AT&T Inc.
AT&T logo 2016.svg
New AT&T Logo in Dallas, TX.jpeg
AT&T's corporate headquarters in Dallas, Texas
Formerly
Southwestern Bell Corporation
(1983–1995)
SBC Communications
(1995–2005)
Type
Public
Traded as
NYSE: T
S&P 100 component
S&P 500 component
Industry
Telecommunications
Mass media
Technology
Predecessor
AT&T Corporation
BellSouth
Ameritech
Pacific Telesis
Southwestern Bell
Founded October 5, 1983; 35 years ago[1]
Headquarters Whitacre Tower, Dallas, Texas, U.S.
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Randall L. Stephenson
(chairman, CEO and president)
Products
Satellite television
Fixed-line telephony
Mobile telephony
Broadband
Digital television
Home security
IPTV
OTT services
Network security
Film production
Television production
Cable television
Pay television
Publishing
Podcasts
Sports management
News agency
Video games
Revenue Increase US$190.546 billion (2017)
Operating income
Decrease US$20.949 billion (2017)[2]
Net income
Increase US$29.450 billion (2017)[2]
Total assets Increase US$444.097 billion (2017)[2]
Total equity Increase US$142.007 billion (2017)[2]
Number of employees
273,210 (2018)[3]
Divisions
AT&T Communications
WarnerMedia
AT&T Latin America
Xandr
Website att.com
AT&T Inc. is an American multinational conglomerate holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas.[4] It is the world's largest telecommunications company, the second largest provider of mobile telephone services, and the largest provider of fixed telephone services in the United States through AT&T Communications. Since June 14, 2018, it is also the parent company of mass media conglomerate WarnerMedia, making it the world's largest media and entertainment company in terms of revenue.[5] As of 2018, AT&T is ranked #9 on the Fortune 500 rankings of the largest United States corporations by total revenue.[6]
AT&T began its history as Southwestern Bell Telephone Company, a subsidiary of the Bell Telephone Company, founded by Alexander Graham Bell in 1880. The Bell Telephone Company evolved into American Telephone and Telegraph Company in 1885, which later rebranded as AT&T Corporation. The 1982 United States v. AT&T antitrust lawsuit resulted in the divestiture of AT&T Corporation's ("Ma Bell") subsidiaries or Regional Bell Operating Companies (RBOCs, or "Baby Bells"), resulting in several independent companies including Southwestern Bell Corporation; the latter changed its name to SBC Communications Inc. in 1995. In 2005, SBC purchased its former parent AT&T Corporation and took on its branding, with the merged entity naming itself AT&T Inc. and using its iconic logo and stock-trading symbol. In 2006, AT&T Inc. acquired BellSouth, the last independent Baby Bell company, making their formerly joint venture Cingular Wireless (which had acquired AT&T Wireless in 2004) wholly owned and rebranding it as AT&T Mobility.
The current AT&T reconstitutes much of the former Bell System, and includes ten of the original 22 Bell Operating Companies along with the original long distance division.