At t inc телекоммуникационные компании сша

This article is about the company known as AT&T since 2005. For the original AT&T (American Telephone and Telegraph) founded in 1885, see AT&T Corporation. For the telephone company founded in 1882, see Southwestern Bell. For other uses, see AT&T (disambiguation).

AT&T Inc.

Logo since 2016
AT&T’s corporate headquarters in Dallas, Texas
Formerly	Southwestern Bell Corporation (1983–1995) SBC Communications Inc.[1] (1995–2005)
Type	Public
Traded as	NYSE: T S&P 100 component S&P 500 component
ISIN	US00206R1023
Industry	Telecommunications Technology
Predecessors	AT&T Corporation BellSouth Ameritech Pacific Telesis Southwestern Bell
Founded	October 5, 1983; 39 years ago[2]
Founders	Alexander Graham Bell Gardiner Greene Hubbard[3]
Headquarters	Whitacre Tower, Dallas, Texas , U.S.
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	William Kennard (Chairman) John Stankey (CEO)
Products	Satellite television Fixed-line telephones Mobile telephones Internet services
Revenue	US$120.74 billion (2022)
Operating income	US$−4.59 billion (2022)
Net income	US$−8.52 billion (2022)
Total assets	US$402.85 billion (2022)
Total equity	US$106.46 billion (2022)
Number of employees	160,700 (Jan. 2023)
Divisions	AT&T Communications AT&T Corporation AT&T Mexico
Subsidiaries	DirecTV (70%)
Website	att.com
Footnotes / references [4]

AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas.^[5] It is the world’s largest telecommunications company by revenue and the third largest provider of mobile telephone services in the U.S.^[6][7] As of 2022, AT&T was ranked 13th on the Fortune 500 rankings of the largest United States corporations, with revenues of $168.8 billion.^[8]

During most of the 20th century, AT&T had a monopoly on phone service in the United States. The company began its history as the American District Telegraph Company, formed in St. Louis in 1878.^[9] After expanding services to Arkansas, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas, through a series of mergers, it became Southwestern Bell Telephone Company in 1920, which was then a subsidiary of American Telephone and Telegraph Company.^[10] The latter was a successor of the original Bell Telephone Company founded by Alexander Graham Bell in 1877.^[11][12] The American Bell Telephone Company formed the American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T) subsidiary in 1885.^[13] In 1899, AT&T became the parent company after the American Bell Telephone Company sold its assets to its subsidiary.^[14] The company was rebranded as AT&T Corp. in 1994.^[15] The 1982 United States v. AT&T antitrust lawsuit resulted in the divestiture of AT&T’s («Ma Bell») local operating subsidiaries^[16] which were grouped into seven^[17] Regional Bell Operating Companies (RBOCs), commonly referred to as «Baby Bells», resulting in seven independent companies,^[17] including Southwestern Bell Corporation (SBC).^[18] The latter changed its name to SBC Communications Inc. in 1995.^[19]

In 2005, SBC purchased its former parent AT&T Corp. and took on its branding, with the merged entity naming itself AT&T Inc. and using its history, a version of its iconic logo and stock-trading symbol which launched on December 30, 2005.^[20] AT&T Inc. acquired BellSouth Corporation in 2006, the last independent Baby Bell company, making its formerly joint venture Cingular Wireless (which had acquired AT&T Wireless in 2004) wholly owned and rebranding it as AT&T Mobility. AT&T Inc. also acquired Time Warner in 2016,^[21][22] with the proposed merger confirming on June 12, 2018^[23] and the aim of making AT&T the largest and controlling shareholder of Time Warner and rebranding it as WarnerMedia in 2018. The company later withdrew its equity stake in WarnerMedia in 2022 and merged it with Discovery, Inc. to create Warner Bros. Discovery, divesting itself of its media arm.

The current AT&T reconstitutes much of the former Bell System, and includes four of the seven «Baby Bells» along with the original AT&T Corp., including the long-distance division.^[24]

History[edit]

Origin and growth (1885–1981)[edit]

AT&T was founded as Bell Telephone Company by Alexander Graham Bell, Thomas Watson and Gardiner Greene Hubbard after Bell’s patenting of the telephone in 1875.^[25] By 1881, Bell Telephone Company had become the American Bell Telephone Company.^[26] One of its subsidiaries was the American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T), established in 1885.^[27] On December 30, 1899, AT&T acquired the assets of its parent American Bell Telephone, becoming the new parent company.^[28] AT&T established a network of local telephone subsidiaries in the United States. AT&T and its subsidiaries held a phone service monopoly, authorized in 1913 by government authorities with the Kingsbury Commitment, throughout most of the twentieth century.^[29] This monopoly was known as the Bell System,^[30] and during this period, AT&T was also known by the nickname Ma Bell.^[31]

Breakup and reformation (1982–2004)[edit]

In 1982, U.S. regulators broke up the AT&T monopoly, requiring AT&T to divest its local subsidiaries, which it did by grouping them into seven individual companies.^[32] These new companies were known as Regional Bell Operating Companies, or more informally, Baby Bells.^[33] AT&T continued to operate long-distance services but faced increasing competition from overseas supplied competitors such as MCI and Sprint.^[34]

Southwestern Bell Corporation (SBC) was one of the companies created by the breakup of AT&T Corp.^[35] The company soon started a series of acquisitions, including the 1987 acquisition of Metromedia mobile business and the acquisition of several cable companies in the early 1990s.^{[citation needed]} In the latter half of the 1990s, the company acquired several other telecommunications companies, including two Baby Bells (Pacific Telesis Group and Ameritech Corporation),^[36] while selling its cable business. During this time, the company changed its name to SBC Communications Inc.^[37] In early 1997 C. Michael Armstrong was named CEO, and Armstrong appointed John Zeglis as president later in that same year. By 1998, the company was in the top 15 of the Fortune 500, and by 1999, when Zeglis assumed the positions of chairman and CEO of AT&T Wireless, AT&T was part of the Dow Jones Industrial Average (lasting through 2015).^[38][39] Zeglis ended his service as president of AT&T in 2001 and resigned from his positions in AT&T Wireless in 2004.

Purchase of former parent and acquisitions (2005–2013)[edit]

On November 18, 2005, SBC Communications, Inc.based in San Antonio, purchased AT&T Corp. for $16 billion.^[40] After this purchase, SBC adopted the better-known AT&T name and brand, with the original AT&T Corp. still existing as the long-distance landline subsidiary of the merged company.^[41] The current AT&T Inc. claims the original AT&T Corp.’s history (dating to 1877) as its own,^[42] but retains SBC’s pre-2005 corporate structure and stock price history. As well, all SEC filings before 2005 are under SBC, not AT&T.

AT&T made an attempt in 2011 to purchase T-Mobile for a $39 billion stock and cash offer.^[43] The bid was withdrawn after the takeover company was faced with significant regulatory and legal hurdles, along with heavy resistance from the U.S. government. As per the original acquisition agreement, T-Mobile received $3 billion in cash as well as access to $1 billion worth of AT&T-held wireless spectrum.^[44][45]

In September 2013, AT&T announced it would expand into Latin America through a collaboration with América Móvil.^[46] In December 2013, AT&T announced plans to sell its Connecticut wireline operations to Stamford-based Frontier Communications.^[47]

AT&T acquired BellSouth Corporation on December 29, 2006, following FCC approval.^[48] The transaction consolidated ownership and management of Cingular Wireless.^[49] AT&T rebranded its wireless retail stores from Cingular to AT&T in January 2007.^[50]

Recent developments (2013–present)[edit]

In late 2014, AT&T purchased Mexican cellular carrier Iusacell,^[51] and two months later, it purchased the Mexican wireless business of NII Holdings.^[52] AT&T merged the two companies to create AT&T Mexico.^[53]

In July 2015, AT&T purchased DirecTV for $48.5 billion.^[54][55][56] AT&T then announced plans to converge its existing U-verse home internet and IPTV brands with DirecTV, to create AT&T Entertainment.^[57][58][59]

On October 22, 2016, AT&T announced a deal to buy Time Warner for $108.7 billion in an effort to increase its media holdings.^{[60][61][62][63][64][65]} On November 20, 2017, Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim filed a lawsuit for the United States Department of Justice Antitrust Division to block the merger with Time Warner, saying it «will harm competition, result in higher bills for consumers and less innovation.»^[66][67] On June 12, 2018, U.S. District Court Judge Richard J. Leon ruled that the merger could go forward.^[68] The merger closed two days afterwards, with Time Warner becoming a wholly owned subsidiary of AT&T. A day later, the company was renamed WarnerMedia.^[69][70] Among other key assets, the acquisition of WarnerMedia by AT&T included the Warner Bros. film and television studios, U.S. cable/satellite channels such as HBO, Adult Swim, Boomerang, Cartoon Network, CNN, TBS, TNT, TruTV, Turner Classic Movies and a 50% stake in The CW (ViacomCBS, now Paramount Global, owns the other 50%).

Three months after completing the acquisition, AT&T reorganized into four main units: Communications, including consumer and business wireline telephony, AT&T Mobility, and consumer entertainment video services; WarnerMedia, including Turner cable television networks, Warner Bros. film and television production, and HBO; AT&T Latin America, consisting of wireless service in Mexico and video in Latin America and the Caribbean under the Vrio brand; and Advertising and Analytics, since renamed Xandr.^[71][72]

On July 13, 2017, it was reported that AT&T would introduce a cloud-based DVR streaming service as part of its effort to create a unified platform across DirecTV and its DirecTV Now streaming service, with U-verse to be added soon.^[73][74][75] The service, named HBO Max, launched in May 2020.^[76]

On September 12, 2017, it was reported that AT&T planned to launch a new cable TV-like service for delivery over-the-top over its own or a competitor’s broadband network sometime the following year.^[77]

On March 7, 2018, the company prepared to sell a minority stake of DirecTV Latin America through an IPO, creating a new holding company for those assets named Vrio Corp.^[78][79] However, on April 18, just a day before the public debut of Vrio, AT&T canceled the IPO due to market conditions.^[80][81]

As of 2019, AT&T is the world’s largest telecommunications company.^[82] AT&T is also the largest provider of mobile telephone^[83][84] services and the largest provider of fixed telephone services in the United States.^[85]

In September 2019, activist investor Elliott Management revealed that it had purchased $3.2 billion of AT&T stock (a 1.2% equity interest), and had pushed for the company to divest assets to improve its share value.^[86]

On March 4, 2020, AT&T announced its intent to perform major cost-cutting moves, including cuts to capital investment, and plans to promote AT&T TV (which officially launched nationally on March 2) as its primary pay television service offering. AT&T stated it would still primarily promote DirecTV «where cable broadband is not prevalent», and as a specialty option.^[87]

On April 24, 2020, AT&T announced that effective July 1, 2020, company COO John Stankey would replace Randall L. Stephenson as CEO of AT&T.^[88] It was also acknowledged that AT&T’s acquisitions of DirecTV and Time Warner had by this point resulted in a massive debt burden of $200 billion for the company.^[88]

As a result of planned cost cutting programs, the sale of Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment was proposed, but ultimately abandoned due to COVID-19 pandemic-related growth in the Gaming industry, as well as a positive reception to upcoming DC Comics, Lego Star Wars, and Harry Potter titles from fans and critics.^[89]

Crunchyroll was sold to Sony’s Funimation for US$1.175 billion in December 2020, with the acquisition closing in August 2021.^[90][91]

On February 25, 2021, AT&T announced that it would spin-off DirecTV, U-Verse TV, and DirecTV Stream into a separate entity, selling a 30% stake to TPG Capital (owners of Astound Broadband cable), while retaining a 70% stake in the new standalone company. The deal was closed on August 2, 2021.^[92][93]

On May 17, 2021, AT&T announced plans to relinquish its equity interest in WarnerMedia, and have it merge with Discovery, Inc. in a US$43 billion deal to establish a new media company.^[94]

Electronic Arts, which was a bidder in the proposed sale of Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment, purchased the mobile gaming studio Playdemic from WBIE for US$1.4 billion in June 2021.^[95]

In September 2021, Fox Corporation acquired TMZ from WarnerMedia in a deal worth about $50 million with TMZ being operated under the Fox Entertainment division.^[96]

On December 21, 2021, AT&T announced that they had agreed to sell Xandr (and AppNexus) to Microsoft for an undisclosed price.^[97] The deal was completed in June 2022.^[98]

On April 8, 2022, the spinoff of WarnerMedia and its subsequent merger with Discovery, Inc. to form Warner Bros. Discovery was completed.^[99] As a result of this merger, HBO Max and other video services were dropped from AT&T’s unlimited plan offering.^[100]

Landline operating companies[edit]

Of the eight companies that were part of the Breakup of the Bell System, these five are a part of the current AT&T:^[101]

• Ameritech, acquired by SBC in 1999
• AT&T Corp., acquired by SBC in 2005
• BellSouth, acquired by AT&T in 2006
• Pacific Telesis, acquired by SBC in 1997
• Southwestern Bell, rebranded as SBC Communications in 1995

Chart of AT&T Baby Bells[edit]

AT&T Corporation RBOC grouped into «Baby Bells» split off in 1984

BellSouth

AT&T Corporation (non-LEC)

Ameritech

Pacific Telesis

Southwestern Bell (later SBC Communications)

Bell Atlantic

NYNEX

US West

GTE (non-RBOC ILEC)

Qwest (non-ILEC)

Verizon

AT&T (former SBC)

CenturyLink (non-RBOC ILEC)

AT&T

Verizon

Lumen Technologies

Former operating companies[edit]

The following companies have become defunct or were sold under SBC/AT&T ownership:

• Southern New England Telephone: sold to Frontier Communications in 2014.^[102]
  • Woodbury Telephone: merged into Southern New England Telephone on June 1, 2007.^[103]

Decline of rural landlines[edit]

Of the Baby Bells, Ameritech sold some of its Wisconsin landlines to CenturyTel, in 1998; BellSouth sold some of its lines to MebTel, during the 2000s; US West sold many historically Bell landlines to Lynch Communications and Pacific Telecom, in the 1990s; Verizon sold many of its New England lines to FairPoint, in 2008, and its West Virginia operations to Frontier Communications, in 2010.

On October 25, 2014, Frontier Communications took over control of the AT&T landline network in Connecticut after being approved by state utility regulators. The deal was worth about $2 billion, and included Frontier inheriting about 2,500 of AT&T’s employees and many of AT&T’s buildings.^[104]

Corporate structure[edit]

Facilities and regions[edit]

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (November 2016)

The company is headquartered at Whitacre Tower in downtown Dallas, Texas.^[5] On June 27, 2008, AT&T announced that it would move its corporate headquarters from downtown San Antonio to One AT&T Plaza in downtown Dallas.^[5][105] The company said that it moved to gain better access to its customers and operations throughout the world, and to the key technology partners, suppliers, innovation and human resources needed as it continues to grow, domestically and internationally.^[106] AT&T Inc. previously relocated its corporate headquarters to San Antonio from St. Louis, Missouri, in 1992, when it was then named Southwestern Bell Corporation. The company’s Telecom Operations group, which serves residential and regional business customers in 22 U.S. states, remains in San Antonio.^[107][108] Atlanta, Georgia, continues to be the headquarters for AT&T Mobility, with significant offices in Redmond, Washington, the former home of AT&T Wireless. Bedminster, New Jersey, is the headquarters for the company’s Global Business Services group and AT&T Labs and is where the original AT&T Corp. remains located. St. Louis continues as home to the company’s Directory operations, AT&T Advertising Solutions.^[109]

AT&T also offers services in many locations throughout the Asia Pacific; its regional headquarters is located in Hong Kong.^[110] The company is also active in Mexico, and on November 7, 2014, it was announced that Mexican carrier Iusacell would be acquired by AT&T.^[51] The acquisition was approved in January 2015.^[111][112] On April 30, 2015, AT&T acquired wireless operations Nextel Mexico from NII Holdings (now AT&T Mexico).^[113]

Corporate governance[edit]

AT&T’s current board of directors as of April 2022:^[114]

The current management as of April 2022 includes:^[115]

• John Stankey – Chief executive officer
• Thaddeus Arroyo – Chief Strategy and Development Officer
• Pascal Desroches – Senior Executive Vice President & Chief financial officer
• Ed Gillespie – Senior Executive Vice President — External and Legislative Affairs
• David S. Huntley – Senior Executive Vice President & Chief compliance officer
• Kellyn Smith Kenny – Chief Marketing & Growth Officer
• Lori Lee – CEO – AT&T Latin America & Global Marketing Officer
• Jeremy Legg – Chief Technology Officer, AT&T Services, Inc.
• David R. McAtee II – Senior Executive Vice President and General counsel
• Jeff McElfresh – CEO, AT&T Communications
• Angela Santone – Senior Executive Vice President – Human resources

Political involvement[edit]

This section needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (June 2018)

According to OpenSecrets, AT&T was the fourteenth-largest donor to United States federal political campaigns and committees from 1989 to 2019,^[116] having contributed more than US$84.1 million, 42% of which went to Republicans and 58% of which went to Democrats. As an example, in 2005, AT&T was among 53 entities that contributed the maximum of $250,000 to the second inauguration of President George W. Bush.^{[117][118][119]} Bill Leahy, representing AT&T, sits on the Private Enterprise Board of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).^[120] ALEC is a nonprofit organization of conservative state legislators and private sector representatives that drafts and shares model state-level legislation for distribution among state governments in the United States.^{[121][122][123]}

During the period of 1998 to 2019, the company expended US$380.1 million on lobbying in the United States.^[124] A key political issue for AT&T has been the question of which businesses win the right to profit by providing broadband internet access in the United States.^[125] The company has also lobbied in support of several federal bills. AT&T supported the Federal Communications Commission Process Reform Act of 2013 (H.R. 3675; 113th Congress), a bill that would make a number of changes to procedures that the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) follows in its rulemaking processes.^[126] The FCC would have to act in a more transparent way as a result of this bill, forced to accept public input about regulations.^[127] AT&T’s Executive Vice President of Federal Relations, Tim McKone, said that the bill’s «much needed institutional reforms will help arm the agency with the tools to keep pace with the Internet speed of today’s marketplace. It will also ensure that outmoded regulatory practices for today’s competitive marketplace are properly placed in the dustbin of history.»^[128]

In May 2018, reports emerged that AT&T made 12 monthly payments between January and December 2017 to Essential Consultants, a company set up by President Donald Trump’s lawyer Michael Cohen, totaling $600,000.^[129] Although initial reports on May 8 mentioned only four monthly payments totaling $200,000,^[130] documents obtained by the Washington Post on May 10 confirmed the figure of 12 payments, which had begun three days after the President was sworn into office.^[131][132] AT&T confirmed the report the same day.^[133] The report from The Washington Post, as well as additional reporting from Bloomberg, revealed the payments had been made for Cohen to «provide guidance» relating to the attempted $85 billion merger with Time Warner,^[131][132] to gain information on the Trump administration’s planned tax reforms, as well as about potential changes to net neutrality policies under the new FCC.^[134] However, Chairman of the FCC Ajit Pai denied Cohen ever inquired about net neutrality on AT&T’s behalf.^[133][135] A spokesperson for AT&T said that the company had been contacted by the Special Counsel investigation led by Robert Mueller regarding the payments, and had provided all the information requested in November and December 2017.^[136][137]

In early 2019, the Democratic House Judiciary requested records related to the AT&T-Time Warner merger from the White House.^[138]

While it has expressed support for LGBTQ causes, AT&T has also donated to sponsors of anti-transgender legislation in several US states, especially those predominantly Republican-governed, including Arkansas, Tennessee, North Carolina, Texas and Florida.^{[139][140][141]}

Historical financial performance[edit]

The financial performance of the company is reported to shareholders on an annual basis and a matter of public record. Where performance has been restated, the most recent statement of performance from an annual report is used.^{[142][143][144][145][146][147][148][149][150][151][152]}

Performance measurements, by year

Measurement	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019
Revenues (billion USD)	45.38	43.14	40.50	40.79	43.86	63.06	118.9	124.0	122.5	124.8	126.7	127.4	128.8	132.4	146.8	163.8	160.5	170.8	181.2
Net Income (billion USD)	7.008	5.653	8.505	5.887	4.786	7.356	11.95	12.87	12.14	19.86	3.944	7.264	18.25	6.224	13.69	13.33	29.85	19.37	13.90
Assets (billion USD)	96.42	95.17	102.0	110.3	145.6	270.6	275.6	265.2	268.3	268.5	270.3	272.3	277.8	292.8	402.7	403.8	444.1	531.9	551.7
Number of employees (thousands)	193.4	175.0	168.0	162.7	190.0	304.2	309.1	302.7	282.7	266.6	256.4	241.8	243.4	243.6	281.5	268.5	254.0	268.2	247.8

Carbon footprint[edit]

AT&T reported Total CO2e emissions (Direct + Indirect) for the twelve months ending 31 December 2020 at 5,788 Kt (-737 /-11.3% y-o-y)^[153] and plans to reduce emissions by 63% by 2030 from a 2015 base year.^[154] This science-based target is aligned with Paris Agreement to limit global warming to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels.^[155]

AT&T’s annual Total CO2e Emissions — Market-Based Scope 1 + Scope 2 (in kilotonnes)

Dec 2015	Dec 2017	Dec 2018	Dec 2019	Dec 2020
8,829[156]	7,801[157]	7,749[158]	6,525[159]	5,788[153]

Criticism and controversies[edit]

Hemisphere database[edit]

The company maintains a database of call detail records of all telephone calls that have passed through its network since 1987. AT&T employees work at High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area offices (operated by the Office of National Drug Control Policy) in Los Angeles, Atlanta, and Houston so data can be quickly turned over to law enforcement agencies. Records are requested via an administrative subpoena, without the involvement of a court or grand jury.

Censorship[edit]

In September 2007, AT&T changed its legal policy to state that «AT&T may immediately terminate or suspend all or a portion of your Service, any Member ID, electronic mail address, IP address, Universal Resource Locator or domain name used by you, without notice for conduct that AT&T believes … (c) tends to damage the name or reputation of AT&T, or its parents, affiliates and subsidiaries.»^[160] By October 10, 2007, AT&T had altered the terms and conditions for its Internet service to explicitly support freedom of expression by its subscribers, after an outcry claiming the company had given itself the right to censor its subscribers’ transmissions.^[161]

Privacy controversy[edit]

In 2006, the Electronic Frontier Foundation lodged the class action lawsuit Hepting v. AT&T, which alleged that AT&T had allowed agents of the National Security Agency (NSA) to monitor phone and Internet communications of AT&T customers without warrants. If true, this would violate the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 and the First and Fourth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution. AT&T has yet to confirm or deny that monitoring by the NSA is occurring. In April 2006, retired former AT&T technician Mark Klein lodged an affidavit supporting this allegation.^[163][164] The Department of Justice stated it would intervene in this lawsuit by means of State Secrets Privilege.^[165]

In July 2006, the United States District Court for the Northern District of California – in which the suit was filed – rejected a federal government motion to dismiss the case. The motion to dismiss, which invoked the State Secrets Privilege, had argued that any court review of the alleged partnership between the federal government and AT&T would harm national security. The case was immediately appealed to the Ninth Circuit. It was dismissed on June 3, 2009, citing retroactive legislation in the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.^[166][167]

In May 2006, USA Today reported that all international and domestic calling records had been handed over to the National Security Agency by AT&T, Verizon, SBC, and BellSouth for the purpose of creating a massive calling database.^[168] The portions of the new AT&T that had been part of SBC Communications before November 18, 2005, were not mentioned.

On June 21, 2006, the San Francisco Chronicle reported that AT&T had rewritten rules on its privacy policy. The policy, which took effect June 23, 2006, says that «AT&T – not customers – owns customers’ confidential info and can use it ‘to protect its legitimate business interests, safeguard others, or respond to legal process.'»^[169]

On August 22, 2007, National Intelligence Director Mike McConnell confirmed that AT&T was one of the telecommunications companies that assisted with the government’s warrantless wire-tapping program on calls between foreign and domestic sources.^[170]

On November 8, 2007, Mark Klein, a former AT&T technician, told Keith Olbermann of MSNBC that all Internet traffic passing over AT&T lines was copied into a locked room at the company’s San Francisco office – to which only employees with National Security Agency clearance had access.^[171]

AT&T keeps for five to seven years a record of who text messages whom and the date and time, but not the content of the messages.^[172]

AT&T has a one star privacy rating from the Electronic Frontier Foundation.^[173]

Copyright enforcement[edit]

In January 2008, reports emerged that the company planned to begin filtering all Internet traffic which passed through its network for intellectual property violations.^[174] Media commentators speculated that if this plan was implemented, it would have led to a mass exodus of subscribers from AT&T,^[175] although Internet traffic of non-subscribers may have gone through the company’s network anyway.^[174] Internet freedom proponents used these developments as justification for government-mandated network neutrality.

Under AT&T’s current copyright enforcement program, content owners may notify AT&T when they allege unlawful sharing of material. The program is based on IP addresses visible to content owners in peer-to-peer networks, not on filtering. AT&T has terminated the broadband service of some customers accused of copyright infringement.^[176]

Discrimination against local public-access television channels[edit]

In 2009 AT&T was accused by community media groups of discriminating against local public, educational, and government access (PEG) cable TV channels, by «impictions that will severely restrict the audience».^[177]

According to Barbara Popovic, executive director of the Chicago public-access service CAN-TV, the new AT&T U-verse system forced all Public-access television into a special menu system, denying normal functionality such as channel numbers, access to the standard program guide, and DVR recording.^[177] The Ratepayer Advocates division of the California Public Utilities Commission reported: «Instead of putting the stations on individual channels, AT&T has bundled community stations into a generic channel that can only be navigated through a complex and lengthy process.»^[177]

Sue Buske (president of telecommunications consulting firm the Buske Group and a former head of the National Federation of Local Cable Programmers/Alliance for Community Media) argue that this is «an overall attack […] on public access across the [United States], the place in the dial around cities and communities where people can make their own media in their own communities».^[177]

Information security[edit]

In June 2010, a hacker group known as Goatse Security discovered a vulnerability within AT&T that could allow anyone to uncover email addresses belonging to customers of AT&T 3G service for the Apple iPad.^[178] These email addresses could be accessed without a protective password.^[179] Using a script, Goatse Security collected thousands of email addresses from AT&T.^[178] Goatse Security informed AT&T about the security flaw through a third party.^[180] Goatse Security then disclosed around 114,000 of these emails to Gawker Media, which published an article about the security flaw and disclosure in Valleywag.^[178][180] Praetorian Security Group criticized the web application that Goatse Security exploited as «poorly designed».^[178]

In April 2015, AT&T was fined $25 million over data security breaches, marking the largest ever fine issued by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for breaking data privacy laws. The investigation revealed the theft of details of approximately 280,000 people from call centres in Mexico, Colombia and the Philippines.^[181][182]

Accusations of enabling fraud[edit]

In March 2012, the United States federal government announced a lawsuit against AT&T. The specific accusations state that AT&T «violated the False Claims Act by facilitating and seeking federal payment for IP Relay calls by international callers who were ineligible for the service and sought to use it for fraudulent purposes. The complaint alleges that, out of fears that fraudulent call volume would drop after the registration deadline, AT&T knowingly adopted a non-compliant registration system that did not verify whether the user was located within the United States. The complaint further contends that AT&T continued to employ this system even with the knowledge that it facilitated the use of IP Relay by fraudulent foreign callers, which accounted for up to 95 percent of AT&T’s call volume. The government’s complaint alleges that AT&T improperly billed the TRS Fund for reimbursement of these calls and received millions of dollars in federal payments as a result.»^[183] In 2013, AT&T entered into a consent decree with the FCC and paid a total of $21.75 million.^[184]

Aaron Slator controversy[edit]

On April 28, 2015, AT&T announced that it had fired Aaron Slator, President of Content and Advertising Sales, for sending text messages critics described as racist.^[185] African-American employee Knoyme King filed a $100 million defamation lawsuit against Slator.^[186] The day before that, protesters arrived at AT&T’s headquarters in Dallas and its satellite offices in Los Angeles as well as at the home of CEO Randall Stephenson to protest alleged systemic racial policies. According to accounts, the protesters demanded that AT&T begin working with 100% black-owned media companies.^[187]

On January 24, 2017, Slator sued AT&T in the Los Angeles Superior Court, accusing the company of defamation and wrongful termination. Slator had been involved in organizing AT&T’s planned $48.5 billion acquisition of DirecTV since 2014, and he claimed that when news headlines speculated that his text messages could prevent the acquisition from going through, he was fired as a «scapegoat» by company executives. He also claimed that the executives had known about the text messages since at least late 2013, and had promised him at the time that he would not be fired for them.^[188][189] The company stood by its decision to terminate Slator.^[190]

Overcharging government agencies[edit]

In 2020 AT&T paid out $48 million to settle a lawsuit with 30 government entities. The suit (under the California False Claims Act) related to contractual undertakings to provide services at «the lowest cost available». AT&T denied any wrongdoing in the matter.^[191]

One America News Network[edit]

An investigative report by Reuters in 2021 revealed that AT&T played a key role in creating, funding and sustaining One America News Network (OAN), a far-right TV network known for promoting conspiracy theories.^[192] According to 2020 sworn testimony by an OAN accountant, 90% of OAN’s revenue came from AT&T. According to OAN founder Robert Herring Sr., AT&T wanted to create a conservative network to compete with Fox News. Court documents showed OAN promised to «cast a positive light» on AT&T during newscasts. AT&T denied the allegations.^[193][194] Comedian John Oliver criticized AT&T in his weekly show for funding OAN.^[195]

Leaking data to Wall Street[edit]

In March 2021 the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed suit against AT&T and three of its executives for violating the Fair Disclosure Rule against making selective disclosures of «material nonpublic information» to analysts and others. The SEC alleged that beginning in early 2016 these executives leaked key information to Wall Street analysts in order to manipulate revenue forecasts for the company.^[196]

In December 2022, without acknowledging any guilt, AT&T agreed to pay $6.25 million in fines to settle the lawsuit. The individual executives were also on the hook for $25,000 each.^[196][197]

Naming rights and sponsorships[edit]

Buildings[edit]

• Whitacre Tower (One AT&T Plaza) – corporate headquarters, Dallas, Texas
• AT&T 220 Building – building in Indianapolis, Indiana
• AT&T Building – building in Detroit, Michigan
• AT&T Building – building in Indianapolis, Indiana
• AT&T Building – building in Kingman, Arizona
• AT&T Building – (aka «The Batman Building») in Nashville, Tennessee
• AT&T Building – building in Omaha, Nebraska
• AT&T Building Addition – building in Detroit, Michigan
• AT&T Building – building in San Diego
• AT&T Center – building in Los Angeles
• AT&T Center – building in St. Louis, Missouri
• AT&T City Center – building in Birmingham, Alabama
• AT&T Corporate Center – building in Chicago, Illinois
• AT&T Huron Road Building – skyscraper in Cleveland, Ohio
• AT&T Lenox Park Campus – AT&T Mobility Headquarters in DeKalb County just outside Atlanta, Georgia
• AT&T Midtown Center – building in Atlanta, Georgia
• AT&T Switching Center – building in Los Angeles
• AT&T Switching Center – building in Oakland, California
• AT&T Switching Center – building in San Francisco
• AT&T Tower – building in Minneapolis, Minnesota
• AT&T Building – building in Meriden, Connecticut
• AT&T Entertainment Group HQ – DirecTV corporate campus in El Segundo, California

Venues[edit]

• AT&T Center – San Antonio, Texas (formerly SBC Center)
• AT&T Field – Chattanooga, Tennessee (formerly BellSouth Park)
• AT&T Plaza – Chicago, Illinois (public space that hosts the Cloud Gate sculpture in Millennium Park)
• AT&T Performing Arts Center – Dallas, Texas
• AT&T Stadium – Arlington, Texas (formerly Dallas Cowboys Stadium)
• AT&T Stadium – Glen Jean, West Virginia (outdoor open-seating stadium at the Boy Scouts of America’s Summit Bechtel Reserve
• Jones AT&T Stadium – Lubbock, Texas (formerly Clifford B. and Audrey Jones Stadium, Jones SBC Stadium)

[edit]

• 100 Thieves^[198] (esports)
• AT&T Byron Nelson – Irving, Texas (golf)
• AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am (golf)
• AT&T Red River Showdown^[199] – Dallas, Texas (formerly «Red River Rivalry», Red River Shootout, SBC Red River Rivalry) (football)
• Capitanes de Ciudad de México (basketball)
• Chicago Bulls^[200] (basketball)
• College Football Playoff National Championship^[201]
• Dallas Stars^[202] (ice hockey)
• Houston Rockets^[200] (basketball)
• Major League Soccer and the United States Soccer Federation, including the U.S. men’s and U.S. women’s national teams and the Major League Soccer All-Star Game from 2009
• Mexico national football team
• National Collegiate Athletic Association (Corporate Champion)^[203]
• National Basketball Association,^[204] Women’s National Basketball Association,^[205] NBA G League,^[206] USA Basketball^[206] and NBA 2K League^[207] (basketball, esports)
• Red Bull Racing (Formula 1 racing team) – technical support and sponsorship, 2011 to 2020^[208]
• Cloud9, sponsorship since March 2019^[209][210]
• Club América – sponsorship since July 19, 2018

See also[edit]

References[edit]

External links[edit]

Corporate information

• Official website
• Bell Operating Companies (from Bell System Memorial)
• Business data for AT&T Inc.:
  • Google
  • SEC filings
  • Yahoo!
• AT&T History and science resources at The Franklin Institute’s Case Files online exhibit

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AT&T Inc.

AT&T’s corporate headquarters in Dallas, Texas
Formerly	Southwestern Bell Corporation (1983–1995) SBC Communications Inc.[1] (1995–2005)
Type	Public
Traded as	Template:NYSE S&P 100 component S&P 500 component
ISIN	US00206R1023
Industry	Telecommunications Technology Mass media Entertainment
Predecessor	AT&T Corporation BellSouth Ameritech Pacific Telesis Southwestern Bell
Founded	October 5, 1983; 39 years ago[2]
Headquarters	Whitacre Tower, Dallas, Texas, U.S.
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Randall L. Stephenson (Chairman and CEO) John Stankey (President and COO) John J. Stephens (SVP and CFO)
Products	Satellite television Fixed-line telephones Mobile telephones Internet services Broadband Digital television Home security IPTV OTT services Network security Film production Television production Cable television Pay television Publishing Podcasts Sports management News agency Video games
Revenue	Template:Increase US$181.756 billion (2019)
Operating income	Template:Increase US$28.096 billion (2018)
Template:Ifaffirmed	Template:Increase US$19.953 billion (2018)
Total assets	Template:Increase US$531 billion (2018)
Total equity	Template:Increase US$193.884 billion (2018)[3]
Number of employees	251,840 (2019)[4]
Divisions	AT&T Communications WarnerMedia AT&T Latin America Xandr
Website	about.att.com

AT&T Inc. is an American multinational conglomerate holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas.^[5] It is the world’s largest telecommunications company, the largest provider of mobile telephone services, and the largest provider of fixed telephone services in the United States through AT&T Communications. Since June 14, 2018, it is also the parent company of mass media conglomerate WarnerMedia, making it the world’s largest media and entertainment company in terms of revenue.^[6] As of 2018Template:Dated maintenance category, AT&T is ranked #9 on the Fortune 500 rankings of the largest United States corporations by total revenue.^[7]

AT&T began its history as Southwestern Bell Telephone Company, a subsidiary of the Bell Telephone Company, founded by Alexander Graham Bell in 1877. The Bell Telephone Company became the American Telephone and Telegraph Company in 1885 and was later rebranded as AT&T Corporation. The 1982 United States v. AT&T antitrust lawsuit resulted in the divestiture of AT&T Corporation’s («Ma Bell») subsidiaries or Regional Bell Operating Companies (RBOCs), commonly referred to as «Baby Bells», resulting in several independent companies, including Southwestern Bell Corporation; the latter changed its name to SBC Communications Inc. in 1995. In 2005, SBC purchased its former parent AT&T Corporation and took on its branding, with the merged entity naming itself AT&T Inc. and using its iconic logo and stock-trading symbol. In 2006, AT&T Inc. acquired BellSouth, the last independent Baby Bell company, making their formerly joint venture Cingular Wireless (which had acquired AT&T Wireless in 2004) wholly owned and rebranding it as AT&T Mobility.

The current AT&T reconstitutes much of the former Bell System, and includes ten of the original 22 Bell Operating Companies along with the original long distance division.^[8]

History[]

Further information: History of AT&T

Origin and growth (1885–1981)[]

See also: History of AT&T#Origins and History of AT&T#Monopoly

AT&T traces its origins to the Bell Telephone Company, founded by Alexander Graham Bell, Gardiner Greene Hubbard, and Thomas Sanders after Bell’s patenting of the telephone.^[9] One of that company’s subsidiaries was the American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T), established in 1885,^[10] which acquired the Bell Company on December 31, 1899, for legal reasons, leaving AT&T as the main company. AT&T established a network of subsidiaries in the United States and Canada that held a phone service monopoly, authorized by government authorities with the Kingsbury Commitment, throughout most of the twentieth century. This monopoly was known as the Bell System,^[11] and during this period, AT&T was also known by the nickname Ma Bell.^[12] For periods of time, the former AT&T was the world’s largest phone company.

Breakup and reformation (1982–2004)[]

See also: Breakup of the Bell System and History of AT&T#Post break-up restructuring

In 1982, U.S. regulators broke up the AT&T monopoly, requiring AT&T to divest its regional subsidiaries and turning them each into individual companies. These new companies were known as Regional Bell Operating Companies, or more informally, Baby Bells.^[13] AT&T continued to operate long distance services, but as a result of this breakup, faced competition from new competitors such as MCI and Sprint.

Southwestern Bell was one of the companies created by the breakup of AT&T Corp. The architect of divestiture for Southwestern Bell was Robert G. Pope. The company soon started a series of acquisitions. This includes the 1987 acquisition of Metromedia mobile business and the acquisition of several cable companies in the early 1990s. In the latter half of the 1990s, the company acquired several other telecommunications companies, including some Baby Bells, while selling its cable business. During this time, the company changed its name to SBC Communications. By 1998, the company was in the top 15 of the Fortune 500, and by 1999 the company was part of the Dow Jones Industrial Average (lasting through 2015).

Purchase of former parent and acquisitions (2005–2014)[]

See also: History of AT&T#Rise of SBC and History of AT&T#Post-consolidation wireless acquisitions

In 2005, SBC purchased AT&T for $16 billion. After this purchase, SBC adopted the better-known AT&T name and brand, with the original AT&T Corp. still existing as the long-distance landline subsidiary of the merged company. The current AT&T claims the original AT&T Corp.’s history (dating to 1885) as its own. However, it retains SBC’s 1983-2005 corporate structure.^[14] It also retains SBC’s pre-2005 stock price history, and all regulatory filings prior to 2005 are for Southwestern Bell/SBC, not AT&T Corp.

In September 2013, AT&T Inc. announced it would expand into Latin America through a collaboration with América Móvil.^[15] In December 2013, AT&T announced plans to sell its Connecticut wireline operations to Stamford-based Frontier Communications.^[16]

Recent developments (2014–present)[]

See also: History of AT&T#Recent developments

AT&T purchased the Mexican carrier Iusacell in late 2014,^[17] and two months later purchased the Mexican wireless business of NII Holdings,^[18] merging the two companies to create AT&T Mexico.

In July 2015, AT&T purchased DirecTV for $48.5 billion, or $67.1 billion including assumed debt,^[19] subject to certain conditions.^[20][21] AT&T subsequently announced plans to converge its existing U-verse home internet and IPTV brands with DirecTV, to create AT&T Entertainment.^[22][23][24]

On October 22, 2016, AT&T announced a deal to buy Time Warner for $108.7 billion in an effort to increase its media holdings.^{[25][26][27][28][29][30]}

AT&T also owns approximately a 2% stake in Canadian-domiciled entertainment company Lionsgate.^[31]

On July 13, 2017, it was reported that AT&T would introduce a cloud-based DVR streaming service as part of its effort to create a unified platform across DirecTV and its DirecTV Now streaming service, with U-verse to be added soon.^[32][33][34] In October 2018, it was announced that the service would launch in 2019.^[35][36] Named HBO Max, the service’s release date was pushed to 2020.^[37]

On September 12, 2017, it was reported that AT&T planned to launch a new cable TV-like service for delivery over-the-top over its own or a competitor’s broadband network sometime next year.^[38]

On November 20, 2017, Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim filed a lawsuit for the United States Department of Justice Antitrust Division to block the merger with Time Warner, saying it «will harm competition, result in higher bills for consumers and less innovation.»^[39][40] In order for AT&T to fully acquire Time Warner, the Department of Justice stated that the company must divest either DirecTV or Turner Broadcasting System.^[41]

As of 2017Template:Dated maintenance category, AT&T is the world’s largest telecommunications company.^[42] AT&T is also the largest provider of mobile telephone ^[43]
[44] services and the largest provider of fixed telephone services in the United States.
^[45]

On March 7, 2018, the company prepared to sell a minority stake of DirecTV Latin America through an IPO, creating a new holding company for those assets named Vrio Corp.^[46][47] However, on April 18, just a day before the public debut of Vrio, AT&T canceled the IPO due to market conditions.^[48][49]

On June 12, 2018, AT&T was given permission by U.S. District Court Judge Richard J. Leon to go ahead with its $85 billion deal for Time Warner. The DOJ had attempted to stop the merger fearing it would harm competition.^[50] The merger closed two days after, becoming a wholly owned subsidiary and division of AT&T with a new name, WarnerMedia, announced the next day.^[51]

Three months after completing the acquisition, AT&T reorganized into four main units: Communications, including consumer and business wireline telephony, AT&T Mobility, and consumer entertainment video services; WarnerMedia, including Turner cable television networks, Warner Bros. film and television production, and HBO; AT&T Latin America, consisting of wireless service in Mexico and video in Latin America and the Caribbean under the Vrio brand; and Advertising and Analytics, since renamed Xandr.^[52][53]

By 2019, AT&T had developed partnerships with health care providers to develop mobile health-related connectivity devices that aid in patient care. Key products include a telemetry device that monitors patient metrics, while toggling between WIFI and cellular connectivity.^[54]

In September 2019, Elliott Management published a letter outlining its proposal for a «value-creation opportunity» at AT&T. The activist investor announces that it owns $3.2 billion of AT&T stock (a 1.2% equity interest), and asserts that the company could increase its share value through divestiture of some assets.^[55][56]

AT&T Latin America[]

AT&T Latin America, LLC

Formerly	AT&T International, Inc. (2017-2018)
Type	Division
Industry	Telecommunication
Founded	2017; 6 years ago
Headquarters	Dallas, Texas, United States[57]
Area served	Latin America Mexico Colombia Brazil Peru Argentina Paraguay Uruguay Venezuela Chile Bolivia Ecuador Caribbean Guyana Trinidad and Tobago
Key people	Lori Lee (CEO)
Products	Wireless Satellite television
Revenue	Template:Decrease US$7 billion (2018)[58]
Parent	AT&T
Subsidiaries	AT&T Mexico Vrio
Website	www.att.com

AT&T Latin America (formerly AT&T International, Inc.) is a wholly owned division of AT&T which operates in Mexico and 11 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.^[59]

In 2017, AT&T announced a new AT&T International corporate division housing AT&T Mexico, DirecTV Latin America and their stakes of SKY Brazil and Sky Mexico.^[60]

In October 2016, AT&T announced a deal to acquire Time Warner worth $85.4 billion (including assumed Time Warner debt). The proposed deal would give AT&T significant holdings in the media industry; AT&T’s competitor Comcast had previously acquired NBCUniversal in a similar bid to increase its media holdings, in concert with its ownership of television and internet providers. If approved by federal regulators, the merger would bring Time Warner’s properties under the same umbrella as AT&T’s telecommunication holdings, including satellite provider DirecTV.^{[61][62]
[63]}

By the end of July, the company announced that, effective August 1, a new structure was created before the acquisition would close. On September 15, 2017, Reuters reported, citing anonymous sources, that AT&T, the owner of DIRECTV’s U.S. and Latin American divisions, had hired an advisor to consider offering AT&T Latin America on the public stock market. In November 2017, the U.S. Justice Department said it was moving to sue to block the AT&T-Time Warner merger.^[64] On November 20, 2017, the Department of Justice filed an antitrust lawsuit over the acquisition; Makan Delrahim stated that the deal would «greatly harm American consumers». AT&T asserts that this suit is a «radical and inexplicable departure from decades of antitrust precedent».^[65] On December 22, 2017, the merger agreement deadline was extended to June 21, 2018.^[66] On April 19, 2018, the IPO was cancelled. On June 12, 2018, the AT&T-Time Warner merger was approved by a federal judge.^[67] Two days later, AT&T completed the acquisition of Time Warner, and a day later the company was renamed WarnerMedia.

On September 21, 2018, AT&T reclassified it four principal divisions which includes AT&T International which now have some assets moved out like the RSNs, an also merging Consumer Mobility, Technology and Business Mobility and renamed the company as AT&T Latin America.^[52]

Landline operating companies[]

Of the eight companies that were part of the Breakup of the Bell System, these five are a part of the current AT&T:^[68]

• Ameritech, acquired by SBC in 1999
• AT&T Corp., acquired by SBC in 2005
• BellSouth, acquired by AT&T in 2006
• Pacific Telesis, acquired by SBC in 1997
• Southwestern Bell, rebranded as SBC Communications in 1995

Chart of AT&T Baby Bells[]

Template:AT&T chart

Former operating companies[]

The following companies have become defunct or were sold under SBC/AT&T ownership:

• Southern New England Telephone: sold to Frontier Communications in 2014^[69]
  • Woodbury Telephone: merged into Southern New England Telephone on June 1, 2007.^[70]

Decline of rural landlines[]

Of the Baby Bells, Ameritech sold some of its Wisconsin landlines to CenturyTel, in 1998; BellSouth sold some of its lines to MebTel, during the 2000s; U S WEST sold many historically Bell landlines to Lynch Communications and Pacific Telecom, in the 1990s; Verizon sold many of its New England lines to FairPoint, in 2008, and its West Virginia operations to Frontier Communications, in 2010.

On October 25, 2014, Frontier Communications took over control of the AT&T landline network in Connecticut after being approved by state utility regulators. The deal was worth about $2 billion, and included Frontier inheriting about 2,500 of AT&T’s employees and many of AT&T’s buildings.^[71]

Corporate structure[]

File:AT&TOrange.JPG

Facilities and regions[]

Template:Expand section

The company is headquartered at Whitacre Tower in downtown Dallas, Texas.^[5] On June 27, 2008, AT&T announced that it would move its corporate headquarters from downtown San Antonio to One AT&T Plaza in downtown Dallas.^[5][72] The company said that it moved to gain better access to its customers and operations throughout the world, and to the key technology partners, suppliers, innovation and human resources needed as it continues to grow, domestically and internationally.^[73] AT&T Inc. previously relocated its corporate headquarters to San Antonio from St. Louis, Missouri, in 1992, when it was then named Southwestern Bell Corporation. The company’s Telecom Operations group, which serves residential and regional business customers in 22 U.S. states, remains in San Antonio.Template:Citation needed Atlanta, Georgia, continues to be the headquarters for AT&T Mobility, with significant offices in Redmond, Washington, the former home of AT&T Wireless. Bedminster, New Jersey, is the headquarters for the company’s Global Business Services group and AT&T Labs, and is where the original AT&T Corp. remains located. St. Louis continues as home to the company’s Directory operations, AT&T Advertising Solutions.^[74]

AT&T offers also services in many locations throughout the Asia Pacific; its regional headquarters is located in Hong Kong.^[75] The company is also active in Mexico, and on November 7, 2014, it was announced that Mexican carrier Iusacell would be acquired by AT&T.^[17] The acquisition was approved in January 2015.Template:Citation needed^[76][77] On April 30, 2015, AT&T acquired wireless operations Nextel Mexico from NII Holdings (now AT&T Mexico).^[78]

Corporate governance[]

File:Randall Stephenson, CEO of AT&T.jpg

See also: Category:AT&T people

AT&T’s current board of directors as of May 2019Template:Dated maintenance category:^[79]

The current management as of October 2019Template:Dated maintenance category includes:^[80]

• Randall L. Stephenson – chief executive officer (CEO)
• Angela Santone- chief administrative officer (CAO)
• William A. Blase, Jr. – senior executive vice president of human resources
• John J. Stephens – senior executive vice president and chief financial officer (CFO)
• David S. Huntley – senior executive vice president and chief compliance officer
• David R. McAtee II – senior executive vice president and general counsel
• Lori Lee – CEO of AT&T Latin America and global marketing officer
• John Stankey – president and COO of AT&T Inc., CEO of WarnerMedia

Political involvement[]

Template:Outdated section

According to the Center for Responsive Politics, AT&T was the fourteenth-largest donor to United States federal political campaigns and committees from 1989 to 2019,^[81] having contributed more than US$84.1 million, 58% of which went to Republicans and 42% of which went to Democrats. As an example, in 2005, AT&T was among 53 entities that contributed the maximum of $250,000 to the second inauguration of President George W. Bush.^[82][83][84] Bill Leahy, representing AT&T, sits on the Private Enterprise Board of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).^[85] ALEC is a nonprofit organization of conservative state legislators and private sector representatives that drafts and shares model state-level legislation for distribution among state governments in the United States.^[86][87][88]

During the period of 1998 to 2019, the company expended US$380.1 million on lobbying in the United States.^[89] A key political issue for AT&T has been the question of which businesses win the right to profit by providing broadband internet access in the United States.^[90] The company has also lobbied in support of several federal bills. AT&T supported the Federal Communications Commission Process Reform Act of 2013 (H.R. 3675; 113th Congress), a bill that would make a number of changes to procedures that the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) follows in its rulemaking processes.^[91] The FCC would have to act in a more transparent way as a result of this bill, forced to accept public input about regulations.^[92] AT&T’s Executive Vice President of Federal Relations, Tim McKone, said that the bill’s «much needed institutional reforms will help arm the agency with the tools to keep pace with the Internet speed of today’s marketplace. It will also ensure that outmoded regulatory practices for today’s competitive marketplace are properly placed in the dustbin of history.»^[93]

In May 2018, reports emerged that AT&T made 12 monthly payments between January and December 2017 to Essential Consultants, a company set up by President Donald Trump‘s lawyer Michael Cohen, totaling $600,000.^[94] Although initial reports on May 8 mentioned only four monthly payments totaling $200,000,^[95] documents obtained by the Washington Post on May 10 confirmed the figure of 12 payments, which had begun three days after the President was sworn into office.^[96][97] AT&T confirmed the report the same day.^[98] The report from the Washington Post, as well as additional reporting from Bloomberg, revealed the payments had been made for Cohen to «provide guidance» relating to the attempted $85 billion merger with Time Warner,^[96][97] to gain information on the Trump administration’s planned tax reforms, as well as about potential changes to net neutrality policies under the new FCC.^[99] However, Chairman of the FCC Ajit Pai denied Cohen ever inquired about net neutrality on AT&T’s behalf.^[98][100] A spokesperson for AT&T said that the company had been contacted by the Special Counsel investigation led by Robert Mueller regarding the payments, and had provided all the information requested in November and December 2017.^[101][102]

In early 2019, the Democratic House Judiciary requested records related to the AT&T-Time Warner merger from the White House.^[103]

Historical financial performance[]

The financial performance of the company is reported to shareholders on an annual basis and a matter of public record. Where performance has been restated, the most recent statement of performance from an annual report is used.^{[104][105][106][107]}

Year	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016
Revenues (billion USD)	45.38	42.82	40.50	40.79	43.86	63.06	118.9	124.0	122.5	124.8	126.7	127.4	128.8	132.4	146.8	163.8
Net Income (billion USD)	7.008	5.653	8.505	5.887	4.768	7.356	11.95	12.87	12.12	19.09	3.944	7.264	18.25	6.224	13.69	13.33
Assets (billion USD)	96.42	95.17	102.0	110.3	145.6	270.6	275.6	265.2	268.3	268.5	270.3	272.3	277.8	292.8	402.7	403.8
Number of employees (thousands)	193.4	175.0	168.0	162.7	190.0	304.2	309.1	302.7	282.7	266.6	256.4	241.8	243.4	243.6	281.5	268.5

Criticism and controversies[]

Hemisphere database[]

Main article: Hemisphere Project

The company maintains a database of call detail records of all telephone calls that have passed through its network since 1987. AT&T employees work at High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area offices (operated by the Office of National Drug Control Policy) in Los Angeles, Atlanta, and Houston so data can be quickly turned over to law enforcement agencies. Records are requested via administrative subpoena, without the involvement of a court or grand jury.

Censorship[]

In September 2007, AT&T changed its legal policy to state that «AT&T may immediately terminate or suspend all or a portion of your Service,^[108] any Member ID, electronic mail address, IP address, Universal Resource Locator or domain name used by you, without notice for conduct that AT&T believes … (c) tends to damage the name or reputation of AT&T, or its parents, affiliates and subsidiaries.»^[109] By October 10, 2007, AT&T had altered the terms and conditions for its Internet service to explicitly support freedom of expression by its subscribers, after an outcry claiming the company had given itself the right to censor its subscribers’ transmissions.^[110] Section 5.1 of AT&T’s new terms of service now reads «AT&T respects freedom of expression and believes it is a foundation of our free society to express differing points of view. AT&T will not terminate, disconnect or suspend service because of the views you or we express on public policy matters, political issues or political campaigns.»^[111]

Privacy controversy[]

File:Page9-SER klein exhibits.jpg

Further information: NSA call database, Mark Klein, NSA warrantless surveillance controversy, and Hepting v. AT&T

In 2006, the Electronic Frontier Foundation lodged the class action lawsuit Hepting v. AT&T, which alleged that AT&T had allowed agents of the National Security Agency (NSA) to monitor phone and Internet communications of AT&T customers without warrants. If true, this would violate the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 and the First and Fourth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution. AT&T has yet to confirm or deny that monitoring by the NSA is occurring. In April 2006, retired former AT&T technician Mark Klein lodged an affidavit supporting this allegation.^[113][114] The Department of Justice has stated it will intervene in this lawsuit by means of State Secrets Privilege.^[115]

In July 2006, the United States District Court for the Northern District of California – in which the suit was filed – rejected a federal government motion to dismiss the case. The motion to dismiss, which invoked the State Secrets Privilege, had argued that any court review of the alleged partnership between the federal government and AT&T would harm national security. The case was immediately appealed to the Ninth Circuit. It was dismissed on June 3, 2009, citing retroactive legislation in the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.Template:Citation needed ^[116]

In May 2006, USA Today reported that all international and domestic calling records had been handed over to the National Security Agency by AT&T, Verizon, SBC, and BellSouth for the purpose of creating a massive calling database.^[117] The portions of the new AT&T that had been part of SBC Communications before November 18, 2005, were not mentioned.

On June 21, 2006, the San Francisco Chronicle reported that AT&T had rewritten rules on its privacy policy. The policy, which took effect June 23, 2006, says that «AT&T – not customers – owns customers’ confidential info and can use it ‘to protect its legitimate business interests, safeguard others, or respond to legal process.'»^[118]

On August 22, 2007, National Intelligence Director Mike McConnell confirmed that AT&T was one of the telecommunications companies that assisted with the government’s warrantless wire-tapping program on calls between foreign and domestic sources.^[119]

On November 8, 2007, Mark Klein, a former AT&T technician, told Keith Olbermann of MSNBC that all Internet traffic passing over AT&T lines was copied into a locked room at the company’s San Francisco office – to which only employees with National Security Agency clearance had access.^[120]

AT&T keeps for five to seven years a record of who text messages whom and the date and time, but not the content of the messages.^[121]

AT&T has a one star privacy rating from the Electronic Frontier Foundation.^[122]

Intellectual property filtering[]

In January 2008, the company reported plans to begin filtering all Internet traffic which passes through its network for intellectual property violations.^[123] Commentators in the media have speculated that if this plan is implemented, it would lead to a mass exodus of subscribers leaving AT&T,^[124] although this is misleading as Internet traffic may go through the company’s network anyway.^[123] Internet freedom proponents used these developments as justification for government-mandated network neutrality.

Discrimination against local Public-access television channels[]

AT&T has been accused by community media groups of discriminating against local Public, educational, and government access (PEG) cable TV channels, by «impictions that will severely restrict the audience».^[125]

According to Barbara Popovic, Executive Director of the Chicago public-access service CAN-TV, the new AT&T U-verse system forced all Public-access television into a special menu system, denying normal functionality such as channel numbers, access to the standard program guide, and DVR recording.^[125] The Ratepayer Advocates division of the California Public Utilities Commission reported: «Instead of putting the stations on individual channels, AT&T has bundled community stations into a generic channel that can only be navigated through a complex and lengthy process.»^[125]

Sue Buske (president of telecommunications consulting firm the Buske Group and a former head of the National Federation of Local Cable Programmers/Alliance for Community Media) argue that this is «an overall attack […] on public access across the [United States], the place in the dial around cities and communities where people can make their own media in their own communities».^[125]

Information security[]

In June 2010, a hacker group known as Goatse Security discovered a vulnerability within AT&T that could allow anyone to uncover email addresses belonging to customers of AT&T 3G service for the Apple iPad.^[126] These email addresses could be accessed without a protective password.^[127] Using a script, Goatse Security collected thousands of email addresses from AT&T.^[126] Goatse Security informed AT&T about the security flaw through a third party.^[128] Goatse Security then disclosed around 114,000 of these emails to Gawker Media, which published an article about the security flaw and disclosure in Valleywag.^[126][128] Praetorian Security Group criticized the web application that Goatse Security exploited as «poorly designed».^[126]

In April 2015, AT&T was fined $25 million over data security breaches, marking the largest ever fine issued by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for breaking data privacy laws. The investigation revealed the theft of details of approximately 280,000 people from call centres in Mexico, Colombia and the Philippines.^[129][130]

Accusations of enabling fraud[]

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In March 2012, the United States federal government announced a lawsuit against AT&T. The specific accusations state that AT&T «violated the False Claims Act by facilitating and seeking federal payment for IP Relay calls by international callers who were ineligible for the service and sought to use it for fraudulent purposes. The complaint alleges that, out of fears that fraudulent call volume would drop after the registration deadline, AT&T knowingly adopted a non-compliant registration system that did not verify whether the user was located within the United States. The complaint further contends that AT&T continued to employ this system even with the knowledge that it facilitated use of IP Relay by fraudulent foreign callers, which accounted for up to 95 percent of AT&T’s call volume. The government’s complaint alleges that AT&T improperly billed the TRS Fund for reimbursement of these calls and received millions of dollars in federal payments as a result.»^[131]

Racism[]

On April 28, 2015, AT&T announced that it had fired Aaron Slator, President of Content and Advertising Sales, for sending racist text messages.^[132] Slator was also hit with a $100 million discrimination lawsuit, filed by African-American employee Knoyme King.^[133] The day before that, protesters arrived at AT&T’s headquarters in Dallas and its satellite offices in Los Angeles as well as at the home of CEO Randall Stephenson to protest alleged systemic racial policies. According to accounts, the protesters are demanding AT&T begin working with 100% black-owned media companies.^[134]

Trademark violation[]

In June 2016, Citigroup sued AT&T for trademark infringement, false designation of origin, and unfair competition. The company had recently established a loyalty program under the brand AT&T Thanks, which Citigroup claims would cause consumer confusion as an infringement of its «ThankYou» and «Citi ThankYou» marks due to similar wording and visual design. Citi, which also provides a co-branded credit card for AT&T that links with its ThankYou rewards program, sought unspecified damages and the expungement of AT&T’s trademark registration.^[135][136]

The suit was dismissed in August 2016, with a judge ruling that there was a low likelihood of confusion between the two marks because the companies fall within different industries, and that consumers who use loyalty programs would be able to «clearly take into account the attributes associated with the products they purchase» and, thus, be able to distinguish them.^[137]

Naming rights and sponsorships[]

Buildings[]

File:Att-midtown-center-atlanta.jpg

• Whitacre Tower (One AT&T Plaza) – Corporate Headquarters, Dallas, Texas
• AT&T 220 Building – building in Indianapolis, Indiana
• AT&T Building – building in Detroit, Michigan
• AT&T Building – building in Indianapolis, Indiana
• AT&T Building – building in Kingman, Arizona
• AT&T Building – (aka «The Batman Building») in Nashville, Tennessee
• AT&T Building – building in Omaha, Nebraska
• AT&T Building Addition – building in Detroit, Michigan
• AT&T Building – building in San Diego
• AT&T Center – building in Los Angeles
• AT&T Center – building in St. Louis, Missouri
• AT&T City Center – building in Birmingham, Alabama
• AT&T Corporate Center – building in Chicago, Illinois
• AT&T Huron Road Building – building in Cleveland, Ohio
• AT&T Lenox Park Campus – AT&T Mobility Headquarters in DeKalb County just outside Atlanta, Georgia
• AT&T Midtown Center – building in Atlanta, Georgia
• AT&T Switching Center – building in Los Angeles
• AT&T Switching Center – building in Oakland, California
• AT&T Switching Center – building in San Francisco
• AT&T Tower — building in Minneapolis, MN
• AT&T Building — building in (Meriden), CT
• AT&T Entertainment Group HQ — DirecTV corporate campus in El Segundo, California

Venues[]

File:Texasdd.JPG

• AT&T Center – San Antonio, Texas (formerly SBC Center)
• AT&T Field – Chattanooga, Tennessee (formerly BellSouth Park)
• AT&T Plaza – Chicago, Illinois (public space that hosts the Cloud Gate sculpture in Millennium Park)
• AT&T Plaza – Dallas, Texas (plaza in front of the American Airlines Center at Victory Park)
• AT&T Performing Arts Center – Dallas, Texas
• AT&T Stadium – Arlington, Texas (formerly Dallas Cowboys Stadium)
• AT&T Stadium — Glen Jean, West Virginia (outdoor open-seating stadium at the Boy Scouts of America‘s Summit Bechtel Reserve
• Jones AT&T Stadium – Lubbock, Texas (formerly Clifford B. and Audrey Jones Stadium, Jones SBC Stadium)
• TPC San Antonio – San Antonio, Texas (AT&T Oaks Course & AT&T Canyons Course)
• War Memorial Stadium, AT&T Field — Little Rock, Arkansas

[]

• AT&T Byron Nelson — Irving, Texas (golf)
• AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic (formerly Mobil Cotton Bowl Classic, Southwestern Bell Cotton Bowl Classic, SBC Cotton Bowl Classic) – played in Arlington, Texas, at AT&T Stadium (football)
• AT&T National – Washington, D.C. (golf)
• AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am (golf)
• AT&T Red River Rivalry – Dallas, Texas (formerly Red River Shootout, SBC Red River Rivalry) (football)
• Major League Soccer and the United States Soccer Federation, including the U.S. men’s and U.S. women’s national teams and the Major League Soccer All-Star Game from 2009
• Mexico national football team
• United States Olympic team^[138]
• National Collegiate Athletic Association (Corporate Champion)^[139]
• AT&T American Cup, artistic gymnastics competition. Sponsored by AT&T since 2011.
• Red Bull Racing (Formula 1 racing team), technical support and sponsorship, since 2011.^[140]
• Cloud9, sponsorship since March 2019.^[141][142]

• Club América, Sponsorship since July 19, 2018

See also[]

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References[]

External links[]

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Corporate information

• Template:Official website
  • AT&T’s Investor Website

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• AT&T History and science resources at The Franklin Institute’s Case Files online exhibit

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История AT&T началась еще в 19 веке, когда Александр Белл зарегистрировал патент на телефон. В 1877 году Белл вместе с Томасом Сэндерсом и Гардинером Хаббардом основал компанию Bell Telephone. Через год в Нью-Хейвене проложили первую телефонную линию, а еще через три года телефонные линии появились почти во всех крупных городах Америки. В 1882 году Bell Telephone приобрела компанию Western Electric, сделав первый шаг к монополизации рынка телефонных услуг США. Дальше они зарегистрировали дочернюю фирму American Telephone and Telegraph Company, которая вскоре стала материнской компанией и открыла трансатлантическую телефонную связь с Лондоном, Гавайями и Токио.

В 1982 году Министерство юстиции США обязало AT&T разделить компанию на AT&T Communications и семь региональных телефонных компаний. В результате активный капитал компании в 150 миллиардов сократился до 34 миллиарда, а из миллиона сотрудников осталось меньше половины. В дальнейшем AT&T Communications поменяла свой логотип на стилизованный глобус и была переименована в AT&T Corporation. Спустя несколько крупных поглощения и разделений AT&T объединилась с SBC Communications, став крупнейшей телекоммуникационной компанией США.

В мае 2021 года AT&T объявила о создании стримингового сервиса совместного с компанией Discovery. Со стороны AT&T в сервис будут включены фильмы Warner Brothers, CNN, кабельные каналы TBS, HBO, TNT и HBO Max. Discovery же предложит пользователю свои кабельные каналы, Animal Planet и Food Network.

AT&T занимает четвертое место в списке самых дорогих брендов по версии Brand Finance и восемнадцатое место среди крупнейших сотовых операторов в мире. В 2016 году она была на двенадцатом месте в списке крупнейших компаний мира Forbes Global 2000.

Cамая оперативная информация в моем Telegram «ИнвестТема»

AT&T — крупнейшая в мире телекоммуникационная компания, второй по величине сотовый оператор в США и владелец киностудии WarnerMedia. Основателем является Александр Белл, зарегистрировавший патент на телефон в 1876 году. На протяжении всей истории AT&T охотно заключала сделки поглощения и объединения. С 1982 года после раздела корпорации, AT&T существует в нынешнем виде, но продолжает активно приобретать перспективные компании.

На текущий момент существует 4 сегмента бизнеса компании:
1. Коммуникации и связь — основной сегмент по предоставлению юридическим и физическим лицам сотовой связи, цифровых услуг и интернета, продаже оборудования.
2. WarnerMedia — компания, которая присоединилась к AT&T в 2018 году и занимается производством и распространением новостного и развлекательного контента. В него же будет включена новая платформа HBO MAX.
3. Латинская Америка — предоставление развлекательных и беспроводных услуг за пределами США.
4. Xandr — предоставление рекламных услуг на видео и цифровых платформах.

Операционные расходы коррелируют с выручкой и растут на 5,9% год к году. Прочие расходы — увеличились в 2019 году, за счет признания актуарных убытков и более высоких затратах на погашение задолженности. Это главным образом повлияло на чистую прибыль, которая снизилась на 25% по сравнению с 2018 годом до $15 млрд. 

С 2017 года чистая прибыль остается под давлением. Однако, по итогам уже первого квартала 2020 года компании удалось увеличить ее на 14% до $5 млрд за счет сокращения операционных расходов.

Активы
Капитал компании в 2019 году составил $202 млрд, что выше показателей 2018 года на 4,2%. Капитал увеличился за счет продажи убыточного Hulu. Краткосрочные обязательства растут на 7,1% год к году за счет кредиторской задолженности. Долгосрочные кредиты удалось погасить на $15 млрд. В отчете за 2019 год были учтены обязательства по операционной аренде в сумме $29,4 млрд, что привело к росту обязательств год к году на 3,4% до $349,7 млрд.

Сравнение с конкурентами
AT&T на фоне своих конкурентов выглядит более стабильно. Растущая выручка и прибыль, дивидендная доходность выше аналогов, низкая долговая нагрузка, делают компанию более интересной для покупок. Мультипликаторы находятся на средних значениях, в отличие от Verizon, P/B которого говорит о перекупленности. CenturyLink по основным мультипликаторам недооценена, что и не удивительно, ведь вместо прибыли получает убытки. Verizon имеет лучшую рентабельность капитала, но это нивелируется дивидендной доходностью в 1,1%.

Дивиденды
За 2019 год AT&T заплатила $2,05 на одну акцию. Выплаты производятся ежеквартально в равных долях, за исключением 4 квартала, в котором повышается размер дивиденда на $0,01. Компания более 34 лет подряд ежегодно увеличивает размер дивиденда. Итоговая доходность за 2019 год составила 6,62%. Это выше средних значения доходности среди высокотехнологичных компаний на рынке США. Исходя из этих данных по итогам первого квартала 2020 года инвесторам стоит ожидать выплаты в размере $0,52 на акцию.

Выводы
AT&T второй по величине сотовый оператор в США, но не второй по значимости. AT&T больше чем телекоммуникационная компания. Это конгломерат, который развивается во всех высокотехнологичных направлениях. Компания использует свою сеть для строительства частных облачных служб для предприятий и успешно сотрудничает в этом направлении с IBM. Благодаря покупке WarnerMedia продолжает развивать свой новостной и развлекательный профиль. А доходы от этого сегмента значительно повышают финансовые результаты. Сегменты Латинской Америки и Xandr испытывают ряд трудностей, и не приносят должного дохода.

События последних месяцев показали значимость телекоммуникационных компаний. Показатели органически поддерживаются ростом числа абонентов и пользователей услугами компании. Скорый запуск HBO MAX окажет дополнительную поддержку сегменту WarnerMedia и составит конкуренцию таким игрокам на этом рынке, как Netflix, Disney+ и AppleTV+. А развитие сетей 5G позволит распространять контент с меньшими затратами и большим объемом.

Вместе с ростом выручки растут и обязательства. Это вызвано дополнительными списаниями по аренде и интенсивной покупкой новых компаний. Но с долговой нагрузкой вполне справляется. AT&T — это компания стоимости со своими апсайдами и драйверами. Ждать от нее прорывов в отрасли не стоит, но за счет хорошей оптимизации бизнеса, стабильного денежного потока и внедрения новейших технологий, целевые уровни находится значительно выше текущих котировок.

А теперь, собственно, сама таблица со SWOT-анализом:

*Это исследование носит субъективный характер. Не является индивидуальной инвестиционной рекомендацией. Служит, для структурирования своих мыслей при принятии решения.

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Время на прочтение
4 мин

Количество просмотров 9.4K

Последний год характеризуется беспрецедентным ростом всех рынков. Так, за год с декабря 2019 по декабрь 2020 акции крупнейших компании технологического сектора, так называемые FAAMG ( Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, Google) выросли на 48%. Акции остальных 500 крупнейших компаний рынка США выросли за тот же период на 12%. Не так много крупных компаний уменьшили капитализацию. Один из таких примеров — компания AT&T, крупнейшая в мире телекоммуникационная компания, основание которой связано с изобретателем телефона Александром Белом. Что же происходит с бывшим монополистом и есть ли у нее перспективы?

Неудачи последних лет

Нужно сказать, что проблемы с бизнесом у телекоммуникационного гиганта начались до пандемии. За 4 года акции упали примерно на 30% при том, что индекс S&P 500, в который входит AT&T за тот же период вырос примерно на 60%. Разберемся, почему это произошло

Несмотря на то, что AT&T — это прежде всего провайдер связи (подразделения фиксированной и сотовой связи дают 53% выручки) корпорация также — крупнейший провайдер спутникового вещания в США. Это направление как раз и является проблемным. 

В США происходит планомерное падение количества абонентов кабельного и спутникового ТВ за счет их перехода к интернет — сервисам. Это явление даже имеет собственное название — Cord-cutting (буквально «перерезание кабеля»).

Так, только за второй квартал 2020 года от сервиса AT&T, который включающего в себя спутниковое и цифровое ТВ отписалось 886 000 абонентов. Вообще же за 2 года потери этого сервиса составили более 6 млн. пользователей. В компании не то что не смогли предвидеть подобного положения вещей, а скорее наоборот. В 2015 AT&T приобрел оператора спутникового телевидения Direct TV за $49 млрд., который с 2017 года также теряет подписчиков. Долг же негативно влиял все эти годы на финансы компании.

Пока не помогло и приобретение Time Warner (WarnerMedia) — конгломерата новостного и развлекательного профиля, включающего более 30 медиаактивов. Подразделению пока не удается монетизировать услуги и продукты, хотя специалисты и видят в нем потенциал. Time Warner был куплен в 2018 году за $85 млрд., увеличив чистый долг компании до $180млрд. в моменте, что сделало его крупнейшим среди нефинансовых компаний в США.

В планы руководства компании было отдать существенную часть долгов в 2020 году, но пандемия коронавируса не позволила этого сделать и, более того, долг был даже увеличен. 

Компания пытается бороться с этим положением. В планах у руководства избавиться от непрофильных и не приносящих прибыль активов, в том числе — Direct TV, напомним, купленный недавно.

Запущенный в мае 2020 собственный потоковый сервис HBO Max, тоже столкнулся с проблемами. В этом секторе много конкурентов, уже сделавших себе имя:: Netflix, Disney+, Apple TV, Peacock, а стоимость подписки от HBO оказалась одной из самых высоких — $14,99 в месяц.

Стабильность — признак мастерства

До этого момента мы рассмотрели проблемы, которые не позволили акциям компании вырасти во время беспрецедентного ралли. Теперь посмотрим на ее сильные стороны, которые могут привести к росту капитализации.

Как уже отмечалось выше, телекоммуникационный бизнес AT&T генерирует постоянную выручку и с ним особых проблем нет. Стабильность бизнеса поддерживается сложностью входа новых игроков на рынок в силу значительных капитальных вложений.

AT&T является одним из лидеров на зарождающемся рынке 5G в США. И хотя у компании есть конкуренты в лице T-Mobile и Verizon можно с уверенностью сказать, что в такой стране, как США, в данной отрасли место хватит всем троим конкурентам. Не зря же американские правительственные структуры устроили войну с Huawei.

Несмотря на колоссальный долг, финансы компании продолжают оставаться стабильными. На сегодняшний момент соотношение чистого долга к прибыли до вычета процентов, налога на прибыль и амортизации активов Net debt/EBITDA составляет 3,17. Считается, что этот показатель не должен быть больше 3. Но 3,17 также не критично, особенно с учетом стоимости фондирования на данный момент. Например, в конце 2020 года компания смогла рефинансировать долг и уменьшить среднюю ставку по кредитам с 4,3% до 4,1%

Кроме того, AT&T активно пытается понизить долговые обязательства путем продажи непрофильных активов. В прессе фигурируют не только уже упомянутый Direct TV (его продажа сможет уменьшить долг на 15%), но так же CNN, игровое подразделение Warner, Xandr — рекламно-аналитическое подразделение WarnerMedia. Если хотя бы одну сделку удастся закрыть, то, во-первых, сократиться долг и, во-вторых, AT&T сможет гораздо более активно развиваться, например, продвигать свой стриминговый сервис.

За компанию говорят и исторически высокие дивиденды, благодаря которым AT&T относят к “дивидендным аристократам”. Так, средневзвешенная дивидендная доходность за последние 5 лет составила 5,6%, а текущая — 7,22%. Это при том, что средняя дивидендная доходность на американском рынке — 2%. При этом, эти выплаты для компании не критичны. Коэффициент P/FCF = 7,6, что совсем не много.

Компания на данный момент не перекуплена. Мультипликатор EV/EBITDA составляет всего 6,7. Цены акций соответствуют этому, находясь близко к минимумам марта 2020 года, компания по сути недооценена. Соответственно есть потенциал роста.

Из недооценки компании следует еще один плюс. Рано или поздно случится коррекция. А ее всегда лучше встречать в таких бумагах, “даунсайд” по которым может быть сравнительно небольшой, то есть в недооцененных.

Вывод

AT&T — компания со стабильным основным бизнесом. Ее проблемы давно известны и уже входят в цену акций. При этом она явно недооценена и даже отстает от рынка, а значит скорее всего при возможной коррекции стоимость акций не пострадает. При этом любой положительный сдвиг (продажа непрофильных и генерирующих убыток активов и снижение долга; развитие сегмента 5G; развитие сервиса HBO Max и даже успех фильма Warner Bros, который, например, повторит кассовые сборы Джокера) скорее всего вызовет рост цены акций. Все это в сочетании с высокими дивидендами делает покупки акций компании потенциально очень хорошей инвестицией.

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