10. AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders as of Q4: 80
Citadel Investment Group’s Equity Stake: $589.22 Million
On January 27. 2025, AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) delivered strong fourth-quarter and full-year results, highlighting steady progress in attracting and retaining 5G and fiber subscribers. CEO John Stankey credited the company’s sustained execution over the past four years for positioning it for continued growth in 2025. He emphasized plans to expand the nation’s largest fiber network, modernize the wireless infrastructure, grow the business, and initiate share repurchases in the second half of the year. The American telecommunication company’s fourth-quarter revenue rose slightly to $32.3 billion from $32.0 billion in the prior year, while full-year revenue totaled $122.3 billion, reflecting a marginal 0.1% decline due to lower Business Wireline and Mobility equipment revenue, offset by gains in Mobility service, Consumer Wireline, and Mexico operations.
AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T)’s net income saw a significant year-over-year improvement, rising to $4.4 billion from $2.6 billion in the previous quarter. However, full-year net income declined to $12.3 billion from $15.6 billion, reflecting broader industry challenges and increased investment in network upgrades. Earnings per share for the quarter stood at $0.54, unchanged from the previous year but surpassing analyst expectations of $0.51. The results reaffirm the company’s strong financial position as it continues to invest in next-generation technology and infrastructure. With plans for network expansion and share repurchases in the latter half of 2025, AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) remains focused on delivering long-term value to both customers and shareholders, making it a top stock to buy according to Citadel Investment Group.
AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) CEO John Stankey highlighted the company’s growing use of AI and cloud technology to enhance customer relationships, improve products, and reduce costs. He noted that AI has already improved internal operations, particularly in software development, leading to increased efficiency and cost savings. Addressing the impact of DeepSeek, Stankey acknowledged that AI technology is still in its early stages and emphasized the need for AT&T to stay competitive by leveraging its unique data to refine pricing strategies, better target customers, and enhance market effectiveness. Looking ahead, Stankey expressed his goal for 2025 to be able to report strong business momentum driven by successful AI integration and execution.
TCW Relative Value Large Cap Fund stated the following regarding AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) in its Q3 2024 investor letter:
“AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T), based in Dallas, TX, is a nationwide provider of voice, video, and data communications services to businesses and consumers in the wired, wireless, and broadband. At initiation, the stock had a $141 billion market capitalization and met all five valuation factors with an above market dividend yield of 5.6%. From a sustainability prism, the company completed its commitment to invest $2 billion by the end of 2023 to help bridge the digital divide. AT&T is working on enabling low-income households to access to low-cost broadband services through its Access service plan as well as reaching out to more rural communities and Tribal lands where internet access remains a challenge. It is nearly 85% the way to providing one million people in need with digital resources through AT&T Connected Learning® with the goal to be reached by the end of 2025. In 2020, the company announced that it is committed to be carbon neutral by 2035 with zero carbon emission across all operations. It is deploying Smart Climate Solutions – through efforts like its Connected Climate Initiative – that will help enable its business customers to reduce their emissions as well. The company’s goal is to help collectively reduce its emissions by one billion metric tons – a gigaton – by 2035, compared to 2018 levels. The primary catalysts are new/strong management and restructuring. John Stankey was appointed CEO in July 2020 and he is committed to refocusing the company and improving its financial performance. The company combined its WarnerMedia operation with Discovery during 1Q:22 which eliminated AT&T’s exposure to the rapidly evolving media industry and refocused its core telecommunication business thus eliminating a major drag on profitability and the company’s balance sheet by reducing long-term debt from a peak $176 billion during 2020 to $142 billion at the end of June 2024 quarter. AT&T is moving aggressively to reduce cost and sell non-core assets such as its advertising platform Xander to Microsoft† which was accomplished during 2022. The company has redesigned its network to be software driven structure reducing the capital investment cycle in its national network – resulting in a network that is flexible with unrivaled speed and reliability – thus enhancing its nationwide position. By the end of 2023, it expanded its 5G network to reach more than 302 million people in nearly 24,500 cities and towns in the U.S. The company’s mid-band 5G+ network alone grew to cover more than 210 million people. AT&T is one of the largest investors in digital infrastructure in the U.S. Over the five years ending 2023, the company invested nearly $150 billion primarily in its wireless, fiber optics, and wireline networks. The extensive restructuring and refocusing of AT&T on its core business should result in improved earnings and cash flow while at the same time reducing uncertainty for shareholders.”
