John Stankey

Since July 2020, inheriting and then reversing one of the most criticized strategic decisions in American corporate history — AT&T's $85 billion acquisition of Time Warner. Stankey orchestrated the spin-off of WarnerMedia, which was merged with Discovery to form Warner Bros. Discovery, freeing AT&T to refocus entirely on its core telecommunications business. Post-WarnerMedia, AT&T is a pure-play telecom company operating the nation's largest mobile network (over 70 million postpaid phone subscribers) and one of the largest fiber broadband networks (passing 28+ million locations). Stankey's strategy centers on three priorities: growing 5G wireless subscribers through network quality and value-oriented plans, aggressive fiber broadband expansion (adding millions of new fiber passings annually), and deleveraging the balance sheet from the debt accumulated during the media era. His key decisions involve fiber expansion pace and geographic targeting, 5G network investment and spectrum deployment, pricing strategy in a competitive wireless market, debt reduction trajectory, and dividend sustainability (AT&T reduced its dividend after the WarnerMedia separation). The stock is a core income holding for many investors.