Telecom Stocks Extend Losses After WSJ Toxic Lead Investigation — Update

By Will Feuer

Shares of AT&T, Frontier Communications, Lumen Technologies and other telecommunications companies extended their losses on Monday as analysts responded to an investigation by The Wall Street Journal that revealed U.S. phone companies have left behind a network of cables covered in toxic lead.

AT&T's stock fell 6.8% in trading, touching its lowest level in some 30 years. Frontier shares fell 15% to $12.15 and Lumen's stock dropped 5.4% to $1.75. Verizon Communications shares fell 7.7% and were on pace for their lowest close since 2010.

Monday's declines extend losses in the sector from last week. AT&T, Verizon, Lumen and Frontier shed a combined $18 billion in market cap since the WSJ's story were fist published, and that was before Monday's declines, MoffettNathanson analysts Craig Moffett and Nick Del Deo said earlier Monday.

"We could see what amounts to a general telecom buyer's strike for some time," the analysts said.

AT&T and USTelecom, an industry group, have created webpages disputing the environmental and public health impacts of the lead cables.

"We have not seen, nor have regulators identified, evidence that legacy lead-sheathed telecom cables are a leading cause of lead exposure or the cause of a public health issue. And safe work practices within the telecommunications industry have proven effective in reducing potential lead exposures to workers," a USTelecom spokesperson said Monday.

Write to Will Feuer at Will.Feuer@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 17, 2023 15:01 ET (19:01 GMT)

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