom (external) | $1,023M | $1,057M | $1,036M | -2% |
| Array (external) | $100M | $103M | $163M | +58% |
TDS Telecom is a steady but slowly shrinking wireline business. Array's revenue jump reflects its transformation: it sold its wireless business to T-Mobile in August 2025 and is now primarily a cell tower landlord, with site rental income growing sharply. Array's Adjusted EBITDA (a non-GAAP measure of operating profit before interest, taxes, depreciation, and special items) more than doubled from $122M to $194M, making it an increasingly important profit driver.
Does TDS generate cash?
The T-Mobile deal flooded TDS with cash in 2025, enabling it to pay down most of its debt in one stroke.
| Cash Flow Item | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | Change (2024→2025) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operating cash flow (continuing ops) | $307M | $296M | $338M | +14% |
| Capital expenditures (continuing ops) | -$643M | -$365M | -$391M | +7% |
| Free cash flow (continuing ops, est.) | -$336M | -$69M | -$53M | Improved |
| Net cash from investing (total, incl. disc. ops) | -$1,327M | -$755M | +$2,144M | Large positive |
| Net cash from financing (total) | +$56M | -$277M | -$2,347M | Large outflow |
Continuing operations alone still don't generate enough cash to cover capital spending — free cash flow (operating cash minus capex) remains slightly negative. The headline transformation came from discontinued operations: the T-Mobile sale generated over $2.4B in investing inflows, which TDS used almost entirely to repay debt and return cash to shareholders.
How strong is TDS's balance sheet?
The T-Mobile deal dramatically cleaned up TDS's balance sheet — debt fell by nearly $1.6B and cash more than doubled.
| Item | 2024 | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cash and cash equivalents | $364M | $766M | +$402M |
| Total long-term debt (principal) | $2,481M | $844M | -$1,637M |
| Total equity | $5,868M | $5,267M | -$601M |
The debt reduction is the single biggest balance sheet development. TDS went from a heavily leveraged telecom holding company to a much leaner structure, with near-term debt maturities looking manageable. However, equity also declined as the company paid out large dividends and absorbed losses. A notable subsequent event: in January 2026, Array closed the AT&T spectrum sale for $1B and immediately paid a special dividend of $886M, of which TDS received roughly $726M — providing another significant cash injection not yet reflected in these year-end numbers.