ATT CEO John Stankey Bought 1 Million Of Shares
When a CEO drops a million bucks of his own money on company stock people tend to notice. AT&Ts freshly minted chief exec John Stankey just did exactly that. Wall Street is trying to figure out what message hes sending.
Stankey officially took over from longtime CEO Randall Stephenson in July 2020. Shortly after SEC filings showed he bought roughly $1 million worth of AT&T shares on the open market. Thats in addition to whatever stock compensation he already gets as part of his executive package.
Why CEOs Buy Their Own Stock
Corporate officers buy shares for lots of reasons but a big open market purchase usually signals confidence. Its one thing accepting stock as compensation – you get that anyway. Its another to voluntarily invest personal money at current prices.
AT&T stock had been beaten up pretty badly. The massive debt from Time Warner acquisition worried investors. Cord-cutting kept eating away at DirecTVs subscriber base. Pandemic hammered WarnwerMedias entertainment stuff. Stock was at decade lows.
Message To The Markets
By putting his own cash on the line Stankey basically says he believes AT&T is undervalued. Hes betting that under his leadership stock recovers. If hes wrong he loses real money. That skin in the game matters to investors watching from sidelines.
Some folks are skeptical though. Million dollars is serious money to normal people. For a CEO earning eight figures annually? Kinda a rounding error. Skeptics see it as cheap signaling not genuine conviction.
What Stankey Has To Prove
AT&T needs the streaming strategy with streaming services like HBO Max to work. Needs 5G investments to pay off. Needs to manage debt without killing the dividend that income investors depend on.
Stankey was instrumental in the Time Warner deal and HBO Max launch. If those bets prove wise he looks like a visionary. If they stumble hes the guy who overpaid for content and couldnt execute. Either way hes eating his own cooking now. Whether that meal is satisfying or gives everyone indigestion remains to be seen.
