Answer
Because the press release you shared only tells us that Telephone & Data Systems, Inc. (TDS) has declared a thirdâquarter 2025 dividend for its common and preferred securities â without giving the actual dividend amount, the quarterly yield, or the payout ratio â we canât make a direct, dataâdriven comparison to the dividend policies of its industry peers and competitors.
Below is a twoâpart response:
- What we can say right now, based on the information you provided
- How you can evaluate TDSâs dividend payout against its peers once the missing details are available
1. What the current news tells us
| Item from the release | Known | Unknown (needed for comparison) |
|---|---|---|
| Dividend type | Quarterly dividend on Common Shares, SeriesâŻA Common Shares, SeriesâŻUU Preferred Shares, SeriesâŻVV Preferred Shares | Amount per share (e.g., $0.10, $0.12) |
| Frequency | Quarterly (thirdâquarter 2025) | Annualized dividend (total for the year) |
| Company | Telephone & Data Systems, Inc. (NYSE:âŻTDS) | Dividend yield, payout ratio, historical trend |
Without the perâshare payout (or the total dollar amount) we canât calculate:
- Dividend yield â dividend per share á current share price.
- Payout ratio â dividend per share á earnings per share (or dividend per share á free cash flow per share).
- Trend analysis â whether the dividend is growing, flat, or being cut relative to prior quarters/years.
Thus, any statement about âhow TDSâs dividend payout compares to its industry peersâ would be speculative at this point.
2. How to benchmark TDSâs dividend once the missing data is released
When the full dividend details become public (or when you can retrieve them from TDSâs investorârelations site, SEC filings, or a market data provider), you can run a systematic comparison using the following steps:
| Step | What to gather | Why it matters | Typical industry peers for a telecom & dataâservices firm |
|---|---|---|---|
| a. Identify the dividend amount | ⢠Cash dividend per common share (e.g., $0.10) ⢠Cash dividend per preferred share (if applicable) |
This is the base figure for all downstream calculations. | AT&T (T), Verizon (VZ), Comcast (CMCSA), Charter Communications (CHMA), Crown Castle (CCI), and regional telecoms such as Frontier (FFWR) or Consolidated (CNS). |
| b. Compute the **annualized dividend | Multiply the quarterly amount by 4 (or sum all quarterly payouts if the yearâtoâdate total is disclosed). | Allows you to compare against peers who usually report an annual dividend. | Same as above. |
| c. Determine the **dividend yield | Annual dividend á current market price of each share class. | Yield reflects the cash return to shareholders relative to price â the most common peerâcomparison metric. | Industry average yield for U.S. telecoms in 2024â2025 was roughly 4â5% for the large incumbents (AT&T, Verizon) and 3â4% for midâsize operators. |
| d. Calculate the **payout ratio | Dividend per share á earnings per share (EPS) or dividend á free cash flow per share. | Shows sustainability: a high payout (>80% of EPS) may signal risk if earnings dip; a low payout (<30%) could indicate room to grow. | Large telecoms historically run payout ratios around 55â70% of EPS; some REITâstyle telecom infrastructure firms (e.g., Crown Castle) target 70â80% of free cash flow. |
| e. Review **historical dividend growth | Yearâoverâyear change in dividend per share. | A rising dividend is a sign of financial health and shareholderâfriendly policy, while cuts can be redâflags. | AT&T and Verizon have raised dividends modestly (~2â3% YoY) over the past 5â7 years; a few peers have frozen or cut dividends during capitalâintensive periods. |
| f. Contextualize with **capitalâallocation strategy | Look at recent shareârepurchase programs, capex plans, debt reduction, and M&A activity. | Companies that are heavily investing in network upgrades may keep payouts modest to preserve cash. | Verizonâs 2024â2025 capex of >$30âŻbn led to a slightly lower payout ratio; Comcastâs dividend is supported by strong cash flow from its broadband business. |
Putting it together:
- If TDSâs yield is, say, 4.5% and the average for comparable U.S. telecoms is about 4â5%, then TDS is in line with the sector.
- If the payout ratio is 65% of EPS while peers sit at 55â70%, TDS is similarly positioned.
- If TDS has raised its dividend for the 5th consecutive quarter while a peer like Frontier has held its dividend flat, TDS would be more aggressive in returning cash to shareholders.
Quick checklist for you (or your analyst team)
| â | Item | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Exact dividend per share (common & preferred) for Q3âŻ2025 | TDS press release, FormâŻ8âK, Investor Relations website |
| 2 | Current market price of each share class (NYSE:âŻTDS, SeriesâŻA, SeriesâŻUU, SeriesâŻVV) | Bloomberg, Reuters, Yahoo!âŻFinance |
| 3 | EPS & free cash flow for the most recent quarter/annual period | SEC FormâŻ10âK, earnings call transcript |
| 4 | Dividend data for peers (quarterly amounts, yields, payout ratios) | Peer annual reports, dividend trackers (e.g., Nasdaq Dividend History) |
| 5 | Industry average yields & payout ratios (telecom & dataâservices) | S&PâŻTelecom Index, sector research from Moodyâs, S&P Global, or a brokerage analyst report |
Once you have those numbers, you can populate a simple comparison table like the one below:
| Company | Quarterly dividend (¢) | Annualized dividend ($) | Current price ($) | Yield (%) | Payout ratio (EPS) | YoY dividend growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TDS (Common) | 0.10 | 0.40 | 12.00 | 3.3% | 55% | +2% |
| AT&T | 0.12 | 0.48 | 15.00 | 3.2% | 60% | +1% |
| Verizon | 0.13 | 0.52 | 18.00 | 2.9% | 58% | +1.5% |
| ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... |
The numbers above are illustrative only.
Bottom line
- From the current press release alone: we can confirm that TDS is continuing its regular quarterly dividend program for both common and preferred securities, which signals a commitment to returning cash to shareholders.
- To gauge âhow it comparesâ to industry peers, youâll need the specific dividend amount, the current share price, and the companyâs earnings or cashâflow metrics. With those, you can compute yield, payout ratio, and growth rates, then benchmark against the typical range for U.S. telecom and dataâservices operators (generally 3â5% yield, 55â70% payout ratio, modest 1â3% annual dividend growth).
If you can obtain the missing dividend figures (or direct me to a source that lists them), I can immediately generate a concrete sideâbyâside comparison. Until then, the framework above will let you or your research team evaluate TDSâs dividend stance relative to its competitors in a transparent, dataâdriven way.