Strong wireless demand is a bonus

Article Excerpt

The best way to profit from rising use of smartphones and other wireless devices is through carriers, such as AT&T and Verizon. That’s because they have more revenue sources than smartphone makers. These include traditional phone, Internet and TV services. This diversity limits their reliance on a single device. AT&T INC. $27 (New York symbol T; Income Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 5.9 billion; Market cap: $159.3 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.3; WSSF Rating: Average) sells traditional telephone services to 45.7 million consumer and business customers in 13 states. Its wireless division has 81.6 million customers nationwide. Since 2007, AT&T has been the exclusive U.S. carrier of the hugely popular Apple iPhone. The company attracted a record 3.2 million new iPhone users in the three months ended September 30, 2009. About 40% of these customers were new to AT&T. Despite these new clients, AT&T’s third-quarter revenue fell 1.6%, to $30.9 billion from $31.3 billion a year earlier. Earnings fell 1.2%, to $3.19 billion from…