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Selling, general, & admin. expense (SGA) includes the direct and indirect costs and all general and administrative expenses of a company. Telephone and Data Systems's selling, general, & admin. expense for the
three
months ended in Mar. 2026 was $103 Mil.
Its selling, general, & admin. expense for the trailing twelve months (TTM) ended in Mar. 2026 was $734 Mil.
Telephone and Data Systems (NYSE:TDS) Selling, General, & Admin. Expense Explanation
An efficient operation keeps SGA costs low and thus has higher profit margin. The percentage of SGA relative to total revenue is an indication of how efficiently the company operates. Compare this percentage among the companies in the same industry is a good way of finding more efficient operations. A comparison of the SGA cost relative to the revenue with the historical value can also be an indication of how efficient the company has become.
Warren Buffett likes companies with consistent SGA as the percentage of gross profit.
Companies with no durable competitive advantage show wild variation in SG&A as % of Gross Profit.
If SGA is less than 30% of Gross Profit, it is fantastic. If SGA is nearing 100%, it is is in highly competitive industry.
Telephone and Data Systems Selling, General, & Admin. Expense Related Terms
Telephone and Data Systems Selling, General, & Admin. Expense Historical Data
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The historical data trend for Telephone and Data Systems's Selling, General, & Admin. Expense can be seen below:
* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD. * For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.
Telephone and Data Systems Selling, General, & Admin. Expense Chart
TDS vs LBRDA, IRDM, LBTYA: Selling, General, & Admin. Expense Comparison
For the Telecom Services subindustry, Telephone and Data Systems's Selling, General, & Admin. Expense, along with its competitors' market caps and Selling, General, & Admin. Expense data, can be viewed below:
* Competitive companies are chosen from companies within the same industry, with headquarter located in same country, with closest market capitalization; x-axis shows the market cap, and y-axis shows the term value; the bigger the dot, the larger the market cap. Note that "N/A" values will not show up in the chart.
Telephone and Data Systems Selling, General, & Admin. Expense vs Telecommunication Services Industry
For the Telecommunication Services industry and Communication Services sector, Telephone and Data Systems's Selling, General, & Admin. Expense distribution charts can be found below:
* The bar in red indicates where Telephone and Data Systems's Selling, General, & Admin. Expense falls into.
Telephone and Data Systems Selling, General, & Admin. Expense Calculation
Selling, General, & Admin. Expense (SGA) includes the direct and indirect costs and all general and administrative expenses of a company. For instance, personnel cost, advertising, rent, communication costs are all part of SGA.
Selling, General, & Admin. Expense for the trailing twelve months (TTM) ended in Mar. 2026 adds up the quarterly data reported by the company within the most recent 12 months, which was $734 Mil.
* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD. * For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.
What does a Selling, General, & Admin. Expense of $734 Mil mean?
Telephone and Data Systems (TDS) has a Selling, General, & Admin. Expense of $734 Mil as of Mar. 2026. Selling, general and admin expense is the total cost for direct, indirect, general and administrative activities. View historical data on Telephone and Data Systems and its competitors.
Is Telephone and Data Systems' Selling, General, & Admin. Expense too high?
Telephone and Data Systems' current Selling, General, & Admin. Expense is $734 Mil. Overall, Telephone and Data Systems has a GF Score™ of 65/100 and is considered Fairly Valued, reflecting its overall financial health beyond just this single metric.
How does Telephone and Data Systems' Selling, General, & Admin. Expense compare to LBRDA and IRDM?
Telephone and Data Systems' Selling, General, & Admin. Expense of $734 Mil can be compared against companies in the Telecommunication Services industry. See the competitive comparison table and distribution chart on this page for a detailed peer-by-peer breakdown.
What is a good Selling, General, & Admin. Expense for a Telecommunication Services company?
A good Selling, General, & Admin. Expense depends on the Telecommunication Services industry context. However, Selling, General, & Admin. Expense should not be evaluated in isolation — investors should consider it alongside profitability, growth, and financial strength metrics. Use the industry distribution chart on this page to see where any company falls relative to its peers.
What does a high Selling, General, & Admin. Expense mean?
A high Selling, General, & Admin. Expense can signal that a stock is expensive relative to its fundamentals. Selling, general and admin expense is the total cost for direct, indirect, general and administrative activities. View historical data on Telephone and Data Systems and its competitors. Telephone and Data Systems's current Selling, General, & Admin. Expense is $734 Mil. However, context matters — high-growth companies often justify higher valuations. Always evaluate alongside other metrics like GF Score™ and GF Value™.
Is Telephone and Data Systems stock overvalued right now?
Based on GuruFocus' analysis, Telephone and Data Systems (TDS) is currently considered Fairly Valued. The stock's GF Value™ is $31.60, compared to a current price of $33.90 — trading 7.3% above its estimated fair value. The current Selling, General, & Admin. Expense is $734 Mil. Telephone and Data Systems' overall GF Score™ is 65/100 with 5 warning signs to review. Investors should evaluate multiple metrics — including profitability, growth, and financial strength — before making a decision.
How is Selling, General, & Admin. Expense calculated?
Selling, General, & Admin. Expense is calculated from a company's financial statements. For Telephone and Data Systems (TDS), the current Selling, General, & Admin. Expense is $734 Mil as of Mar. 2026. GuruFocus calculates this using data sourced from SEC filings and annual reports. See the calculation section and 30-year financial data on this page for the full breakdown.
Is Telephone and Data Systems (TDS) Overvalued in 2026?
Based on GuruFocus' analysis, Telephone and Data Systems stock appears to be overvalued.
The current stock price of $33.90 is trading 7.3% above its estimated GF Value™ of $31.60.
GuruFocus considers Telephone and Data Systems to be Fairly Valued.
Key valuation signals for TDS:
Selling, General, & Admin. Expense: $734 Mil
GF Value™: $31.60 vs. price of $33.90 (7.3% above fair value)
No single metric tells the full story. See the TDS stock analysis page for a complete view including 30-year financials, guru trades, and insider activity.
Telephone and Data Systems Inc is a diversified telecommunications operator that provides communications services to customers through broadband, video, voice, and wireless connections. The company has two reportable segments: TDS Telecom and Array. The majority of its revenue is generated from the TDS Telecom segment, which generates revenue by providing broadband, video, voice, and wireless services. The Array segment generates its revenue mainly by leasing tower space on Array-owned towers to customers.
65GF Score
Get the complete analysis for TDS
Selling, General, & Admin. Expense is just one metric. See GF Value™, 30-year financials, guru trades, warning signs, and more.
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