AT&T remains a wireless phone powerhouse, but COVID-19 has upended WarnerMedia and its premium film and TV businesses, judging by its first-quarter earnings unveiled Wednesday.
And that expensive bet on show business worries Bernstein analysts Peter Supino and James MacNeill, who criticize AT&T for spending heavily to acquire DirecTV and Time Warner assets only to see WarnerMedia walloped by the coronavirus pandemic. "Having failed badly at repackaging DirecTV, AT&T now seeks to repackage WarnerMedia amidst media industry disarray that would be hard to exaggerate," the Bernstein duo wrote Thursday in a note.
The analysts see investment in mobility possibly suffering as AT&T shores up its media businesses and gets set to launch HBO Max to.