AT&T : Shareholders Receive Update at UBS Global TMT Conference

John Stankey, president and chief operating officer of AT&T Inc.* (NYSE:T), and CEO, Warner Media LLC, spoke today at the UBS Global TMT Conference during which he provided an update to shareholders.

Share retirements. Stankey said that AT&T began retiring shares in the fourth quarter. The company expects these share retirements will help offset the impact to EPS in the fourth quarter from HBO Max investments. Stankey also announced that the company has entered into a $4 billion accelerated share repurchase agreement to retire about 100 million shares in the first quarter of 2020.

Cost initiatives. Stankey said that the company is focused on exceeding its recent typical annual 6% to 8% reduction in network operational costs. Stankey said the company has set a 2020 target of an additional 4% in cost reductions, or about $1.5 billion, driven primarily by lower labor-related costs and corporate overhead.

Capital allocation. In addition to retiring shares, AT&T plans to continue to invest in both capital and content while also continuing modest annual dividend growth.

By the end of 2022, AT&T expects to have retired 100% of the debt it incurred to fund the acquisition of Time Warner, with plans to reach a net debt-to-adjusted EBITDA ratio in the 2.0x to 2.25x range, which it believes should result in an upgrade to its debt ratings.

AT&T will also continue to review its portfolio to achieve its asset monetization target of $5 billion to $10 billion in 2020. Potential sales include AT&T's regional sports networks, additional real estate transactions and additional tower sales. The company expects the previously announced monetization of its stake in Central European Media and the sale of its Puerto Rico wireless operations to close by the middle of 2020. AT&T also recently raised about $1.2 billion from a preferred equity offering.

2019 Commitments. Stankey said the company expects to deliver on all of its 2019 commitments.

*About AT&T

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) is a diversified, global leader in telecommunications, media and entertainment, and technology. It executes in the market under four operating units. WarnerMedia is a leading media and entertainment company that creates and distributes premium and popular content to global audiences through its consumer brands including: HBO, Warner Bros., TNT, TBS, truTV, CNN, DC Entertainment, New Line, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, Turner Classic Movies and others. AT&T Communications provides more than 100 million U.S. consumers with entertainment and communications experiences across TV, mobile and broadband services. Plus, it serves nearly 3 million business customers with high-speed, highly secure connectivity and smart solutions. AT&T Latin America provides pay-TV services across 11 countries and territories in Latin America and the Caribbean, and is the fastest growing wireless provider in Mexico, serving consumers and businesses. Xandr provides marketers with innovative and relevant advertising solutions for consumers around premium video content and digital advertising through its AppNexus platform.

AT&T products and services are provided or offered by subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. under the AT&T brand and not by AT&T Inc. Additional information is available at about.att.com. © 2019 AT&T Intellectual Property. All rights reserved. AT&T, the Globe logo and other marks are trademarks and service marks of AT&T Intellectual Property and/or AT&T affiliated companies. All other marks contained herein are the property of their respective owners.

Cautionary Language Concerning Forward-Looking Statements

Information set forth in this news release contains financial estimates and other forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties, and actual results might differ materially. A discussion of factors that may affect future results is contained in AT&T's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. AT&T disclaims any obligation to update and revise statements contained in this news release based on new information or otherwise.

This news release may contain certain non-GAAP financial measures. Reconciliations between the non-GAAP financial measures and the GAAP financial measures are available on the company's website at https://investors.att.com.

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Key Quotes

'A lot of the momentum that's coming in the wireless business is coming because we put a really good network out there. We did what we were supposed to do for FirstNet. The 5G transition that's occurring and the fiber footprint that we have out there are all strong, which gives us a good platform. So, I think we outlined all those things at the beginning of the year, and I feel good about how we've executed on them.'

'We started fourth quarter this year on a share buyback approach … You should expect we're going to be aggressive moving into next year. We've made that clear.'

'HBO Max is a product that appeals to the entire family and the family wireless plan and it's something that everybody in the family looks at and says, that has something in it for me. The parent who's the decision-maker at the macro end of the family plan says, that is something for me.'

'We know from our experience with HBO that attaching content to connectivity service has churn benefits… I don't think we have to debate that. We've got every other wireless provider out there trying to do something like that right now.'

'Look, our approach to this is to give a compelling value to the 33 million customers that are currently HBO subscribers. And it's a compelling value proposition to 33 million people that are already paying $15 a month or thereabouts. They're going to get twice the content for the same price and it should be something that they look at and say, 'Wow, this is great. It doesn't happen very often in my life where somebody gives me quite a bit more without having to pay more.' So, I think it's a great value moment for that customer base.'

'Warner Bros will continue to remain an independent studio. We have huge library. We talked about it at the Analyst Day. We're talking about maybe 10,000 hours of library coming in a little bit less. Well, there's well over 40,000 hours of library in the Warner Bros portfolio and we'll continue to license those things as we have an opportunity to do so…'

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