AT&T Warns Coronavirus Financial Impact ‘Could Be Material,’ Nixes $4 Billion Stock-Buyback Plan
The telco, which made the disclosure Friday in an SEC filing, said that while its business “continues to operate effectively” during the COVID-19 outbreak the ongoing crisis could have a material impact on financial results.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has and will continue affecting economies and businesses around the world. The impacts of the pandemic could be material, but due to the evolving nature of this situation, we are not able at this time to estimate the impact on our financial or operational results,” AT&T said in the filing.
AT&T canceled all stock repurchases “to maintain flexibility and focus on continued investment in serving our customers, taking care of our employees and enhancing our network, including nationwide 5G,” the company said. “These continued investments will help ensure the company is well positioned when the pandemic passes and economies begin to recover.”
The company cited factors that could “impact our ability to serve customers,” including: effectiveness of COVID-19 mitigation measures; global economic conditions; consumer spending; work-from-home trends; and supply chain sustainability. AT&T noted that the virus pandemic could result in “increased or decreased demand for our products and services.”
COPYRIGHT_BP: Published on https://bingepost.com/att-warns-coronavirus-financial-impact-could-be-material-nixes-4-billion-stock-buyback-plan/68003/ by Cecilia Jones on 2020-03-20T11:53:49.000Z
Among other steps AT&T has taken in response to COVID-19, it said all consumer home internet wireline and fixed wireless internet customers will not be subject to bandwidth caps — with the ability to use unlimited internet data without penalty. Additionally, the company has expanded eligibility of its Access from AT&T program for qualifying low-income households for $10 per month; new members of the program can receive two months of free service.
