TELEPHONE & DATA SYSTEMS INC /DE/TDS
TELEPHONE & DATA SYSTEMS INC /DE/ Segments Disclosure
Note 20 Business Segment Information
TDS has the following reportable segments: TDS Telecom and Array. TDS Telecom generates its revenues by providing broadband, video, voice and wireless services. As of September 30, 2025, the wireless operations and select spectrum assets sold to T-Mobile qualified as discontinued operations. See Note 2 — Discontinued Operations for additional information. The wireless operations and select spectrum assets sold were reported within the Wireless segment in prior periods and as a result of the sale, the previously reported Wireless and Towers segments no longer meet the criteria to be reportable segments and Array is now a single reportable segment. Array generates its revenues primarily by leasing tower space on Array-owned towers to customers.
The reportable segments are billed for services they receive from TDS, consisting primarily of information processing, accounting, finance, and general management services. Such billings are based on expenses specifically identified to the reportable segments and on allocations of common expenses. Management believes the method used to allocate common expenses is reasonable and that all expenses and costs applicable to the reportable segments are reflected in the accompanying business segment information.
Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization and accretion (Adjusted EBITDA) is the segment measure of profit or loss reported to the chief operating decision maker for purposes of assessing the segments' performance and making capital allocation decisions. Adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAP financial measure that shows adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization and accretion, gains and losses, and expenses related to the strategic alternatives review. TDS believes Adjusted EBITDA is a useful measure of TDS’ operating results before significant recurring non-cash charges, gains and losses, and other items as presented below as it provides additional relevant and useful information to investors and other users of TDS' financial data in evaluating the effectiveness of its operations and underlying business trends in a manner that is consistent with management's evaluation of business performance. TDS’ chief operating decision maker is its President and Chief Executive Officer.
Financial data from continuing operations for TDS’ reportable segments for 2025, 2024 and 2023, is as follows. See Note 1 — Summary of Significant Accounting Policies and Recent Accounting Pronouncements for additional information.
| Year Ended December 31, 2025 | TDS Telecom | Array | Total | ||||||||
| (Dollars in thousands) | |||||||||||
| Revenues from external customers | $ | 1,036,409 | $ | 162,780 | $ | 1,199,189 | |||||
| Intersegment revenues | 1,949 | 181 | 2,130 | ||||||||
| 1,038,358 | 162,961 | 1,201,319 | |||||||||
| Reconciliation of revenue: | |||||||||||
All Other revenues1 | 29,018 | ||||||||||
| Elimination of intersegment revenues | (2,130) | ||||||||||
| Total operating revenues | $ | 1,228,207 | |||||||||
Add back or deduct2: | |||||||||||
| Cost of operations (excluding Depreciation, amortization and accretion reported below) | (399,616) | (79,485) | |||||||||
| Cost of equipment and products | (754) | — | |||||||||
| Selling, general and administrative | (325,302) | (84,444) | |||||||||
| Expenses related to strategic alternatives review (included in Selling, general and administrative and Cost of operations) | 6,207 | 2,444 | |||||||||
| Equity in earnings of unconsolidated entities | 4 | 173,754 | |||||||||
| Interest and dividend income | 6,440 | 18,917 | |||||||||
| Other segment items | 4,918 | 169 | |||||||||
| Segment Adjusted EBITDA (Non-GAAP) | $ | 330,255 | $ | 194,316 | $ | 524,571 | |||||
| Reconciliation of Segment Adjusted EBITDA to Income (loss) before income taxes: | |||||||||||
All Other income (loss) before income taxes1 | (89,830) | ||||||||||
| Short-term imputed spectrum lease income | 69,033 | ||||||||||
| Depreciation, amortization and accretion | (348,458) | ||||||||||
| Expenses related to strategic alternatives review (included in Selling, general and administrative and Cost of operations) | (8,651) | ||||||||||
| Loss on impairment of intangible assets | (48,579) | ||||||||||
| Loss on asset disposals, net | (16,800) | ||||||||||
| Gain on sale of business and other exit costs, net | 23,121 | ||||||||||
| Gain on license sales and exchanges, net | 6,123 | ||||||||||
| Interest expense | (21,568) | ||||||||||
| Income before income taxes | $ | 88,962 | |||||||||
| Other segment disclosures | |||||||||||||||||
| Year Ended or as of December 31, 2025 | TDS Telecom | Array | Segment Total | All Other1 | TDS Consolidated Total | ||||||||||||
| Short-term imputed spectrum lease income | $ | — | $ | 69,033 | $ | 69,033 | $ | — | $ | 69,033 | |||||||
| Depreciation, amortization and accretion | (300,196) | (48,262) | (348,458) | (3,427) | (351,885) | ||||||||||||
| Loss on impairment of intangible assets | (900) | (47,679) | (48,579) | — | (48,579) | ||||||||||||
| Loss on asset disposals, net | (15,054) | (1,746) | (16,800) | (47) | (16,847) | ||||||||||||
| Gain on sale of business and other exit costs, net | 23,121 | — | 23,121 | 797 | 23,918 | ||||||||||||
| Gain on license sales and exchanges, net | — | 6,123 | 6,123 | — | 6,123 | ||||||||||||
| Interest expense | 6,654 | (28,222) | (21,568) | (91,100) | (112,668) | ||||||||||||
| Investments in unconsolidated entities | 3,947 | 412,608 | 416,555 | 45,367 | 461,922 | ||||||||||||
| Total assets | 2,968,743 | 4,678,088 | 7,646,831 | 751,472 | 8,398,303 | ||||||||||||
| Capital expenditures from continuing operations | $ | 406,389 | $ | 29,911 | $ | 436,300 | $ | 259 | $ | 436,559 | |||||||
| Year Ended December 31, 2024 | TDS Telecom | Array | Total | ||||||||
| (Dollars in thousands) | |||||||||||
| Revenues from external customers | $ | 1,057,029 | $ | 102,753 | $ | 1,159,782 | |||||
| Intersegment revenues | 3,828 | 180 | 4,008 | ||||||||
| 1,060,857 | 102,933 | 1,163,790 | |||||||||
| Reconciliation of revenue: | |||||||||||
All Other revenues1 | 137,196 | ||||||||||
| Elimination of intersegment revenues | (4,008) | ||||||||||
| Total operating revenues | $ | 1,296,978 | |||||||||
Add back or deduct2: | |||||||||||
| Cost of operations (excluding Depreciation, amortization and accretion reported below) | (399,815) | (72,997) | |||||||||
| Cost of equipment and products | (723) | — | |||||||||
| Selling, general and administrative | (319,979) | (102,556) | |||||||||
| Expenses related to strategic alternatives review (included in Selling, general and administrative) | — | 21,521 | |||||||||
| Equity in earnings of unconsolidated entities | (7) | 161,364 | |||||||||
| Interest and dividend income | 5,483 | 11,656 | |||||||||
| Other segment items | 3,959 | — | |||||||||
| Segment Adjusted EBITDA (Non-GAAP) | $ | 349,775 | $ | 121,921 | $ | 471,696 | |||||
| Reconciliation of Segment Adjusted EBITDA to Income (loss) before income taxes: | |||||||||||
All Other income (loss) before income taxes1 | (123,609) | ||||||||||
| Depreciation, amortization and accretion | (317,872) | ||||||||||
| Expenses related to strategic alternatives review (included in Selling, general and administrative) | (21,521) | ||||||||||
| Loss on impairment of intangible assets | (137,337) | ||||||||||
| Loss on asset disposals, net | (13,185) | ||||||||||
| Gain on sale of business and other exit costs, net | 49,108 | ||||||||||
| Loss on license sales and exchanges, net | (3,460) | ||||||||||
| Interest expense | (7,208) | ||||||||||
| Income (loss) before income taxes | $ | (103,388) | |||||||||
| Other segment disclosures | |||||||||||||||||
| Year Ended or as of December 31, 2024 | TDS Telecom | Array | Segment Total | All Other1 | TDS Consolidated Total | ||||||||||||
| Depreciation, amortization and accretion | $ | (270,660) | $ | (47,212) | $ | (317,872) | $ | (7,825) | $ | (325,697) | |||||||
| Loss on impairment of intangible assets | (1,103) | (136,234) | (137,337) | — | (137,337) | ||||||||||||
| (Gain) loss on asset disposals, net | (12,376) | (809) | (13,185) | 44 | (13,141) | ||||||||||||
| Gain on sale of business and other exit costs, net | 49,108 | — | 49,108 | 19,242 | 68,350 | ||||||||||||
| Loss on license sales and exchanges, net | — | (3,460) | (3,460) | — | (3,460) | ||||||||||||
| Interest expense | 5,197 | (12,405) | (7,208) | (101,367) | (108,575) | ||||||||||||
| Investments in unconsolidated entities | 3,942 | 453,938 | 457,880 | 42,591 | 500,471 | ||||||||||||
| Total assets | 2,911,046 | 10,448,981 | 13,360,027 | 322,205 | 13,682,232 | ||||||||||||
| Capital expenditures from continuing operations | $ | 323,812 | $ | 19,123 | $ | 342,935 | $ | 5,562 | $ | 348,497 | |||||||
| Year Ended December 31, 2023 | TDS Telecom | Array | Total | ||||||||
| (Dollars in thousands) | |||||||||||
| Revenues from external customers | $ | 1,023,456 | $ | 100,281 | $ | 1,123,737 | |||||
| Intersegment revenues | 4,411 | 188 | 4,599 | ||||||||
| 1,027,867 | 100,469 | 1,128,336 | |||||||||
| Reconciliation of revenue: | |||||||||||
All Other revenues1 | 231,376 | ||||||||||
| Elimination of intersegment revenues | (4,599) | ||||||||||
| Total operating revenues | $ | 1,355,113 | |||||||||
Add back or deduct2: | |||||||||||
| Cost of operations (excluding Depreciation, amortization and accretion reported below) | (422,914) | (67,890) | |||||||||
| Cost of equipment and products | (458) | — | |||||||||
| Selling, general and administrative | (325,519) | (101,407) | |||||||||
| Expenses related to strategic alternatives review (included in Selling, general and administrative) | — | 8,335 | |||||||||
| Equity in earnings of unconsolidated entities | 2 | 158,296 | |||||||||
| Interest and dividend income | 4,174 | 9,774 | |||||||||
| Other segment items | 1,867 | (7) | |||||||||
| Segment Adjusted EBITDA (Non-GAAP) | $ | 285,019 | $ | 107,570 | $ | 392,589 | |||||
| Reconciliation of Segment Adjusted EBITDA to Income (loss) before income taxes: | |||||||||||
All Other income (loss) before income taxes1 | (95,780) | ||||||||||
| Depreciation, amortization and accretion | (295,363) | ||||||||||
| Expenses related to strategic alternatives review (included in Selling, general and administrative) | (8,335) | ||||||||||
| Loss on impairment of intangible assets | (546,951) | ||||||||||
| Loss on asset disposals, net | (5,255) | ||||||||||
| Gain on license sales and exchanges, net | 2,170 | ||||||||||
| Interest expense | (6,556) | ||||||||||
| Income (loss) before income taxes | $ | (563,481) | |||||||||
| Other segment disclosures | |||||||||||||||||
| Year Ended or as of December 31, 2023 | TDS Telecom | Array | Segment Total | All Other1 | TDS Consolidated Total | ||||||||||||
| Depreciation, amortization and accretion | $ | (245,379) | $ | (49,984) | $ | (295,363) | $ | (14,708) | $ | (310,071) | |||||||
| Loss on impairment of intangible assets | (546,951) | — | (546,951) | — | (546,951) | ||||||||||||
| (Gain) loss on asset disposals, net | (9,672) | 4,417 | (5,255) | (14) | (5,269) | ||||||||||||
| Gain on license sales and exchanges, net | — | 2,170 | 2,170 | — | 2,170 | ||||||||||||
| Interest expense | 8,050 | (14,606) | (6,556) | (55,621) | (62,177) | ||||||||||||
| Investments in unconsolidated entities | 3,949 | 460,773 | 464,722 | 39,888 | 504,610 | ||||||||||||
| Total assets | 2,863,688 | 4,964,865 | 7,828,553 | 306,585 | 8,135,138 | ||||||||||||
| Capital expenditures from continuing operations | $ | 576,539 | $ | 41,040 | $ | 617,579 | $ | 10,052 | $ | 627,631 | |||||||
Numbers may not foot due to rounding.
1"All Other" represents TDS' non-reportable other business activities that do not meet the quantitative thresholds for being a reportable segment.
2The significant segment expense categories and amounts align with the segment-level information that is regularly provided to the chief operating decision maker. Intersegment expenses are included within the amounts shown
Historical Timeline
| Fiscal Year | Filed | |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Feb 24, 2026 | Showing above |
| 2015 | Feb 24, 2016 | |
About Segments Disclosures
Segment disclosures break a company into its reportable operating units, revealing revenue, profit, and asset allocation that consolidated financial statements obscure. Under ASC 280, segments must match how the chief operating decision maker views the business, providing a window into internal management structure and resource allocation priorities.
Key signals: compare segment margins to identify which units drive profitability and which destroy value. Watch for changes in the number of reportable segments — segment aggregation or disaggregation often coincides with strategic shifts or attempts to obscure declining performance. Intersegment elimination patterns reveal internal pricing practices. The reconciliation between segment totals and consolidated figures exposes corporate overhead allocation and unallocated items. Geographic revenue concentration highlights regulatory and currency exposure. Compare segment-level capital expenditure against segment revenue to assess where management is investing for future growth versus harvesting existing assets.