AT&T Senior Executive Vice President and CFO John Stephens Updates Shareholders
September 10 2020 - 4:10PM
Business Wire
John Stephens, senior executive vice president and chief
financial officer of AT&T Inc.* (NYSE:T), spoke recently at the
Bank of America Securities 2020 Media, Communications &
Entertainment Conference where he provided an update to
shareholders.
Confident in ability to generate strong cash flows.
Stephens said that the company continues to have limited visibility
into the extent and duration of the impact of COVID and resulting
government actions on the economy. In addition, while WarnerMedia
continues to be impacted in areas such as the timing of theatrical
releases as well its production schedule, the resumption of sports
is expected to shift the timing of advertising revenues and costs
into the third quarter from the second quarter. Despite these fluid
dynamics, Stephens reiterated that AT&T remains confident in
its ability to generate strong cash flows given the resiliency of
wireless and broadband services and continued demand for business
connectivity. .
Network quality underscores wireless value proposition.
Stephens said the wireless market remains very competitive but that
AT&T continues to see benefits from its investment in
significantly improving network capacity over the past few years.
AT&T has nationwide 5G service and was recently named “Best
Wireless Network” for the third consecutive year based on overall
national wireless performance.1 This high level of service quality
and network resiliency during the challenging economic backdrop is
helping the company differentiate its wireless offerings.
Additionally, AT&T continues to benefit in both customer
acquisition and retention from its ability to bundle HBO Max with
its high-quality wireless services.
HBO Max traction continues. AT&T is pleased with the
initial success of HBO Max, including its activation growth and
solid levels of viewer engagement. The company continues to see
weekly viewing hours for HBO Max that are significantly higher than
for HBO Now. AT&T plans to launch an advertising-based version
of HBO Max and continues to look for opportunities to leverage the
platform to identify both new content distribution opportunities as
well as new audiences for the company’s expansive library to
further drive customer acquisition and engagement.
Capital allocation. Stephens reiterated that AT&T
continues to invest to support growth in its areas of market focus
— broadband connectivity (fiber, 5G) and software-based
entertainment (HBO Max, AT&T TV). Also, the company is
investing in its transformation and efficiency efforts. Stephens
said AT&T continues to expect a dividend payout ratio at
year-end 2020 in the 60s% range and that the company is targeting
the low end of that range.2 The company plans to use excess cash
after dividends to further reduce net debt. Since the close of the
Time Warner transaction, AT&T has reduced net debt by about $30
billion and, since the first quarter of 2020, the company has taken
advantage of historically low interest rates to push out near-term
debt obligations by about $30 billion.3 The company continues to
explore monetizing non-core assets in its portfolio to drive
incremental shareholder value.
1GWS OneScore, September 2020. 2Free cash flow dividend payout
ratio is total dividends paid divided by free cash flow. 3Debt
maturing in 2020 through 2025 excluding commercial paper.
*About AT&T
AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) is a diversified, global leader in
telecommunications, media and entertainment, and technology.
WarnerMedia is a leading media and entertainment company that
creates and distributes premium and popular content to global
audiences through its consumer brands, including: HBO, HBO Max,
Warner Bros., TNT, TBS, truTV, CNN, DC Entertainment, New Line,
Cartoon Network, Adult Swim and Turner Classic Movies. Xandr, now
part of WarnerMedia, provides marketers with innovative and
relevant advertising solutions for consumers around premium video
content and digital advertising through its platform. AT&T
Communications provides more than 100 million U.S. consumers with
entertainment and communications experiences across TV, mobile and
broadband. Plus, it serves high-speed, highly secure connectivity
and smart solutions to nearly 3 million business customers.
AT&T Latin America provides pay-TV services across 10 countries
and territories in Latin America and the Caribbean and wireless
services to consumers and businesses in Mexico.
AT&T products and services are provided or offered by
subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. under the AT&T
brand and not by AT&T Inc. Additional information is available
at about.att.com. © 2020 AT&T Intellectual Property. All rights
reserved. AT&T, the Globe logo and other marks are trademarks
and service marks of AT&T Intellectual Property and/or AT&T
affiliated companies. All other marks contained herein are the
property of their respective owners.
Cautionary Language Concerning Forward-Looking
Statements
Information set forth in this news release contains financial
estimates and other forward-looking statements that are subject to
risks and uncertainties, and actual results might differ
materially. A discussion of factors that may affect future results
is contained in AT&T’s filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission. AT&T disclaims any obligation to update and revise
statements contained in this news release based on new information
or otherwise.
This news release may contain certain non-GAAP financial
measures. Reconciliations between the non-GAAP financial measures
and the GAAP financial measures are available on the company’s
website at https://investors.att.com.
View source
version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200910005964/en/
Fletcher Cook AT&T Inc. Phone: 214-912-8541 Email:
fletcher.cook@att.com
Daphne Avila AT&T Inc. Phone: (972) 266-3866 Email:
daphne.avila@att.com
AT&T (NYSE:T)
Historical Stock Chart
From Aug 2024 to Sep 2024
AT&T (NYSE:T)
Historical Stock Chart
From Sep 2023 to Sep 2024