Under previous CEO Randall Stephenson, AT&T (NYSE: T) took on massive debt to build an entertainment empire. But the high costs of deploying a 5G network and the competitive nature of the U.S. telecom market combined to spur current CEO John Stankey, in just his first year in the top spot, to unwind his predecessor's decisions.
AT&T's stock price dropped after the company announced its WarnerMedia division would combine with Discovery to form a new entertainment entity, and the deal would impact AT&T's high-yield dividend. The stock price hasn't recovered since it hit a 52-week high of $33.88 in May shortly before the announcement.
But now that AT&T is returning its focus entirely to its core telecom business, there are reasons to be optimistic about the company.
Source Fool.com