AT&T’s Rather Good Showing

Loading widget...

Now, AT&T, a provider of wireless voices and data – rather like a highly efficient gossip service, one might say – closed Wednesday at a respectable $24.08, a jump of 4.70%. A most agreeable uptick, wouldn’t you agree? It seems the quarterly results were, to put it mildly, rather less dreadful than the bean counters had feared, and management, with a dash of optimism, suggested things were looking up. A new buyback program, naturally, was thrown into the mix, as one does when one wishes to distribute a bit of cheer amongst the shareholders. Trading volume, I’m informed, reached a brisk 72.9 million shares – a positively bustling figure, nearly 50% above the usual, more sedate pace. The firm, you see, has been around since 1983, and has grown a staggering 9,770% since then – a bit of a success story, if one overlooks the occasional hiccup.

How the Markets Performed Today

The S&P 500, after a bit of a wobble, slipped a mere 0.03% to finish at 6,976, while the Nasdaq Composite, with a touch more enthusiasm, added 0.17% to close at 23,857. In the world of telecommunications, Verizon Communications, a solid sort of company, closed at $39.41 (a modest gain of 0.23%), and T-Mobile U.S. finished at $186.25 (a slightly more spirited 0.95%) as observers kept a watchful eye on the competitive landscape. A bit of a jostle for position, you might say.

What This Means for the Discerning Investor

AT&T, it appears, has been rather clever in exceeding the expectations of the analysts. Revenue edged up by a respectable 4%, and adjusted earnings per share jumped a hearty 20%. Not bad, not bad at all. Management, with a commendable degree of foresight, is predicting double-digit EPS growth annually through 2028, and a rather handsome free cash flow of $19 billion in 2026, rising to $20 billion in 2027. This year, they generated $18 billion – a most satisfactory sum. Armed with this ample cash, AT&T returned $12 billion to shareholders and anticipates returning another $45 billion or so over the next three years. A generous gesture, wouldn’t you say?

The company is seeing steady growth in its key areas – postpaid phone subscriptions, fiber optic connections, and broadband services – and the integration of the Lumen acquisition appears to be proceeding smoothly. With a dividend yield of 4.6%, AT&T offers a solid, if unspectacular, income stream. It won’t make you a millionaire overnight, of course, but it’s a perfectly respectable place to park one’s funds. A bit of a steady eddy in the turbulent sea of finance, if you will.

Read More

2026-01-29 01:33