Telecommunications providers raise prices due to Trump tariffsThe major smartphone providers Verizon $VZ (-1,97%), AT&T $T (-2,44%) and T-Mobile $XOM (+0,12%) are facing a possible price increase in connection with the tariffs imposed by President Trump. Initially, the smartphone industry seemed to be spared from these tariffs, but the current exemption could soon end. Experts are analyzing that the price of the iPhone 15 could rise from the current 699 euros to 839 euros. Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg made it clear that these high tariffs cannot be borne by the companies and will ultimately burden consumers. AT&T CEO John Stankey also emphasized that the costs must be passed on to end customers. T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert added that the uncertainty surrounding the tariffs is having a major impact on providers' pricing and that an adjustment may be necessary in order to overcome the economic challenges.

Elon Musk reduces role at Doge after Tesla issuesElon Musk has announced that he is stepping down from his role in the Trump administration team Doge. This decision comes at a time when Tesla is facing $TSLA (+10,24%) is struggling with a drastic 71% drop in profits. President Trump confirmed that Musk's withdrawal was planned and assured that Tesla will continue to receive support after his departure. While Musk has not revealed full details about his retirement, the length of time he has been a "special government employee" (SGE) could play a role. In light of the protests against Tesla and the associated financial challenges, Musk plans to spend less time at Doge in order to return his focus to the problems at Tesla. Despite the challenges and uncertainties, Tesla's share price still rose after Musk's announcement, showing that investors are hoping he will return to his roots.

Sources:

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/verizon-att-and-t-mobile-prepare-to-raise-prices-on-consumers-because-of-trumps-trade-war-122549340.html

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1dr6k6rvl7o

Boston Scientific grows strongly in the first quarter of 2025

Boston Scientific Corporation $B1SX34 presented impressive figures in the first quarter of 2025. With sales of 4.663 billion euros, the company achieved growth of 20.9% compared to the previous year. Earnings per share (EPS) also showed a positive development, climbing to EUR 0.45 compared to EUR 0.33 in the previous year. Particularly noteworthy is the adjusted EPS of EUR 0.75, which represents a significant improvement compared to EUR 0.56 in the previous year. CEO Mike Mahoney emphasized the company's impressive product portfolio and innovative strength. All business areas recorded growth, with the Cardiovascular segment standing out in particular at 26.2 %. An increase of 11.7 % was also achieved in the MedSurg segment. In the USA, sales even grew by 31.1 %. With new clinical studies, the company aims to further advance its innovation strategy and evaluate the safety and efficacy of its products.

AT&T impresses with solid quarterly figures

In the USA, AT&T Inc. $T (-2,44%) also presented strong results in the first quarter of 2025. Revenue rose to 30.6 billion euros, an increase of 2% compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Earnings per share amounted to EUR 0.61, compared to EUR 0.47 in the previous year. The adjusted EPS of 0.51 euros shows a slight improvement compared to the previous year. Particularly pleasing is the announcement of 324,000 new postpaid telephone customers that the company was able to acquire in this quarter. Revenue from mobility services amounted to EUR 16.7 billion, which corresponds to a year-on-year increase of 4.1%. AT&T is optimistic for the full year 2025 and expects consolidated services to grow in the low single digits. The company is also planning capital investments of around EUR 22 billion and is considering share buybacks in the second quarter. Another focus is on the planned sale of its 70% stake in DIRECTV, which is scheduled for mid-2025.

Sources:

https://www.finanzen.net/nachricht/aktien/boston-scientific-announces-results-for-first-quarter-2025-14412628

https://www.finanzen.net/nachricht/aktien/at-t-delivers-strong-first-quarter-financial-performance-14412625

The second month of 2025 is already over. Time is flying by again at breakneck speed and one event or statement follows the next this year. It's crazy what's going on at the moment and at the same time the market is somehow saying "I don't care".

Up down, up down, the markets are becoming more volatile and yet, or precisely because of this, my February was almost at +/-0.

But one thing at a time.

In February I achieved a plus of 0.8%. With my portfolio size, this corresponds to a value of almost €900. Not particularly good compared to the Dax (+3.77%), but still very respectable compared to the HSBC MSCI World (-2.49%).

Unfortunately, things do not look any better over the year (YTD).

The Dax is running away with 13.3%, while the MSCI World is bobbing along at 1.6%. Here, too, I was at least able to beat the World, but I still lag miles behind the DAX.

Overall, however, I am still very satisfied. As I don't have a lot of tech in my portfolio and my stocks are (mostly) rather stable, there is often no outperformance of the stocks and if there is, it is only marginal.

My high and low performers in February were (top 3):

$HSY (-0,39%) Hershey +15.63%

$T (-2,44%) AT&T +14.07%

$NESN (-1,74%) Nestle +13.10%

$ADM (-0,82%) Archer Daniels -8.57%

$UNH (-1,3%) United Health -13.16%

$TSLA (+10,24%) Tesla -27.59%

Dividends:

In February, I received a net €123.62 from a total of 10 distributions.

Compared to February 2024 (€99.26), this was an increase of 24.54%

Investments:

Due to the construction work on the house last year, the focus continues to be on building up the nest egg and saving up a "leisure account" again, as everything was really used up completely last year and only the custody account remained.

The savings plans will of course continue unabated, but individual investments are probably not possible for the time being.

Purchases and sales:

I have parted with Mercedes ( $MBG (+1,59%) ) and Medical Properties ( $MPW (-0,62%) ).

I then added to Lockheed Martin ( $LMT (+2,98%) ), Hershey ( $HSY (-0,39%) ) and Petroleo Brasileiro ( $PETR4 (+0,17%) ).

My savings plans remain unchanged, but it is quite possible that I will stop them for the time being in order to build up investment cash again.

Savings plans (350€ in total):

• Realty ($O (-0,52%) )
• STAG Industrial ($STAG (+0,48%) )
• Gladstone Invest ($GAIN (+1,49%) )
• Hercules Capital ($HTGC (+0,7%) )
• Cintas ($CTAS (+0,18%) )
• LVMH ($MC (+0,33%) )
• Monster Beverage ($MNST (+0,21%) )
• Microsoft ($MSFT (+1,32%) )

Goals 2025:

My goal is to have €130,000 in my portfolio at the end of the year. The goal is to be achieved by reinvesting the dividend, making payments and, of course, increasing the share price. The share price increase is of course impossible to predict in any way, so the motto is: if the share price falls or does not rise enough, more cash is needed.

This comes from selling useless stuff on eBay, additional income from e.g. "neighborhood help" etc. The worse the share price, the more additional cash has to be raised.

Target achievement at the end of February 2025: 37.41%

So I'm on the right track (so far). I'm curious to see what else will happen in 2025 and hope that the crash, which seems to be getting closer and closer, will take a little longer (so that I can continue to accumulate cash).

How was your February? Are you happy so far? I think that, due to the volatility, the portfolios in February are far more spread out than they were in January or even at the end of last year.

The current hype surrounding AI is reminiscent of the dotcom bubble, but above all the era of the Competitive Local Exchange Carriers (CLECs) in the late 1990s. CLECs were new telecommunications providers that emerged after the deregulation of the US market in order to compete with established providers such as $T (-2,44%) competition. They expanded aggressively, raising billions in investor money and shaping the dotcom bubble, but later failed spectacularly due to over-indebtedness and lack of profitability.

Today, the AI sector is attracting similar attention: high valuations, a race to expand infrastructure and euphoric growth forecasts dominate the news. But despite superficial parallels, there are crucial differences in profitability, demand dynamics and financial stability.

What do AI & CLECs have in common?

• As was the case with CLECs back then, we are now seeing extreme valuations for AIs. $NVDA (+4,72%) For example, AI is trading at a P/E of over 70, similar to the 200x sales valuation of Level 3 Communications in 1999.
• The AI sector is currently attracting billions, comparable to the USD 30 billion raised by CLECs up to 2000. Goldman Sachs forecasts 200 Mrd. USD globale KI-Investitionen bis 2025.
• AI companies are under pressure to massively expand infrastructure, while prices for cloud services are falling. This is reminiscent of the CLECs that inflated infrastructure despite falling phone rates.

Why AI is different

In the current valuation, the AI industry is fundamentally different from CLECs.

While $MSFT (+1,32%) or$GOOG (-1,83%) are profitable with stable operating margins of over 40%, CLECs operated at a loss at the time, i.e. their business model was largely limited to the costly reselling of standardized telecom services without added value. The AI sector is also much more financially disciplined. Big tech companies have debt ratios below 15% and have high cash reserves, whereas CLECs were up to 70% in debt and ultimately went under in the wave of mass bankruptcies around 2001.

A decisive difference also lies in the demand dynamics. AI tech is now used across industries, from precise drug development in the pharmaceutical industry to route optimization in logistics. This real, scalable demand contrasts with the CLECs, which built infrastructure for speculative customer groups that never materialized.

Then there is the innovative edge. Proprietary chips (such as Googles TPUs or Nvidias GPUs) and other software solutions create technological competitive advantages. CLECs, on the other hand, only offered standardized telecom services that hardly differentiated themselves.

There is also a paradigm shift in risk management. Companies like Meta are investing specifically in projects with a clear ROI focus instead of using debt for oversized and ultimately useless infrastructure projects like CLECs. This strategic agility underlines the maturity of today's tech industry compared to the dotcom era.

No dotcom 2.0

In my view, the AI boom is is not a bubblebut a structural change. The combination of real demand, financial stability and technological added value makes AI fundamentally different from CLECs.

#at&t $T (-2,44%)

📌 Disclaimer: This is not investment advice. While I endeavor to provide accurate and up-to-date information, I do not guarantee the completeness, accuracy or timeliness of the content. Readers should seek independent professional advice before making any financial decisions. I am not liable for any loss or damage arising from the use of or reliance on my content. I am not a tax advisor. I am not an investment advisor.

Hi folks,

after my last short presentation on British American Tobacco was so well received, the next short presentation follows today: AT&T's figures for Q4, which were published yesterday on 25.02.25. I look forward to your feedback🙂 Here we go!

📌 Who is AT&T anyway?

AT&T is one of the largest telecommunications companies in the world and is a relatively established player, especially in the USA. Founded in 1885, the company has established itself over the decades as one of the leading providers of mobile communications, broadband internet and business solutions.

Following its failed expansion into the media business (including the acquisition of Time Warner, which was later reversed), AT&T is now focusing fully on its core areas again:

✔ Mobile communications (5G expansion & growth in the postpaid segment)

Fiber Internet (expansion of the broadband network in the USA)

✔ Enterprise solutions & network infrastructure

The expansion of 5G and fiber optics in particular is seen as a growth opportunity for AT&T in order to hold its own against competitors such as Verizon and T-Mobile in the highly competitive US market in the long term. But do the latest figures indicate that this strategy is really working? I'll take a look at the Q4 results.

📊 Selected financial highlights

✔ Revenue: USD 32.3 billion (+0.9% YoY)

✔ Adjusted earnings per share (EPS): USD 0.54 (stable vs. Q4 2023)

✔ Free cash flow: USD 4.8 bn (solid figures, no negative surprises)

The increase in revenue shows that AT&T is holding up well despite a highly competitive market. Particularly pleasing: free cash flow remains strong - possibly a good sign for the company's dividend policy, which in my opinion has kept me on board, especially in the weaker times in terms of share price.

📡 Mobile communications - How is the growth? Will it continue?

✅ Postpaid customer growth: +482,000 (forecast was 443,000)

✅ Mobile service revenue: USD 16.6 billion (+3.3% YoY)

✅ ARPU (average revenue per customer): Stable growth

Conclusion: Customers remain loyal to AT&T and the company can continue to benefit from 5G demand. The figures here exceed analysts' estimates!

🌐 Broadband & fiber - The future of AT&T?

🚀 Fiber customer growth: +307,000 (a strong sign of further growth)

📈 Broadband revenue (residential customers): USD 2.9 billion (+7.8% YoY)

AT&T's fiber optic offensive is paying off. While traditional TV and telephone products continue to lose relevance, AT&T is creating a future-proof source of income here.

🔮 Looking ahead - What can we expect in 2025?

📌 Service revenue: growth in the low single-digit percentage range expected

EBITDA: +3% or more

📌 Free cash flow: expected to remain stable or increase slightly

Focus remains on 5G and fiber optics, combined with cost efficiency measures Management expects continued profitable growth - no revolution, but solid progress.

📢 Conclusion - AT&T a buy?

AT&T delivers a strong quarter. Especially the cash flow and customer growth in mobile & broadband are positive. The stock remains interesting for me, but the challenges posed by the expansion of 5G and fiber optics remain a relevant task with a black box character in my view.

❌🙅 What I don't like about AT&T

Basically, this development seems positive to me for the time being, but mmn there are definitely reasons for the hole AT&T is coming out of. One of the main points is the debt. Yes, I know - isn't that a standard problem? Yes and no. With regard to AT&T, there is the problem that the 5G expansion requires a lot of investment volume, roughly speaking, which must be spent on fiber optic expansion. If there are already liabilities to a greater extent, these expansions may be limited in their speed for the purpose of refinancing and the Internet debt brake. Moreover, AT&T is not alone - Verizon and Telekom US are also well-known players in the market and are threatening to breathe down the neck of AT&T, a relatively well-known player. These points are part of the problem with AT&T's current situation and, in my opinion, put these results into perspective to some extent.

📊 How do you see AT&T? Is the stock interesting for you or rather a boring investment? Leave your opinion in the comments!

👍 - AT&T interesting

😁 - No thanks you

Your Bass-T

Sources

(1)https://seekingalpha.com/article/4761575-at-and-t-time-to-take-money-off-the-table

(2)https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/T/?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAADpZDSAq0l5SBHZ23g9U3u_e1QCqcVANLJ1E64CxYaEPezAE4EmXgRTX3lEckQ9hw5lWq-NVuOujHg4gEIsPWrmUB_f0lW1cZuYP2L_ReFST04aZzv4DiiaVcOPET5nYvcOQdd2SJI4ySobIJ7M6otXQ0yVhN7feEHmWsB6ygAfN

(3)https://investors.att.com

(4)https://www.boerse-express.com/news/articles/att-aktie-positive-vibes-am-markt-724335