Benefit from their narrower focus

Article Excerpt

AT&T and Verizon have shed their media businesses in the past few years. As a result, they can now focus on their main telecom operations—and dividend increases. AT&T INC. $21 remains a buy. The company (New York symbol T; Income-Growth Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 7.2 billion; Market cap: $151.2 billion; Dividend yield: 5.3%; Dividend Sustainability Rating: Highest; www.att.com) is the largest wireless carrier in the U.S. with 196.6 million users. It also offers traditional phone services. On April 8, 2022, AT&T completed the merger of its WarnerMedia business (Warner Bros. studios, HBO, CNN and other cable channels) with Discovery Inc. (HGTV, Food Network, TLC, and others) to become Warner Bros. Discovery (Nasdaq symbol WBD). Under the terms of the deal, AT&T investors received 0.241917 shares of WBD as a tax-free distribution for each T share they own. As a group, they now own 71% of Warner Bros. Discovery, while Discovery investors hold the remaining 29%. As part of the merger, AT&T also received $40.4 billion in cash…