Communications companies help customers interact with one another online and by phone through a wide range of wired and wireless methods. They are a vital tool to help keep us all connected. Our top communication stock picks offer an array of national and local broadcast channels, comprehensive phone plans and tools for navigating the internet. These stocks also provide strong and consistent returns through stock price appreciation or dividend payments to investors.
Comcast (CMCSA)
Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA), located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is a global media company that provides internet connectivity services. The company also owns NBC Universal, which encompasses NBC and the steaming service Peacock. Its Universal theme parks are in Florida, California, China and Japan.
On Oct. 26, Comcast reported its third-quarter earnings results for 2023, stating that total revenue remain unchanged from the year before. They experienced a net loss of $4.7 billion for Q3 2022, and for Q3 2023, $4 billion in net income. The company’s financial success this quarter was due to its theme parks’ double-digit growth, a bump in the number of Peacock’s paid subscribers and the Oppenheimer movie’s box office success.
Over the past year, its share price has grown 26% due to its strong financial position in the communications landscape, specifically as a broadband provider. Comcast also offers a solid dividend yield of 2.6 annually.
AT&T (T)
AT&T (NYSE:T), headquartered in Dallas, Texas, is a telecommunications company that offers broadband internet and other wireless services. AT&T has products and services under multiple brands, including Cricket, their discount phone service provider, and AT&T Fiber, a fiber optic cable connection service. They also sell smartphones through their stand-alone retail stores.
AT&T is one of the leading telecommunications companies, but its share price has declined 10% over this past year. The annual dividend payout of 6.70% with a quarterly dividend payment of $0.28 per share helped offset overall investors’ losses.
On Oct. 19, AT&T released its earnings for the third quarter, stating that its net income dropped 40% and total revenue remained stagnant compared to the year before. AT&T experienced negligible growth in its U.S. business segment. However, it reported a jump in revenue in its Latin American segment of over 25% due to an increase in equipment and services sales.
Alphabet (GOOG,GOOGL)
Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG, NASDAQ:GOOGL), headquartered in Mountain View, California, is an interactive media company that operates through multiple segments. Google Services is composed of Google Cloud, which is cybersecurity infrastructure, Android smartphones, Google Maps, Google Play Store and YouTube. Products include the Google Nest, Fitbit and Pixel smartphones.
On Oct. 24, Alphabet released its earnings result for the third quarter of 2023, reporting increased revenue of 11%. Net income rose 42%, and operating margins increased 28% year-over-year. But, despite these promising numbers showing the company’s growth, its stock price tumbled 10% following this earnings release. This drop was due to its Google Cloud segment, which grew 22% in total sales but missed overall expectations.
Since that earnings report, the stock has rebounded to previous levels. Over the past year, its share price has grown approximately 61%.
As of this writing, Noah Bolton held a LONG position in GOOGL. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.