Key Stats for AT&T Stock
- Price change for AT&T stock in last 6 months: -20%
- $T Stock Price as of Oct. 23: $21
- 52-Week High: $29
- $T Stock Price Target: $28
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What Happened?
AT&T (T) and T-Mobile are spending more to protect customer data and networks from new AI-related security threats.
Executives from both companies told Reuters this and also said fully self-running networks are still years away.
AI agents now automate more work with less human input, which raises concerns about who can reach sensitive data.
For phone carriers, a weak spot in AI or third-party software could lead to data leaks or network outages.
T-Mobile’s CTO, John Saw, said the company is boosting how it monitors and reacts to threats, and is also working with vendors to close security holes quickly.
T-Mobile has had several data breaches, including in 2021 and 2023, which affected over 100 million customer accounts.
AT&T’s CTO, Jeremy Legg, said some risks sit outside the company’s control.
He called them industry problems and questioned whether the open-source community follows similar security standards.
AT&T has put AI controls in place. These include encryption, multi-factor authentication, and human oversight of data access.
It is also checking whether outside AI agents are acting for real customers.
Legg said handing whole networks to AI is “years away.” People are still needed for hard problems, and AT&T already uses AI to review trouble tickets and, in some cases, fix issues on its own.
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What the Market Is Telling Us About AT&T Stock
For AT&T stock, this is a story about managing risk while the business grows; the company’s recent results show a business in good shape.
In Q3, AT&T added over 1 million Advanced Connectivity subscribers, its best quarter in more than four years.
Service revenue rose 3.8%, adjusted EPS was $0.65, up 20%, and adjusted EBITDA rose 5.4%.
Free cash flow was about $5 billion in the quarter, and AT&T expects $18 billion or more for the full year, as it also plans about $10 billion in share buybacks this year.
Management sees AI as a chance as well as a risk. The CEO said over 90% of mapped U.S. data centers sit within 10 miles of AT&T’s fiber.
Hyperscalers such as AWS and Microsoft already work with the company.
Still, AT&T stock faces costs, as capital spending was $5.6 billion in Q3. Fiber ARPU fell 4%, and net debt to EBITDA rose to 3.13x after a $23 billion spectrum purchase.
Security spending adds to the list of things to watch. Anyone following AT&T stock should look at how AI risks and network costs play out in the coming quarters.
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So what is AT&T stock actually worth?
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Disclaimer:
Please note that the articles on TIKR are not intended to serve as investment or financial advice from TIKR or our content team, nor are they recommendations to buy or sell any stocks. We create our content based on TIKR Terminal’s investment data and analysts’ estimates. Our analysis might not include recent company news or important updates. TIKR has no position in any stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading, and happy investing!
