AT&T fourth-quarter income tops estimates amid wireless subscriber strength

Netflix has an average rating of overweight and mean price target of $1,051.64, according to analysts polled by FactSet.

Netflix has an average rating of overweight and mean price target of $1,051.64, according to analysts polled by FactSet.

Shares of Texas Instruments Inc and Verizon Communications Inc have been in a sharp downtrend in recent months, but the sell-off has made neither of these any more attractive to own.

In fact, Michael Landsberg dubbed both a “value trap” in a recent interview with CNBC. He’s the chief investment officer of Landsberg Bennett Private Wealth Management.

Here’s why Landsberg recommends selling TXN and VZ even though both have already tanked significantly over the past three months.

Texas Instruments Inc

Michael Landsberg recommends unloading Texas Instruments stock primarily because it does not offer meaningful exposure to artificial intelligence – but still trades a rich multiple.

“There are better places to be in semi, with exposure to AI that isn’t much more expensive than this,” he argued last week on “Three Stock Lunch”.

Texas Instruments is currently going for about 30 times forward “when earnings aren’t going to grow much.” Landsberg also dubbed the ongoing weakness in TXN warranted as “margins aren’t there.”

Earlier in January, the Nasdaq listed firm reported a year-on-year decline in profit for its fourth financial quarter and issued a disappointing guidance for the future.

Texas Instruments now expects its per-share earnings to fall between 94 cents and $1.16 in Q1. Even the higher end of its range came in below $1.17 that experts had forecast. Still, chief executive Haviv Ilan said in a press release at the time:

“Our cash flow from operations for the trailing 12 months again underscored the strength of our business mode, the quality of our product portfolio and the benefit of 300mm production.”

Shares of the multinational semiconductor company also pay a healthy 2.93% dividend yield at that does make them more attractive for income investors at writing.

Verizon Communications Inc

Michael Landsberg cautioned against owning Verizon stock on CNBC’s “Three Stock Lunch” due to similar reasons.

The telecommunications giant just doesn’t have the financial strength to justify the premium multiple at which it’s currently trading, he argued, adding “it’s kind of like your grandparents’ dividend stock. I don’t think it’s a name you want to keep.”

Peers, including AT&T, could be better buys than VZ, as Verizon’s net return over the past two decades is roughly zero. Verizon shares were going for $40 in 2007 versus $39.50 at the time of writing.

Michael Landsberg remains bearish on Verizon Communications even though it reported record growth in mobile and broadband subscribers for its recent quarter last week.

The telecom firm came in ahead of Street estimates for both profit and revenue in Q4.

Additionally, Verizon stock offers a lucrative dividend yield of 6.85% at writing that makes them attractive for those interested in setting up a new source of passive income.

By Joe Woelfel

Stock futures were tumbling Monday with the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite set to open sharply lower as Chinese artificial-intelligence startup DeepSeek threatened U.S. dominance in the field.

These stocks were poised to make moves Monday:

Nvidia, the leading maker of AI chips, dropped 10%, and ASML, the Dutch maker of chip-manufacturing machines, sank 11% in U.S. premarket trading, after news that Chinese AI company DeepSeek developed an open-source large language model that competes with Microsoft-backed OpenAI's ChatGPT and uses less computing power.

A report from Reuters over the weekend said the Trump administration was working on a plan to save TikTok that involves Oracle and a group of outside investors taking control of the app's global operations. President Donald Trump said he was in talks with multiple people over buying TikTok and likely would have a decision on the app's future within 30 days, according to Reuters. Oracle shares were down 5.5%, slumping along with the rest of the tech sector.

Venture Global was down 4% in premarket trading to $23.05. Shares of the exporter of liquefied natural gas fell 4% to $24, below their initial-public-offering price of $25, in their trading debut on Friday. The IPO valued Venture Global at $60 billion, the largest initial public offering for a U.S. energy company in history. The IPO was priced in the middle of its $23 to $27 a share range, which was a cut to its earlier range of $40 to $46 a share.

United States Steel fell 2% after The Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter, reported activist investor Ancora Holdings is preparing to wage a proxy battle at the steel company and wants U.S. Steel to drop its plans to merge with Japan's Nippon Steel.

Earnings reports are expected Monday from AT&T, SoFi Technologies, and Nucor.

Tesla, the maker of electric vehicles, is scheduled to report fourth-quarter earnings after the closing bell Wednesday. Margins during the period will be closely watched by investors. Analysts expect operating profit margins of about 10.5%, up from about 8% in the same quarter a year earlier. Tesla shares fell 3.4% in premarket trading.

Reports are also expected later in the week from Apple, Microsoft, Meta Platforms, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Intel, Exxon Mobil, Chevron, Visa, Mastercard, Starbucks, General Motors, Royal Caribbean, Caterpillar, Comcast, United Parcel Service, ASML Holding, T-Mobile, International Business Machines, AbbVie, ServiceNow, Altria, SAP, and RTX.

Write to Joe Woelfel at joseph.woelfel@barrons.com

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