AT&T shares had their best day since 2020 as Americans splurge on 5G and phone plans
Off the hook… AT&T shares had their biggest jump in two years after the wireless giant reported surprisingly good numbers. Last quarter the telecom titan added 708K wireless subscribers (100K+ more than Wall Street expected) and had its highest wireless revenue growth in over a decade.
- Heading out: AT&T raised its full-year forecast as pricier phone plans and the return of international travel (see: $10/day pass) help with sales.
- Hanging up: AT&T is saddled with $134B in debt (after taking a $93B hit on its WarnerMedia spinoff this year) and cut its cash-flow outlook as late payments pile up in its enterprise biz.
5G energy… 5G can power everything from crisper gaming and video chatting to VR and self-driving cars, and has helped boost sales of Apple’s new iPhones. That’s why investors are curious to see how telecoms are making strides with the hot tech:
- AT&T said it would invest $48B in fiber-optic internet and 5G wireless services through 2023. Fiber can run 20X as fast as traditional broadband.
- Verizon plans to spend $10B upgrading its 5G services, and T-Mobile expects to cover 200M of its users with speed-boosting C-band 5G by the end of the year.
People hate skimping on their phones… even if it means cutting back on other expenses. AT&T is the first major wireless carrier to release earnings this quarter (Verizon and T-Mobile are next up). Its results suggest the wider industry could be insulated from inflation-strained budgets. With people spending more time on their phones than on their laptops, demand for 5G is surging.