‍Briefs from the AT&T Shareholder 2024 Report

‍Briefs from the AT&T Shareholder 2024 Report

‍Below are items that you might find interesting that were taken from the AT&T Annual Report to Shareholders which we are.

  • Paid to CEO John Stankey in 2024   $26,410,845   not including stock awards and other benefits
  • Copper Decommissioning While building the network of the future, we are actively working to exit our legacy copper network operations across the large majority of our wireline footprint. Our exit strategy includes migrating customers to fiber and wireless alternatives, and working with policy-makers to decommission our inefficient and less reliable copper network. At December 31, 2024, we had 3.3 million network access lines in service and 127,000 DSL subscribers compared, to 4.2 million network access lines in service and 210,000 DSL subscribers in the prior year.
  • Mobility business unit provides nationwide wireless service to consumers and wholesale and resale wireless subscribers located in the United States by utilizing our network to provide voice and data services, including high-speed internet over wireless devices. We classify our subscribers as either postpaid, prepaid or reseller. As of December 31, 2024, we served 118 million Mobility subscribers, including 89 million postpaid (73 million phone), 19 million prepaid and 10 million through resellers.
  • Approximately 43% of our employees are represented by the Communications Workers of America (CWA), the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) or other unions. After expiration of collective bargaining agreements, work stoppages or labor disruptions may occur in the absence of new contracts or other agreements being reached. The main contract set to expire in 2025 covers approximately 9,000 employees in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas and is set to expire in April.
  • In addition to our active employee base, at December 31, 2024, we had approximately 496,000 retirees and dependents who were eligible to receive retiree benefits.
  • Incidents or public assertions leading to damage to our reputation or questions about our business conduct, and any resulting lawsuits, claims or other legal proceedings, could have a material adverse effect on our business. In 2023, The Wall Street Journal published a series of articles alleging that lead-clad telecommunications cables are a public-health hazard or may pose environmental risks. We are currently subject to litigation and have received inquiries from government authorities as a result of these assertions. We may be subject to additional litigation, government investigations and potentially new regulation or legislation relating to lead-clad cables. Any damage to our reputation or payments of significant amounts as a result of any of these issues, even if reserved, could materially and adversely affect our business, ability to serve customers, reputation, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. AT&T Inc. Dollars in millions except per share amounts 1ere eligible to receive retiree benefits.

‍Expected Growth Areas

  • Over the next few years, we expect our growth to come from wireless and IP-based fiber broadband services. We provide integrated services to diverse groups of customers in the U.S. on a converged telecommunications network utilizing different technological platform. As of December 31, 2024, we served 141 million wireless subscribers in North America, with 118 million in the United States. 
  • Our LTE technology covers over 440 million people in North America, and in the United States, we cover all major metropolitan areas and over 336 million people. At December 31, 2024, our network covers more than 314 million people with 5G technology in the United States and North America.

Pensions

  • On April 26, 2023, AT&T and State Street Global Advisors Trust Company, as independent fiduciary of the AT&T Pension Benefit Plan (Plan), entered into a commitment agreement with subsidiaries of Athene Holding Ltd. (Athene) under which AT&T agreed to purchase nonparticipating single premium group annuity contracts that would transfer to Athene $8,067 of the Plan’s defined benefit pension obligations related to certain retirees, participants and beneficiaries under the Plan. The purchase of the group annuity contracts closed on May 3, 2023, covering approximately 96,000 AT&T participants and beneficiaries (Transferred Participants). Under the group annuity contracts, Athene, through its wholly-owned subsidiaries Athene Annuity and Life Company and Athene Annuity & Life Assurance Company of New York, made an irrevocable commitment, and is solely responsible, to pay the pension benefits of each Transferred Participant beginning with their August 2023 pension payments. The transaction does not change the amount of pension benefits payable to the Transferred Participants. The purchase of the group annuity contracts was funded directly by assets of the Plan via the pension trust underlying the Plan and required no cash or asset contributions by AT&T. We transferred $8,067 of pension benefit obligation and related plan assets upon close of the transaction and recognized a pre-tax pension settlement gain of $363. The funded status of the Plan did not materially change due to this transaction.
  • AT&T Pension Plan: At December 31, 2024, AT&T securities represented less than 1% of assets held by our pension trust. The VEBA trusts do not hold AT&T securities.
  • Plan Assets: Plan assets consist primarily of private and public equity, government and corporate bonds, and real assets (real estate and natural resources). The asset allocations of the pension plans are maintained to meet ERISA requirements. Any plan contributions, as determined by ERISA regulations, are made to a pension trust for the benefit of plan participants. We do not have significant ERISA required contributions to our pension plans for 2025. We maintain VEBA trusts to partially fund postretirement benefits; however, there are no ERISA or regulatory requirements that these post-retirement benefit plans be funded annually.

‍CEO Pay Ratio

  • We determined the pay ratio by dividing the total 2024 compensation of the CEO as disclosed in the Summary Compensation Table by the total 2024 compensation of the median employee, using the same components of compensation and valuation methodology as used in the Summary Compensation Table for the CEO.
  • The total compensation of our median employee is $122,611. The final pay ratio calculation is 215:1. 
  • Total compensation of the CEO $26,410,845 Step 2 Total compensation of the median employee2 $ 122,611 Step 3 Divide compensation of the CEO by the median employee 215.4 Result CEO pay ratio 215:1 1

1Includes the value of Mr. Stankey’s health benefits. 2Includes the cost of group health and welfare benefit

Determination of Number of Global Employees Using the Measurement Date of October 1, 2024 

  • Active employees globally excluding the CEO: 140,349
  • Exclude all non-US based employees except those in the 2 foreign countries with our largest employee populations (5,411)   Result Employees used to determine the median employee 134,938
  • Step 1 Identify all active US-based employees 115,072 
  • Step 2 Identify all active non-US based employees in foreign countries with our largest employee populations: 19,866 Mexico, 16,438;  India,    3,428
  • Step 3 Identify all active non-US based employees in the other foreign countries: 5,411
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