New businesses enhance these telcos

Article Excerpt

To cut their reliance on phone services, these U.S. telecom giants continue to expand with new businesses. Those moves should also continue to spur their dividend growth. AT&T INC. $31 (New York symbol T; Income Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares o/s: 7.3 billion; Market cap: $226.3 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.4; Dividend yield: 6.5%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.att.com) is the largest wireless carrier in the U.S., with 150.3 million subscribers. It also offers traditional phone and satellite TV services. In June 2018, the company completed its $103 billion cash-and-stock purchase of media giant TimeWarner (New York symbol TWX). That was after a judge ruled against an attempt by the U.S. Justice Department to block it. Due to that acquisition, AT&T’s revenue in the three months ended September 30, 2018, rose 15.3%, to $45.7 billion from $39.7 billion a year earlier. If you factor out costs related to the purchase and other unusual items, per-share earnings rose 15.3%, to $0.90 from $0.74. Strong demand for wireless services contributed…