Key Takeaways:
- AT&T is executing well on its sustainable, long-term growth strategy. The company remains on track to meet all of its financial guidance
- The company continues to see healthy demand for world-class connectivity through 5G and fiber
- As one of the largest investors in the United States, the company remains focused on building vital, high-performance network infrastructure for both mobile and fiber networks. To support these efforts, the company continues to expect 2024 capital investment in the $21-22 billion range
Jeff McElfresh, chief operating officer, AT&T* (NYSE:T) Inc., will speak today at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media and Telecom Conference where he will provide an update to shareholders. Here are the key topics McElfresh is expected to cover:
The company’s focus on leading with world-class connectivity, is working.
- AT&T continues to benefit from the connectivity-focused, investment-led strategy it laid out more than 3 years ago. By executing a simple and proven playbook, the company is powering customer growth, improving returns and enabling additional investments that are benefiting the business.
- AT&T’s simple and consistent go-to-market approach continues to resonate with customers and has created a sustainable model for healthy growth and strong cash conversion.
AT&T continues to invest in the future of America’s connectivity.
- AT&T is focused on becoming America’s best high-performance network provider. AT&T now has the largest wireless network in North America1, with mid-band 5G spectrum covering 210 million+ people. Additionally, AT&T has the nation’s largest fiber network passing 26 million+ consumer and business locations.
- AT&T is making critical investments in its wireless and fiber future. This includes accelerating the transition to Open Radio Access Networks (Open RAN), which will enable a more robust supplier ecosystem, and drive efficiencies and longer-term cost savings. Additionally, based on fiber returns better than initial assumptions, AT&T sees an opportunity to potentially pass an incremental 10 to 15 million consumer and business fiber locations within its existing footprint - assuming similar build parameters and a regulatory environment that incentivizes investing in America's robust connectivity needs.
- The company remains on track to hit its target of 30 million+ fiber locations passed by the end of 2025.
- Over the past five years, from 2019 to 2023, AT&T invested $145 billion+ in its wireless and wireline networks, including capital investments and acquisitions of wireless spectrum2.
AT&T remains on track to achieve its financial guidance.
- The company remains confident in its ability to deliver on all of the financial guidance provided with its earnings report in January 2024.
- AT&T also remains focused on driving incremental efficiencies with an additional $2 billion+ in run-rate cost savings by mid-2026.
- The company is on track to reduce net debt and to achieve net-debt to adjusted EBITDA in the 2.5x range in the first half of 2025. It also plans to continue addressing short-term financing obligations as it shapes an even more sustainable and ratable free cash flow cadence.
AT&T remains focused on growing durable relationships with high-quality 5G & fiber customers.
- The company continues to see healthy, but normalizing, wireless industry trends and steady fiber customer demand.
- AT&T is uniquely positioned to take advantage of its owned and operated scaled wireless and fiber networks. Unlike others in the industry, the company realizes economic benefit from both wireless and fiber when it adds converged subscribers.
- AT&T’s connectivity toolkit includes multiple technologies, including 5G, fiber and the company’s fixed wireless access product – AT&T Internet Air – which is now available in parts of nearly 60 markets.
Following the event, the webcast of McElfresh’s conversation will be available for replay at AT&T Investor Relations.
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