The current market volatility is a great time to invest in defensive stocks. Here is just one defensive stock that will hold up better than the overall market during periods of economic uncertainty.
AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T)
AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) is an American multinational conglomerate holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the world’s largest telecommunications company, the second largest provider of mobile telephone services, and the largest provider of fixed telephone services in the United States through AT&T Communications. As of 2018, AT&T is ranked #9 on the Fortune 500 rankings of the largest United States corporations by total revenue.
AT&T began its history as Southwestern Bell Telephone Company, a subsidiary of the American Bell Telephone Company, founded by Alexander Graham Bell in 1877. The Bell Telephone Company was subsequently acquired by the American Telephone & Telegraph Company in 1885. AT&T Corporation was eventually split into several independent companies in the 1980s, with the regional Bell operating companies becoming the seven “Baby Bells”, and AT&T continuing to operate long distance services. Southwestern Bell was one of the Baby Bells that operated, serving the states of Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas.
In 2005, AT&T Corporation was re-acquired by SBC Communications, which then changed its name to AT&T Inc. AT&T Inc. has since acquired several other telecommunications companies, including BellSouth in 2006, DirecTV in 2015, and Time Warner in 2018.
AT&T Inc. is a publicly traded company, with its shares listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “T”. As of 2018, AT&T has a market capitalization of $226.5 billion.
AT&T Inc. operates in four main business segments:
– Wireless: AT&T is the largest wireless carrier in the United States, with 143.8 million subscribers as of the fourth quarter of 2017.
– Wireline: AT&T is the largest provider of fixed telephone services in the United States, with over 25 million customers as of the fourth quarter of 2017.
– Business Solutions: AT&T provides a range of communications and networking solutions to business customers.
– Entertainment Group: AT&T owns and operates a number of media and entertainment assets, including HBO, Turner Broadcasting, and Warner Bros.