AT&T Stock Pays Out $58 Bil – Investors Take Note
In the last five years, AT&T (T) stock has returned a notable $58 Bil back to its shareholders through cold, hard cash via dividends and buybacks. Let’s look at some numbers and compare how this payout power stacks up against the market’s biggest capital-return machines.
As it turns out, T stock has returned the 23rd highest amount to shareholders in history.
| T | S&P Median | |
|---|---|---|
| Dividends | $49 Bil | $3.0 Bil |
| Share Repurchase | $8.1 Bil | $3.0 Bil |
| Total Returned | $58 Bil | $6.0 Bil |
| Total Returned as % of Current Market Cap | 29.6% | 16.7% |
Why should you care? Because dividends and share repurchases represent direct, tangible returns of capital to shareholders. They also signal management’s confidence in the company’s financial health and ability to generate sustainable cash flows. And there are more stocks like that. Here is a list of the top 10 companies ranked by total capital returned to shareholders via dividends and stock repurchases.
Top 10 Stocks By Total Shareholder Return
| Total Money Returned | As % Of Current Market Cap | via Dividends | via Share Repurchases | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AAPL | $514 Bil | 13.5% | $75 Bil | $439 Bil |
| GOOGL | $296 Bil | 7.7% | $17 Bil | $279 Bil |
| MSFT | $223 Bil | 8.0% | $105 Bil | $118 Bil |
| JPM | $176 Bil | 20.9% | $71 Bil | $105 Bil |
| META | $159 Bil | 10.3% | $10 Bil | $149 Bil |
| XOM | $152 Bil | 22.9% | $79 Bil | $73 Bil |
| BAC | $125 Bil | 32.6% | $45 Bil | $80 Bil |
| CVX | $112 Bil | 29.1% | $57 Bil | $55 Bil |
| WFC | $105 Bil | 39.7% | $22 Bil | $83 Bil |
| NVDA | $96 Bil | 2.2% | $3.0 Bil | $93 Bil |
For full ranking, visit Buybacks & Dividends Ranking
What do you notice here? The total capital returned to shareholders as a % of the current market cap appears inversely proportional to growth prospects for reinvestments. Stocks like Meta (META) and Microsoft (MSFT) are growing much faster, in a more predictable way, compared to the others, but they have returned a much lower fraction of their market cap to shareholders.
That’s the flip side to high capital returns. Sure, they are attractive, but you have to ask yourself the question: Am I sacrificing growth and sound fundamentals? With that in mind, let’s look at some numbers for T. (see Buy or Sell AT&T Stock for more details)
AT&T Fundamentals
- Revenue Growth: 2.7% LTM and 1.3% last 3-year average.
- Cash Generation: Nearly 15.5% free cash flow margin and 19.9% operating margin LTM.
- Recent Revenue Shocks: The minimum annual revenue growth in the last 3 years for T was -0.08%.
- Valuation: AT&T stock trades at a P/E multiple of 8.8
| T | S&P Median | |
|---|---|---|
| Sector | Communication Services | – |
| Industry | Integrated Telecommunication Services | – |
| PE Ratio | 8.8 | 24.3 |
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| LTM* Revenue Growth | 2.7% | 6.8% |
| 3Y Average Annual Revenue Growth | 1.3% | 5.5% |
| Min Annual Revenue Growth Last 3Y | -0.1% | 0.4% |
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| LTM* Operating Margin | 19.9% | 18.6% |
| 3Y Average Operating Margin | 19.9% | 18.1% |
| LTM* Free Cash Flow Margin | 15.5% | 14.2% |
*LTM: Last Twelve Months
The table gives a good overview of what you get from T stock, but what about the risk?
T Historical Risk
T stock isn’t immune to big drops. It fell nearly 40% in the Dot-Com bubble and more than 45% during the Global Financial Crisis. The 2018 correction cut it almost 30%, while the Covid sell-off took it down about 31%. Even the recent inflation shock caused a close to 37% slide. Solid fundamentals matter, but when the market turns south, T can take a serious hit.
But the risk is not limited to major market crashes. Stocks fall even when markets are good – think events like earnings, business updates, and outlook changes. Read T Dip Buyer Analyses to see how the stock has recovered from sharp dips in the past.
The Trefis High Quality (HQ) Portfolio, with a collection of 30 stocks, has a track record of comfortably outperforming its benchmark that includes all 3 – the S&P 500, S&P mid-cap, and Russell 2000 indices. Why is that? As a group, HQ Portfolio stocks provided better returns with less risk versus the benchmark index; less of a roller-coaster ride, as evident in HQ Portfolio performance metrics.