Following the release of AT&T’s Q4 earnings;

Vladimir Ryazantsev, Senior Analyst in the Thematic Team at GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company, offers his view:

“AT&T’s underperformance, when compared to the NASDAQ Telecommunication Index, was mainly due to the struggling pay-TV business and slower growth in mobile data revenues—caused by increasing trends of working from home and hybrid working. The sale of 30% of DIRECTV to TPG Holdings for $7.8 billion in August 2021, after a $67 million acquisition of the satellite TV operator six years prior, was partly offset by the 4.5 million postpaid US wireless and 13.1 global million HBO net additions. The latter was the key driver behind WarnerMedia’s impressive 17% Y-o-Y growth in Operating Revenue in 2021.

“GlobalData’s Telecom Convergence Thematic Scorecard ranks AT&T second out of 58 companies. AT&T scored five out of five on the themes of digitalization, internet of things (IoT) and collaboration tools; and four out of five on 5G, cybersecurity and telecom convergence. A score of four or five informs stakeholders that in the next 12 months the themes will drive the company’s revenue.

“Investing in machine learning, data science and conversational platforms should be the company’s top priority for 2022. On GlobalData’s Internet TV Thematic Scorecard, AT&T ranks 15 out of 49. AT&T only scored one out of five on the theme of AI. A score of one or two alerts stakeholders that in the next 12 months the themes will negatively impact the company’s revenue.”