AT&T's landmark deal to acquire Lumen's fiber assets signals a major strategic pivot, creating a new open-access network subsidiary to expand its broadband reach and challenge rivals Verizon and T-Mobile.
Driven by robust subscriber growth, a surge in free cash flow, and a new $10 billion buyback plan, AT&T's stock rallied over 10% this week, signaling renewed investor confidence in the telecom giant's convergence strategy.
AT&T is significantly expanding its high-speed internet reach through a major acquisition and a novel financial structure, positioning itself at the forefront of the intensifying battle for broadband supremacy.
Facing rising postpaid churn and prepaid losses, AT&T is aggressively pushing bundled phone and internet packages as its core retention strategy, betting that convergence can stem the tide of subscribers fleeing to rivals and cable companies.
Lumen Technologies pivots decisively toward the enterprise sector, achieving a pioneering AI management certification while divesting its remaining consumer fiber assets to AT&T, signaling a strategic consolidation around business and government services.
Verizon Communications stock jumped over 11% after reporting its best customer gains in years, defying expectations that subscriber growth would come at the expense of profitability. The telecom giant's Q4 results suggest a more aggressive market stance under CEO Dan Schulman.
Verizon shares surged nearly 12% after quarterly results and guidance exceeded expectations, highlighting robust subscriber gains and a massive new share repurchase program aimed at rewarding investors.
Under new leadership, Verizon posts its best subscriber growth in years, outlines a massive cost-cutting plan, and signals a strategic pivot towards customer retention and convergence, backed by the completed Frontier acquisition.
KeyBanc Capital Markets maintains a Sector Weight rating on Charter Communications, warning of heightened competitive pressures from fiber expansion and potential subscriber losses ahead of the company's Q4 earnings.
