VZ - LightShed starts AT&T at Buy expecting wireless strength shift to buybacks

"It's time to buy AT&T" (T +0.8%), LightShed Partners says in initiating the wireless carrier at a Buy - and highlighting that dividend-focused investors might be missing a bigger picture. The market isn't properly appreciating the growth opportunity in wireless and fiber (AT&T's new focus after the planned spin-off of media), the firm says. Wireless has been AT&T's "unsung success story" for several years, overshadowed by the media deals, and it will make up more than 70% of pro forma EBITDA after the WarnerMedia/Discovery (DISCA -2.5%) deal, it says. And rival T-Mobile (TMUS -0.5%) has been "heralded as the growth king," but AT&T has added share in postpaid phone gross adds since 2018 while rivals have declined, LightShed notes. Meanwhile, displacing T-Mobile as the primary wholesale partner to Dish Network (DISH -0.4%) is a $2 billion annual revenue opportunity - one that can drive AT&T to faster revenue growth than

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LightShed starts AT&T at Buy, expecting wireless strength, shift to buybacks