AT&T Wireless 2012 Annual Report Download - page 4

AT&T Inc.
2
TO OUR INVESTORS
 We increased our quarterly dividend for the
29th consecutive year and paid out more than
$10 billion in regular quarterly dividends — the
most in our history.
 We also repurchased 6 percent of our total shares
outstanding. Combining dividends and share
buybacks, our company returned $23 billion to
shareowners in 2012, the highest total in our history.
 We refinanced $12 billion of our debt, taking
advantage of historically low interest rates.
 In addition, the investments in our pension fund
posted solid returns, and we took an important
step to solidify our commitment to our employees
by seeking to contribute a preferred equity interest
in AT&T Mobility, our best asset, to our pension
trust. We expect to gain the approvals needed for
this contribution in 2013.
It’s notable that all of this investment has come
during a time of economic uncertainty. Many
companies pulled back during this period. But
we’ve maintained our financial strength and
kept our focus on delivering for customers over
the long haul, which has allowed us to invest
aggressively through the cycle. For several years
now, AT&T has invested more capital into the U.S.
economy than any other public company.
The past few years also have been a time of
dramatic technological change for our industry.
Smartphone adoption in the United States has
soared. Tablets and other mobile Internet devices
are now on a similar trajectory. The global mobile
apps ecosystem has exploded into a major industry,
far beyond what anyone conceived just a few years
ago. And because of these developments, how our
customers live and work has forever changed.
The United States has led the world in this
revolution, and I’m proud to say that our company
has been at the forefront — delivering the fast,
mobile connectivity that’s the foundation for all
of this innovation.
We’ve come very far, very fast. But we’re still early.
To date, the mobile Internet has been defined for
most of us by what we can do on our devices — so
much so that most of us think of the past few years
as the smartphone era.
But today and in the years ahead, the services
we provide are poised to play an even more
transformative role. We’re now riding the next waves
of innovation, moving into the mobile life era —
where advanced communications connect virtually
everything and where every aspect of our customers’
personal and work lives are more intelligent and
immediate, without regard to device or location.
How our customers buy things, manage their
health, secure their homes, access entertainment,
how they learn and make decisions, how they travel
and discover — all this and much more is quickly
being reimagined.
Our business customers, too, are finding new ways
to speed growth and operate more productively
with fully connected solutions. For example,
there’s tremendous potential to transform our
healthcare ecosystem — and make everything
from record keeping, billing and payment to
diagnosis, monitoring and ongoing care faster
and more efficient. In much the same way, mobile
payments are transforming the way our customers
conduct commerce — moving from plastic credit
cards to secure, personalized wallets accessible
on mobile devices.