Munger Mode rating: 2 out of 5 — Sell. Our own rating from the research report below, on business quality first: moat durability and management, with price separating the top three.
We have watched AT&T for sixty years, owned the old Ma Bell in another era, and watched the modern incarnation destroy more shareholder capital between 2012 and 2021 than almost any American enterprise not run by outright crooks. The company standing before us in mid-2026 is a much better business than the one that owned DirecTV and Time Warner — cleaner, more focused, better run. Give management credit for that. But better is not the same as wonderful. AT&T remains a capital-devouring utility competing in a three-and-a-half-player knife fight, earning returns on invested capital in the high single digits, about to lever itself back up to 3.2x EBITDA to buy $23 billion of spectrum it needs simply to stay in place. It pays out essentially 100% of free cash flow to shareholders while its debt rises.
Recent filings analysed: 8-K (2026-08-04), 8-K (2026-07-28), FWP (2026-07-27), 8-K (2026-07-22).
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