DALLAS,
March 10,
2025 /CNW/ -- Tomorrow, AT&T's chief financial
officer will participate in a fireside chat where he will discuss
the Company's multi-year strategic growth plan.
Key Takeaways:
- AT&T is embarking on a multi-year strategic growth plan
that centers around putting customers first and continued network
investment.
- AT&T continues to make progress on becoming the best
connectivity provider in America and remains on track to meet all
of the financial and operational guidance and capital allocation
plans shared during its fourth quarter 2024 earnings conference
call and its 2024 Analyst & Investor Day.
- AT&T expects to report strong free cash flow in the first
quarter as well as the receipt of more than $2 billion in cash proceeds and payments related
to previously announced transactions.
Pascal Desroches,
chief financial officer, AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T), will speak
tomorrow at the Deutsche Bank Media, Internet & Telecom
Conference where he will provide an update to shareholders.
AT&T remains on track to achieve its 2025 consolidated
financial guidance and deliver on its multi-year outlook
AT&T remains on track to meet all of the 2025 and multi-year
financial and operational guidance and capital allocation plans
shared during its fourth quarter 2024 earnings conference call and
at its 2024 Analyst & Investor Day.
As previously disclosed, beginning in 2025, AT&T's reported
free cash flow and adjusted EPS will exclude DIRECTV. The
Company has provided a recast of historical results for these two
financial measures in its Form 8-K dated December 3, 2024.
The Company continues to expect full-year adjusted EPS of
$1.97 to $2.07 and expects first-quarter adjusted EPS of
approximately $0.48, or higher. This
would result in adjusted EPS in the first quarter of 2025 that is
consistent with, or better than, the first quarter of 2024, when
excluding DIRECTV from the prior year.
The Company continues to expect full-year free cash flow of $16
billion+ and expects first-quarter free cash flow of approximately
$2.8 billion, or higher. This would
result in free cash flow in the first quarter of 2025 that is
consistent with, or better than, the first quarter of 2024, when
excluding DIRECTV from the prior year.
In addition, during the first quarter of 2025, AT&T expects
to receive approximately $1.4 to
$1.5 billion of cash payments from
DIRECTV related to its agreement to sell its 70% stake in DIRECTV
to TPG. The Company continues to expect to close the sale by
mid-2025, and to receive total after-tax cash payments related to
this transaction of $5.4 billion in
2025, as well as after-tax cash payments of $500 million in 2029.
In the first quarter, the Company also received more than
$850 million in cash proceeds from
the previously announced structured sale-leaseback of real estate
to Reign Capital. Cash received related to the DIRECTV and Reign
Capital transactions are not included in AT&T's free cash
flow.
The Company continues to expect to achieve its net leverage
target of net-debt-to-adjusted EBITDA in the 2.5x range in the
first half of 2025 and maintain leverage within this range through
2027.
Conference details and more are available on the AT&T
Investor Relations website
Full conference details are posted on the AT&T Investor
Relations website, including a replay of the webcast. To
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subscribe to email alerts.
Non-GAAP Measures and Reconciliations to GAAP Measures
Adjusted diluted EPS is calculated by excluding from
operating revenues, operating expenses, other income (expenses) and
income tax expense, certain significant items that are
non-operational or non-recurring in nature, including dispositions
and merger integration and transaction costs, actuarial gains and
losses, significant abandonments and impairments, benefit-related
gains and losses, employee separation and other material gains and
losses. The tax impact of adjusting items is calculated using the
effective tax rate during the quarter except for adjustments that,
given their magnitude, can drive a change in the effective tax
rate, in these cases, we use the actual tax expense or combined
marginal rate of approximately 25%. The Company expects adjustments
to 2025 reported diluted EPS to include an adjustment to remove
equity in net income of DIRECTV, a non-cash mark-to-market benefit
plan gain/loss, and other items. The adjustment to remove the
equity in net income of DIRECTV is dependent upon cash
distributions from DIRECTV and the timing of the closing of the
sale of our DIRECTV investment, which is expected in mid-2025. The
Company expects the mark-to-market adjustment, which is driven by
interest rates and investment returns that are not reasonably
estimable at this time, to be a significant item. Our projected
first-quarter and full-year 2025 adjusted EPS depends on future
levels of revenues and expenses, most of which are not reasonably
estimable at this time. Accordingly, we cannot provide a
reconciliation between this projected non-GAAP metric and the most
comparable GAAP metric without unreasonable effort.
Free cash flow is defined as cash from operations
minus cash flows related to our DIRECTV equity method investment
(cash distributions less cash taxes paid from DIRECTV), minus
capital expenditures and cash paid for vendor financing (classified
as financing activities). First-quarter 2025 projected free cash
flow of $2.8 billion, or higher,
includes cash from operations of approximately $8.4 - $8.6
billion, minus approximately $1.4 - $1.5 billion
of cash flows related to DIRECTV, which includes a special
distribution of $1.138 billion, minus
approximately $3.9 - $4.1 billion of capital expenditures and
$0.2 billion of cash paid for vendor
financing. Due to high variability and difficulty in predicting
items that impact cash from operating activities, capital
expenditures and vendor financing payments, the Company is not able
to provide a reconciliation between full-year 2025 projected free
cash flow and the most comparable GAAP metric without unreasonable
effort.
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. The Company cannot provide a reconciliation
between projected net debt-to-adjusted EBITDA and the most
comparable GAAP metrics and related ratios without unreasonable
effort. Reconciliations between the non-GAAP financial measures and
the GAAP financial measures are available below and on the
company's website at investors.att.com.
About AT&T
We help more than 100 million U.S. families, friends and
neighbors, plus nearly 2.5 million businesses, connect to greater
possibility. From the first phone call 140+ years ago to our 5G
wireless and multi-gig internet offerings today, we @ATT innovate
to improve lives. For more information about AT&T Inc.
(NYSE:T), please visit us at about.att.com. Investors can learn
more at investors.att.com.
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SOURCE AT&T