Telephone & Data Systems
Through the investors’ lenses
Each of these investors has said in public what they look at before buying. Click a name to see how this company measures up — a tick where it passes one of their tests, a cross where it does not.
Warren Buffett 1/4
| Measure | TDS | Checked against | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Owner earnings | $-93.36m | positive | ✗ |
| Return on equity | -0.1% | median 11.7% | ✗ |
| Debt to equity | 0.17x | median 0.79x | ✓ |
| Operating margin | -9.1% | median 15.0% | ✗ |
Passes 1 of 4. To be clear: Warren Buffett has never said anything about Telephone & Data Systems. These are the company’s own figures put through the tests he described. What he looks at, and why →
Terry Smith 1/3
| Measure | TDS | Checked against | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Return on capital employed | -1.7% | median 10.1% | ✗ |
| Cash conversion | — | median 1.78x | — |
| Operating margin | -9.1% | median 15.0% | ✗ |
| Debt to equity | 0.17x | median 0.79x | ✓ |
Passes 1 of 3. To be clear: Terry Smith has never said anything about Telephone & Data Systems. These are the company’s own figures put through the tests he described. What he looks at, and why →
Charlie Munger 0/3
| Measure | TDS | Checked against | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Return on capital employed | -1.7% | median 10.1% | ✗ |
| Return on equity | -0.1% | median 11.7% | ✗ |
| Operating margin | -9.1% | median 15.0% | ✗ |
Passes 0 of 3. To be clear: Charlie Munger has never said anything about Telephone & Data Systems. These are the company’s own figures put through the tests he described. What he looks at, and why →
Chuck Akre 1/3
| Measure | TDS | Checked against | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Return on equity | -0.1% | median 11.7% | ✗ |
| Debt to equity | 0.17x | median 0.79x | ✓ |
| Cash conversion | — | median 1.78x | — |
| Return on equity, sustained | 0 of 10 | 8 of 10 above median | ✗ |
Passes 1 of 3. To be clear: Chuck Akre has never said anything about Telephone & Data Systems. These are the company’s own figures put through the tests he described. What he looks at, and why →
Philip Fisher 0/4
| Measure | TDS | Checked against | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operating margin | -9.1% | median 15.0% | ✗ |
| Net margin | -0.6% | median 10.2% | ✗ |
| Return on capital employed | -1.7% | median 10.1% | ✗ |
| Operating margin, held or improving | -9.1% | 10-yr median 2.1% | ✗ |
Passes 0 of 4. To be clear: Philip Fisher has never said anything about Telephone & Data Systems. These are the company’s own figures put through the tests he described. What he looks at, and why →
Walter Schloss 2/2
| Measure | TDS | Checked against | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Current ratio | 2.10x | median 1.25x | ✓ |
| Debt to equity | 0.17x | median 0.79x | ✓ |
Passes 2 of 2. To be clear: Walter Schloss has never said anything about Telephone & Data Systems. These are the company’s own figures put through the tests he described. What he looks at, and why →
Benjamin Graham 1/3
| Measure | TDS | Checked against | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Current ratio | 2.10x | 2.00x published | ✓ |
| Long-term debt to working capital | 1.70x | 1.00x published | ✗ |
| Positive earnings, ten years running | 0 yrs | 10 published | ✗ |
Passes 1 of 3. To be clear: Benjamin Graham has never said anything about Telephone & Data Systems. These are the company’s own figures put through the tests he described. What he looks at, and why →
Joel Greenblatt 0/1
| Measure | TDS | Checked against | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Return on capital employed | -1.7% | median 10.1% | ✗ |
Passes 0 of 1. To be clear: Joel Greenblatt has never said anything about Telephone & Data Systems. These are the company’s own figures put through the tests he described. What he looks at, and why →
Peter Lynch 1/2
| Measure | TDS | Checked against | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debt to equity | 0.17x | median 0.79x | ✓ |
| Net margin | -0.6% | median 10.2% | ✗ |
Passes 1 of 2. To be clear: Peter Lynch has never said anything about Telephone & Data Systems. These are the company’s own figures put through the tests he described. What he looks at, and why →
| Basis | Payout | Why |
|---|---|---|
| GAAP earnings | negative | whyLost $0.650 per share — no earnings to pay from. |
| Operating cash flow | 14.9% | whyBefore capital spending. |
| Free cash flow | 44.0% | whyAfter maintaining the business. |
Spread between highest and lowest: 29.1 percentage points. Same filings, different denominators.
Coverage rating 16 / 100 — Not covered. ? Peer standing 12/50Direction 4/30Stability 0/20
Free cash flow payout, last 6 years
| Fiscal year | Payout |
|---|---|
| 2025-12-31 | 44.0% |
| 2024-12-31 | 13.4% |
| 2023-12-31 | 30.6% |
| 2020-12-31 | 40.2% |
| 2019-12-31 | 127.1% |
| 2018-12-31 | 29.9% |
Coverage worsened sharply this year, 13.4% to 44.0%, after no clear trend before it. One year is not a trend, but it is worth knowing which direction the last one moved.
24% of the 25 communications here pay out more — at the demanding end.
The arithmetic
- GAAP earnings — dividends declared per share $0.160 ÷ diluted EPS $-0.650
- Operating cash flow — dividends paid $87.7m ÷ operating cash flow $590m
- Free cash flow — dividends paid $87.7m ÷ (operating cash flow $590m − capex $391m)
Where the figures came from
- 10-K filed 2026-02-24 · accession 0001051512-26-000011
All public at sec.gov — you should not have to take our word for it.
Caveats on this company
- DPS $0.16 filed as declared, but dividends paid imply $0.74 — one of the two underlying facts is wrong. The filed per-share figure is used.
Computed straight from SEC XBRL. A number that looks wrong to you is more useful to us than agreement — tell us.
What the free cash flow payout ratio measures, and where every company here sits on it.
Also on: rated not covered · when it files.
When this changes
Every figure above is recomputed whenever Telephone & Data Systems files. The monthly letter carries what filed, what moved, and one finding computed across every company here.