AT&T
New York symbol T, provides traditional local and long-distance telecommunication services in 22 states. It also provides wireless services nationwide.
We still think investors will profit most — and with the least risk — by buying shares of well-established, dividend-paying stocks with strong business prospects.
These are companies that have strong positions in healthy industries. They also have strong management that will make the right moves to remain competitive in a changing marketplace.
Stocks like these give investors an additional measure of …read more »
Demand for wireless services is rising sharply in North America. That’s partly because device makers continue to release new cellphones and other wireless devices, like the Kobo e-book reader and Apple iPad.
As well, more customers are switching from traditional phones (or land lines) to wireless services. Smartphones, in particular, have become increasingly popular.
Today’s top-selling smartphones are Apple’s iPhone, …read more »
It pays to be skeptical of companies that mainly grow through acquisitions. That’s because many purchases come with hidden problems that can hurt the buyer’s future earnings. The buyer can also weaken its balance sheet with excessive debt if it borrows heavily to fund an acquisition.
However, we like AT&T’s recent purchase of rival U.S. wireless carrier T-Mobile. The company’s extra …read more »
AT&T, symbol T on New York, was the exclusive U.S. carrier for the Apple iPhone, until Verizon started selling it in February. However, AT&T is rapidly upgrading its wireless networks, which should help it hang on to its current iPhone customers.
Despite iPhone competition from Verizon, AT&T still activated nearly 3.6 million iPhones in the first quarter, with 23% of those …read more »
Demand for wireless services is rising sharply in North America. That’s partly because device makers continue to release new cellphones and wireless devices, such as Apple’s iPad and Amazon’s Kindle e-book reader.
As well, more customers are switching from traditional phones (or land lines) to wireless services. Smartphones, in particular, have become increasingly popular. Aside from functioning as mobile phones, …read more »
Smartphones have become increasingly popular in recent years. Aside from functioning as mobile phones, these devices have many computer-like functions, including Internet access and email.
The smartphone market is highly competitive. Two large cap stocks, Apple and Research in Motion, are the dominant players. However, other firms, such as Motorola, Palm and Garmin, have introduced new smartphones in recent months, as …read more »
AT&T INC. $24 (New York symbol T; Income Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 6 billion; Market cap: $144 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.1; WSSF Rating: Average) plans to upgrade its Internet capacity, which will let it store and distribute more content. AT&T hopes these enhancements will help it attract more business customers, whose online payroll and accounting services require reliable data …read more »
TENNANT CO. $25 (New York symbol TNC; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 18.3 million; Market cap: $457.5 million; WSSF Rating: Average) earned $0.57 a share in the three months ended September 30, 2008, up 29.5% from $0.44 a year earlier. These figures exclude non-recurring items. Revenue grew 15.3%, to $185.9 million from $161.3 million, thanks to …read more »
S&P DEPOSITORY RECEIPTS $87.32 (American Exchange symbol SPY; buy or sell through brokers) are commonly called ‘Spiders’. The fund holds the stocks in the S&P 500 Index. This index is comprised of 500 major U.S. stocks chosen for market size, liquidity, and industry group representation.
The 10 highest weighted stocks on the index are Exxon Mobil, Procter & Gamble, General Electric, …read more »
We still think high-quality mutual funds with a long-term focus will beat indexes over long periods. If funds invest as we advise — sticking with well-established companies and spreading their assets out across the five main economic sectors — they will tend to lose a lot less than the market indexes in periods when the indexes fall sharply.
That’s because big …read more »
