AT&T provides telecommunications services to consumers in the U.S. and Latin America and to businesses worldwide. SBC acquired the old AT&T in November 2005 and took the AT&T name shortly thereafter. The combined company acquired BellSouth Corp. in December 2006 and spun out its Directories business in May 2012. The company acquired Mexican wireless telecoms Iusacell and Nextel Mexico in January 2015.

For a second week, we have a bearish pop in the insider-sentiment data from Vickers Stock Research. The short-term data was particularly bearish on the NYSE, with the Vickers NYSE One-Week Sell/Buy Ratio coming in at 11.87, up from 8.68 last week and representing its highest one-week reading since February 2023. Meanwhile, transaction volume remains very low because of earnings-season restrictions and stock indices are still in the area of all-time highs. But volatility is on the upswing (the VIX has moved higher by about 30% in the past few weeks), with political thunderbolts, technology meltdowns, ongoing military conflicts, non-stop interest-rate drama, and now August just ahead (the slowest trading month of the year, but when illiquid markets can add to volatility). Who can blame any investor -- an insider or a 'normal' trader - from taking a cautious stance? But we will keep an eye on the now two-week bearish burst from insiders, with particular interest in how the trend develops/diminishes as earnings season moves towards completion. On a sector basis, selling by insiders last week was greatest in Financials, with shares valued at $837 million sold versus less than $5 million bought, followed by Healthcare ($30 million sold). Selling was also evident in Industrials, Energy, and Real Estate. Meanwhile, buying outpaced selling in Consumer Staples and Information Technology. This week, analysts at Vickers highlighted insider transactions of interest at Schlumberger Limited (NYSE: SLB) and Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC).

The wireless business contributes nearly 70% of AT&T’s revenue. The firm is the third-largest US wireless carrier, connecting 72 million postpaid and 17 million prepaid phone customers. Fixed-line enterprise services, which account for about 16% of revenue, include internet access, private networking, security, voice, and wholesale network capacity. Residential fixed-line services, about 11% of revenue, primarily consist of broadband internet access, serving 14 million customers. AT&T also has a sizable presence in Mexico, with 23 million customers, but this business only accounts for 4% of revenue. The firm still holds a 70% equity stake in satellite television provider DirecTV but does not consolidate this business in its financial statements.

AT&T provides telecommunications services to consumers in the U.S. and Latin America and to businesses worldwide. SBC acquired the old AT&T in November 2005 and took the AT&T name shortly thereafter. The combined company acquired BellSouth Corp. in December 2006 and spun out its Directories business in May 2012. The company acquired Mexican wireless telecoms Iusacell and Nextel Mexico in January 2015.