Behind The Idea #94: The Activating AT&T Signal

Activists come with a reputation, and few have as big a reputation as Elliott Management. AT&T (T) also comes with a reputation. The two come to ahead with Elliott Management's recent letter advocating AT&T refocus on core businesses. The letter is very compelling on where AT&T went astray, and a little more predictable on what they should do next. But at a 10x forward PE, there's not much that needs to go right. So does Elliott's argument make sense? Are AT&T shares worth turning on? We discuss this week on Behind the Idea.
Topics Covered

3:15 minute mark - Elliott Management's takedown of AT&T8:00 - Basic summary of Elliott's prescription9:15 - Key graphics/charts from the letter13:00 - The value/special situations investor funnybone16:45 - Underownership of AT&T - lack of confidence, also an opportunity?21:45 - Why the loss of DirecTV and Time Warner execs is so alarming26:45 - How much of this ground has been covered before?30:00 - Elliott's Activating AT&T plan 36:00 - Reactions to the road map46:00 - Final risks for investors to keep in mind
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