AT&T Chief Executive Officer John Stankey Updates Shareholders
December 08 2020 - 10:26PM
Business Wire
John Stankey, chief executive officer of AT&T Inc.*
(NYSE:T), spoke today at the UBS Global TMT Conference where he
provided an update to shareholders. He touched on the following
areas:
Offerings continue to resonate with consumers across
strategic areas of focus. Significant investment in network quality
continues to drive momentum in healthy wireless and fiber trends.
AT&T’s ability to invest in attractive wireless device pricing
to both new and existing customers further supports its acquisition
and retention efforts by driving long-term value and reducing
churn. Stankey said that AT&T’s network performance, combined
with these offers, has increased migration to unlimited plans.
Given this trend, he expects that by the end of 2020 the percentage
of wireless customers on unlimited plans will increase by 10 points
versus the end of 2019. In addition, he noted that the company
expects fiber additions of 1 million or more this year on the back
of strong broadband demand trends.
HBO Max is seeing improved traction. AT&T has 12.6 million
HBO Max activations, up from 8.6 million as of September 30, and
the number of hours of engagement per week has increased 36% in the
past 30 days. Ultimately, Stankey believes the company’s relentless
commitment to customer experience and willingness to invest in its
strategic areas of focus should yield improved customer connections
and drive positive long-term value creation for shareholders.
Strong cash generation and disciplined capital allocation
continue to give AT&T the flexibility to invest in market-based
priorities of fiber, 5G and HBO Max.
The company remains on track to generate $26 billion or more in
free cash flow for full-year 2020 with a full-year dividend payout
ratio percentage in the high 50s%.1 Stankey also said he
anticipates the company in 2021 will generate free cash flow in the
$26 billion range1 (exclusive of proceeds from potential asset
divestitures) and gross capital investment in the $21 billion
range.2 Stankey also said that he is committed to sustaining the
dividend and investing AT&T’s capital effectively to manage
down the company’s debt structure over time. The company will
provide its 2021 financial outlook and capital allocation guidance
when it reports its fourth-quarter 2020 results on Wednesday,
January 27, 2021.
Business transformation efforts will remain a priority
for AT&T. Stankey said that he is pleased with the company’s
progress in managing costs and corporate structure and overhead and
will continue these efforts. He said a focus on efficiency has
resulted in lower distribution costs even as volumes continue to
improve and that the COVID-19 pandemic has further accelerated a
move to digital customer engagement that was already underway.
Stankey also reiterated that AT&T continues to take a
deliberate and thorough approach to monetizing non-core strategic
assets.
1 Free cash flow dividend payout ratio is total dividends paid
divided by free cash flow. Free cash flow is cash from operating
activities minus capital expenditures. Due to high variability and
difficulty in predicting items that impact cash from operating
activities and capital expenditures, the company is not able to
provide a reconciliation between projected free cash flow and the
most comparable GAAP metric without unreasonable effort.
2 Gross capital investment includes capital expenditures and
cash payments for vendor financing and excludes expected FirstNet
reimbursements.
*About AT&T
AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) is a diversified, global leader in
telecommunications, media and entertainment, and technology.
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. 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
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.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201208006205/en/
Fletcher Cook AT&T Phone: 214-912-8541 Email:
fletcher.cook@att.com
Daphne Avila AT&T Inc. Phone: (972) 266-3866 Email:
daphne.avila@att.com
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