(T) 2023 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Thank you for standing by. Welcome to AT&T's Fourth Quarter 2023 Earnings Call. (Operator Instructions) And as a reminder, this conference is being recorded. I would like to turn the conference call over to your host, Amir Rozwadowski, Senior Vice President of Finance and Investor Relations. Please go ahead, sir.

謝謝你的支持。歡迎參加 AT&T 2023 年第四季財報電話會議。 （操作員說明）謹此提醒，本次會議正在錄製中。我想將電話會議轉交給主持人財務和投資者關係高級副總裁阿米爾·羅茲瓦多夫斯基 (Amir Rozwadowski)。請繼續，先生。

Thank you, and good morning, everyone. Welcome to our fourth quarter call. I'm Amir Rozwadowski, Head of Investor Relations for AT&T. Joining me on the call today are John Stankey, our CEO; and Pascal Desroches, our CFO.

謝謝大家，大家早安。歡迎致電我們的第四季。我是 Amir Rozwadowski，AT&T 投資人關係主管。今天和我一起參加電話會議的是我們的執行長約翰‧斯坦基 (John Stankey)；以及我們的財務長 Pascal Desroches。

Before we begin, I need to call your attention to our safe harbor statement. It says that some of our comments today may be forward-looking. As such, they're subject to risks and uncertainties described in AT&T's SEC filings. Results may differ materially. Additional information as well as our earnings materials are available on the Investor Relations website.

在我們開始之前，我需要提請您注意我們的安全港聲明。它說我們今天的一些評論可能是前瞻性的。因此，它們面臨 AT&T 向 SEC 提交的文件中描述的風險和不確定性。結果可能存在重大差異。更多資訊以及我們的獲利資料可在投資者關係網站上取得。

With that, I'll turn the call over to John Stankey. John?

這樣，我會將電話轉給約翰·斯坦基。約翰？

Thanks, Amir. I appreciate you all joining us today, and my best wishes for a productive and healthy year ahead to all of you.

謝謝，阿米爾。我感謝大家今天加入我們，並祝福大家在未來的一年裡富有成果、健康成長。

We finished 2023 with a strong fourth quarter as we made substantial progress on our strategy of being America's best high-performance network provider. We showed again in the fourth quarter and throughout 2023 that we're delivering consistent positive operating and financial results, including sustained margin expansion and annual free cash flow growth.

我們在 2023 年第四季表現強勁，在成為美國最佳高效能網路供應商的策略方面取得了實質進展。我們在第四季度和整個 2023 年再次表明，我們正在實現持續的積極營運和財務業績，包括持續的利潤率擴張和年度自由現金流成長。

To do this, we work to grow the right way, invest at historic levels and best-in-class 5G and fiber assets and deliver the best network to more customers and more places, all while simplifying our operations to drive efficiency while enhancing the customer experience.

為此，我們努力以正確的方式發展，以歷史水平投資一流的 5G 和光纖資產，為更多客戶和更多地方提供最好的網絡，同時簡化我們的營運以提高效率，同時增強客戶的體驗經驗。

As a result, we're now positioned to provide our growing customer base with the best communications technologies to meet their ever-growing need for connectivity supporting sustainable growth. We are deliberately allocating capital to expand and enhance our networks and improve financial flexibility to drive incremental shareholder returns.

因此，我們現在能夠為不斷增長的客戶群提供最好的通訊技術，以滿足他們對支援可持續增長的連接不斷增長的需求。我們正在刻意分配資本來擴大和增強我們的網絡，並提高財務靈活性，以推動股東回報的增量。

Since Pascal will cover the fourth quarter results in detail later on, I'd like to highlight some of our full year accomplishments and long-term business trends. Let's start with wireless.

由於帕斯卡稍後將詳細介紹第四季的業績，我想強調我們全年的一些成就和長期業務趨勢。讓我們從無線開始。

For the full year, we delivered more than 1.7 million postpaid phone net additions with strong service revenue growth and continued historically low postpaid phone churn, all while maintaining healthy ARPUs. Taking a step back, it's clear how far our investment-led strategy has taken us from where we stood only 3 years ago.

全年，我們交付了超過 170 萬部後付費電話淨增量，服務收入增長強勁，後付費電話流失率持續處於歷史低位，同時保持了健康的 ARPU。退後一步，很明顯我們的投資主導策略使我們與三年前相比走了多遠。

Since the start of 2021, we've substantially improved our Mobility position and brand perception. We went from losing wireless share to growing our share of subscribers. As a result, we increased our postpaid phone base by more than 10% to more than 71.2 million subscribers. This represents our best 3-year stretch of postpaid phone net add growth in more than a decade.

自 2021 年初以來，我們大幅提升了我們的行動地位和品牌認知。我們從失去無線份額到增加訂戶份額。結果，我們的後付費電話用戶數量增加了 10% 以上，達到 7,120 萬以上。這是我們十多年來最好的三年後付費電話淨增加成長。

During the same 3-year time span, we've added to our share of industry wireless service revenue growth, increased our annual wireless service revenues by more than $7.5 billion and grew Mobility EBITDA by about $4 billion. This level of sustained success requires contributions from across the company, including our network team that continues to enhance and expand our 5G and fiber networks. Our mid-band 5G network is now available to more than 210 million people, offering faster speeds and an enhanced experience.

在同一 3 年時間內，我們在產業無線服務收入成長中所佔的份額有所增加，年度無線服務收入增加了 75 億美元以上，行動 EBITDA 增加了約 40 億美元。這種持續成功需要整個公司的貢獻，包括我們不斷增強和擴展 5G 和光纖網路的網路團隊。我們的中頻 5G 網路現已可供超過 2.1 億人使用，提供更快的速度和增強的體驗。

We're also bringing more fiber to Americans than anyone else. This excites me because where we build fiber, we win. Over the past 3 years, we went from passing about 18 million consumer and business locations to now passing more than 26 million locations. As we continue to expand our reach, we're growing our fiber base with 1.1 million AT&T Fiber net adds in 2023, we've generated more than 1 million AT&T Fiber net adds annually for 6 straight years.

我們也為美國人帶來了比其他任何人都多的纖維。這讓我很興奮，因為我們在哪裡製造光纖，我們就贏了。在過去 3 年裡，我們從經過約 1800 萬個消費者和企業地點到現在經過超過 2600 萬個地點。隨著我們不斷擴大業務範圍，我們的光纖基礎將在 2023 年增加 110 萬個 AT&T Fiber 網絡，我們已連續 6 年每年增加超過 100 萬個 AT&T Fiber 網路。

Over the past 3 years, we've grown AT&T Fiber subscribers by 3.4 million or by nearly 70% to more than 8.3 million. This success reflects new customer wins and lower churn, trends that we see as sustainable.

在過去 3 年裡，我們的 AT&T Fiber 用戶數量增加了 340 萬，即成長了近 70%，達到超過 830 萬。這一成功反映了新客戶的贏得和客戶流失率的降低，這是我們認為可持續的趨勢。

The financial benefits we continue to realize through our fiber focus are significant. Compared to 2020, we've more than doubled our fiber revenues to over $6.2 billion in 2023, and our broadband ARPU climbed more than 20% as customers continue to seek higher value plans with faster speeds.

透過專注於纖維，我們繼續實現的經濟效益是巨大的。與 2020 年相比，我們的光纖收入在 2023 年增加了一倍多，達到 62 億美元以上，隨著客戶繼續尋求更高價值和更快速度的計劃，我們的寬頻 ARPU 增長了 20% 以上。

In addition to delivering high-margin revenue growth, fiber is more energy efficient, requires less maintenance and customers keep the service longer. Therefore, as we scale our fiber footprint, we expect to continue to drive margin expansion. This flywheel of faster subscriber growth, higher revenues and expanding margins gives us confidence in our ability to repeat similar levels of fiber-fueled growth in the future.

除了帶來高利潤的收入成長外，光纖還具有更高的能源效率，需要更少的維護，並且客戶可以享受更長的服務。因此，隨著我們擴大光纖覆蓋範圍，我們預計將繼續推動利潤率擴張。這種更快的用戶成長、更高的收入和不斷擴大的利潤的飛輪使我們對未來重複類似水平的光纖推動成長的能力充滿信心。

In summary, our Mobility and Consumer Wireline businesses are growing in a sustainable fashion. We're now a highly competitive wireless brand and the leading fiber brand. We've increased customer satisfaction, improved networks and are the best positioned to drive long-term returns as the convergence trend develops.

總之，我們的行動和消費有線業務正在以永續的方式成長。我們現在是一個極具競爭力的無線品牌和領先的光纖品牌。隨著融合趨勢的發展，我們提高了客戶滿意度，改善了網絡，並處於推動長期回報的最佳位置。

Now let's shift to our second goal of improving efficiencies. Last July, we announced we achieved our $6 billion-plus run rate cost savings target well ahead of schedule. We then set a new target for an incremental $2 billion-plus in run rate cost savings by mid-2026. We're making strong early progress on this target.

現在讓我們轉向第二個目標：提高效率。去年 7 月，我們宣布提前實現了運行成本節約 60 億美元以上的目標。然後，我們設定了一個新目標，到 2026 年中期將運行成本節省 20 億美元以上。我們正在朝著這一目標取得強有力的早期進展。

Importantly, we're seeing the benefits from these cost-reduction efforts increasingly fall to the bottom line. This is translating into improved operating leverage as evidenced by the adjusted EBITDA margin expansion we delivered in 2023.

重要的是，我們看到這些降低成本的努力所帶來的好處越來越多地體現在利潤上。這轉化為營運槓桿的改善，我們在 2023 年實現的調整後 EBITDA 利潤率擴張就證明了這一點。

Going forward, we expect margin expansion to continue. I'm proud of the progress the team has made in streamlining our business. We now have further confidence in our ability to deliver on our promised goals.

展望未來，我們預期利潤率將持續擴大。我對團隊在簡化業務方面取得的進展感到自豪。現在，我們對實現承諾目標的能力更加充滿信心。

Turning to our last key priority. The benefits from our capital allocation strategy are meaningful and evident in our results. We were again a top investor in America's connectivity through our 5G and fiber networks in 2023. Even with our elevated levels of investment, we delivered better-than-expected full year free cash flow of $16.8 billion, which is above our previously raised guidance.

轉向我們的最後一個關鍵優先事項。我們的資本配置策略帶來的好處是有意義的，並且在我們的結果中顯而易見。 2023 年，我們透過5G 和光纖網路再次成為美國連接的頂級投資者。即使我們的投資水平有所提高，我們仍實現了好於預期的168 億美元全年自由現金流，這高於我們之前提出的指導。

Furthermore, we achieved this significantly higher free cash flow while simultaneously reducing our short-term obligations. We reduced our vendor financing obligations by $3.3 billion in 2023, all while making more than $2 billion of nonrecurring spectrum clearing payments.

此外，我們實現了顯著更高的自由現金流，同時減少了我們的短期債務。 2023 年，我們將供應商融資義務減少了 33 億美元，同時支付了超過 20 億美元的一次性頻譜清算費用。

With a year-end net debt to adjusted EBITDA ratio now below 3x and the improved flexibility in 2024 to dedicate more cash to debt reduction, we are confident in our path to achieve the 2.5x range in the first half of 2025.

由於年終淨債務與調整後 EBITDA 比率目前低於 3 倍，並且 2024 年靈活性有所提高，可將更多現金用於削減債務，我們對在 2025 年上半年實現 2.5 倍的目標充滿信心。

So overall, I'm proud of what our team has accomplished in 2023. Our strong fourth quarter to end the year accomplished all of our stated 2023 objectives. We replicated our success in 2022 again in 2023, exactly like we said we would.

因此，總的來說，我對我們團隊在 2023 年的成就感到自豪。我們在年底前第四季的強勁表現實現了我們所有既定的 2023 年目標。我們在 2023 年再次複製了 2022 年的成功，正如我們所說的。

Moving to 2024, it should be no surprise that our plan is to do it again. Again, here's how we'll build off our momentum in the year ahead.

到了 2024 年，我們的計劃再次這樣做也就不足為奇了。再次強調，我們將如何在未來的一年鞏固我們的勢頭。

In Mobility, we expect to continue our success with adding quality customers on the strength of our go-to-market approach and elevated customer value proposition. We also intend to improve our performance by targeting underpenetrated segments like value-oriented customers and small- to medium-sized businesses as well as better penetrating our expanding fiber customer base.

在行動領域，我們希望憑藉我們的市場進入方式和提升的客戶價值主張，繼續獲得成功，增加優質客戶。我們還打算透過瞄準價值導向客戶和中小企業等滲透不足的細分市場以及更好地滲透我們不斷擴大的光纖客戶群來提高我們的績效。

As we do this, we'll take the same disciplined approach by remaining steadfast on profitable growth. Where we build fiber, customers love the value and service we offer. And accordingly, we become the favorite to win.

當我們這樣做時，我們將採取同樣嚴格的方法，堅定不移地實現獲利成長。在我們生產光纖的地方，客戶喜歡我們提供的價值和服務。因此，我們成為獲勝的熱門。

We'll continue to extend our lead as the company that reaches more homes and businesses with fiber. We remain on track to pass our 30 million-plus consumer and business fiber location target by the end of 2025.

我們將繼續擴大我們作為一家透過光纖覆蓋更多家庭和企業的公司的領先地位。我們仍有望在 2025 年底前實現超過 3,000 萬個消費者和企業光纖位置的目標。

As I mentioned last month, the better-than-expected returns we are seeing on our fiber investments potentially expands the opportunity to go beyond our initial target by roughly 10 million to 15 million additional locations. This also assumes similar build parameters in a regulatory environment that remains attractive to building infrastructure.

正如我上個月提到的，我們在光纖投資上看到的優於預期的回報可能會擴大我們超出最初目標約 1000 萬至 1500 萬個額外地點的機會。這也假設監管環境中的類似建置參數對基礎設施建設仍然具有吸引力。

And in areas where we don't yet have fiber, AT&T Internet Air allows us to better serve customers in select markets with fixed wireless Internet access. We also expect 2024 to be the proven year for our GigaPower initiative, and we plan to explore other unique opportunities to extend the AT&T brand on a converged basis beyond our traditional footprint.

在我們還沒有光纖的地區，AT&T Internet Air 讓我們能夠透過固定無線網路存取更好地為特定市場的客戶提供服務。我們也預計 2024 年將是我們的 GigaPower 計畫得到驗證的一年，並且我們計劃探索其他獨特的機會，在融合的基礎上將 AT&T 品牌擴展到我們的傳統業務之外。

The good news is that no one is better suited to answer the call for converged connectivity than AT&T. We already have North America's largest wireless network and the nation's largest and fastest-growing fiber network.

好消息是，沒有人比 AT&T 更適合回應融合連結的號召。我們已經擁有北美最大的無線網路和全國最大且成長最快的光纖網路。

There is simply no debate that 5G and fiber are hands down the best connectivity technologies available. We are the only provider that benefits from owners' economics at scale on both technologies.

毫無疑問，5G 和光纖是現有的最佳連接技術。我們是唯一一家能夠從這兩種技術的業主經濟效益中大規模受益的提供者。

Why is this so important? Traffic on our network has continued to increase in excess of 30% each year over the past 3 years. Our position with the most pervasive U.S. fiber footprint, the largest wireless network puts us in the unique position to grow at an advantaged marginal cost structure.

為什麼這個這麼重要？過去 3 年，我們網路的流量每年持續成長超過 30%。我們擁有美國最普及的光纖覆蓋範圍和最大的無線網絡，這使我們處於獨特的地位，能夠以有利的邊際成本結構實現成長。

At AT&T, we're making the right moves to deliver high-performance converged networking at a scale and breadth second to none in the United States. We're doing this by continuing our investment in scaled, flexible and increasingly open networks that address customers' needs to get on the Internet no matter where or how they are situated.

在 AT&T，我們正在採取正確的舉措，以在美國首屈一指的規模和廣度提供高效能融合網路。為此，我們持續投資規模化、靈活且日益開放的網絡，以滿足客戶無論身在何處或如何上網的需求。

Our existing strength and presence in literally every market segment from the largest multinational corporations to the most basic consumer allows us to effectively scale and commercialize the right solution with the right technology at the right price.

我們在從最大的跨國公司到最基本的消費者的幾乎每個細分市場中現有的實力和影響力使我們能夠以合適的價格、合適的技術和合適的價格有效地擴展和商業化合適的解決方案。

Accordingly, we're well positioned to grow high-performance networking that seamlessly combines fiber, mobile and fixed wireless in satellite technology in the most secure, effective package desired by our customers.

因此，我們有能力發展高效能網絡，將衛星技術中的光纖、行動和固定無線無縫結合到客戶所需的最安全、最有效的套件中。

This is all part of orienting the company to put the customer first and prioritize simplicity in everything we do to further our growth and become more efficient in 2024. This includes enhancing our digital and self-service channels that are increasingly being supported by AI. This work will help shape the effortless and personalized customer experiences required for a truly converged future.

這都是公司定位客戶至上的一部分，並在我們所做的一切中優先考慮簡單性，以在2024 年進一步發展並提高效率。這包括增強我們越來越多地得到人工智慧支援的數位和自助服務管道。這項工作將有助於塑造真正融合的未來所需的輕鬆且個人化的客戶體驗。

AI-driven efficiencies are also another significant leg of our cost savings efforts as we make progress on achieving our announced incremental $2 billion-plus run rate savings target by mid-2026.

人工智慧驅動的效率也是我們成本節約工作的另一個重要方面，我們在實現已宣布的到 2026 年中期運行率節省 20 億美元以上的目標方面取得了進展。

In summary, we have the right formula to continue the improved operating momentum established over the last 3 years. I'm pleased with our momentum exiting 2023 and remain optimistic about where AT&T is positioned in the broader industry as we enter a year that I suspect will shape the direction of our industry in the decade to come.

總而言之，我們有正確的方案來繼續過去三年建立的改善的營運動能。我對 2023 年結束時的勢頭感到高興，並對 AT&T 在更廣泛行業中的定位保持樂觀，因為我們進入了我懷疑將在未來十年塑造我們行業方向的一年。

With that, I'll turn it over to Pascal. Pascal?

有了這個，我會把它交給帕斯卡。帕斯卡？

Thank you, John, and good morning, everyone. As John shared, we've maintained our momentum across both 5G and fiber.

謝謝約翰，大家早安。正如 John 所分享的，我們在 5G 和光纖領域都保持了勢頭。

Let's start by reviewing our fourth quarter financial summary on Slide 7. Revenues were up 2.2% for the quarter and 1.4% for the full year largely driven by wireless service revenue, broadband revenues and Mexico. This was partly offset by a decline in Business Wireline. Adjusted EBITDA was up 3.2% for the quarter and 4.7% for the full year as growth in Mobility, Consumer Wireline and Mexico were partly offset by a decline in Business Wireline.

首先讓我們回顧一下投影片 7 上的第四季財務摘要。該季度營收成長 2.2%，全年營收成長 1.4%，主要受到無線服務收入、寬頻收入和墨西哥的推動。美國商業資訊的下滑部分抵消了這一影響。調整後 EBITDA 本季成長 3.2%，全年成長 4.7%，原因是行動、消費有線和墨西哥業務的成長被商業有線業務的下降部分抵消。

In the fourth quarter, adjusted EPS was $0.54, down 11.5% for the quarter due to a $0.10 impact from higher noncash pension costs, lower capitalized interest, lower equity income from DIRECTV and a higher effective tax rate. For the full year, adjusted EPS from continuing operations was $2.41, in line with our previously stated expectations of the low $2.40s range.

第四季度，調整後每股收益為 0.54 美元，下降 11.5%，原因是非現金退休金成本上升、資本化利息下降、DIRECTV 股本收入下降以及有效稅率上升帶來 0.10 美元的影響。全年，持續經營業務調整後每股收益為 2.41 美元，符合我們先前提出的 2.40 美元的低區間預期。

Free cash flow for the quarter was $6.4 billion, including about $900 million in DIRECTV distributions. For the full year, we came in above our already recently raised guidance with $16.8 billion in free cash flow. This is an improvement of $2.6 billion year-over-year or up 19%. We achieved this free cash flow growth even with about $1 billion of higher cash taxes and about $750 million of lower cash distributions from DIRECTV.

該季度的自由現金流為 64 億美元，其中包括約 9 億美元的 DIRECTV 分配。全年的自由現金流為 168 億美元，超出了最近提高的指導價值。這比去年同期增加了 26 億美元，成長 19%。儘管現金稅增加了約 10 億美元，而 DIRECTV 的現金分配減少了約 7.5 億美元，但我們仍實現了自由現金流的成長。

Additionally and as previously mentioned, we reduced vendor financing obligations by $3.3 billion last year. Cash from operating activities came in at $11.4 billion for the quarter, up $1 billion year-over-year.

此外，如前所述，我們去年將供應商融資義務減少了 33 億美元。該季度經營活動現金為 114 億美元，較去年同期增加 10 億美元。

For the quarter, capital expenditures were $4.6 billion with capital investments of $5.6 billion. Full year capital investment was $23.6 billion as we continue to invest in 5G and fiber at historic levels.

本季資本支出為 46 億美元，其中資本投資為 56 億美元。我們繼續以歷史水準對 5G 和光纖進行投資，全年資本投資為 236 億美元。

We also continue to strengthen our balance sheet. Last year, we lowered net debt by about $3.3 billion, which was also burdened by $1.7 billion increase year-over-year for changes in FX rates related to foreign debt.

我們也繼續加強我們的資產負債表。去年，我們減少了約 33 億美元的淨債務，但由於與外債相關的匯率變化，淨債務年增了 17 億美元。

We additionally completed an $8 billion pension liability transfer through the purchase of insurance annuities last spring. And we've done all of this despite overcoming meaningful declines in the legacy Wireline part of our business.

去年春天，我們也透過購買保險年金完成了 80 億美元的退休金負債轉移。儘管克服了我們傳統有線業務部分的大幅下滑，但我們還是完成了這一切。

Now let's look at our Mobility segment operating results on Slide 8. Our Mobility business continues to deliver strong results, growing both revenues and EBITDA for the sixth consecutive year.

現在讓我們來看看幻燈片 8 上我們的行動業務部門的營運業績。我們的行動業務持續取得強勁業績，營收和 EBITDA 連續第六年成長。

We are pleased with our 526,000 postpaid phone net adds for the quarter, particularly given some of the rich promotion by our peers. This success demonstrates that the general health of the wireless industry and the consistency of our go-to-market strategy, which continues to resonate with high-value customers.

我們對本季後付費電話網絡增加 526,000 部感到滿意，特別是考慮到我們的同行進行了一些豐富的促銷活動。這一成功表明無線行業的整體健康狀況以及我們的市場進入策略的一致性，該策略繼續引起高價值客戶的共鳴。

Revenues were up more than 4% for the quarter and 2.7% for the year. Service revenues also continued to improve, thanks to steady and profitable subscriber growth. In the quarter, service revenues rose about 4% while they were up 4.4% for the full year.

該季度營收成長超過 4%，全年營收成長 2.7%。由於穩定且有利可圖的用戶成長，服務收入也持續改善。本季服務收入成長約 4%，全年成長 4.4%。

Mobility EBITDA for the quarter was up about $450 million or 5.6% driven by growth in service revenues. For the full year, Mobility EBITDA grew 7.4%, and we continue to see margin expansion year-over-year.

在服務收入成長的推動下，本季行動 EBITDA 成長了約 4.5 億美元，即 5.6%。全年行動業務 EBITDA 成長 7.4%，我們持續看到利潤率年增。

Mobility postpaid phone ARPU was $56.23, up 1.4% year-over-year. ARPU growth continues to be largely driven by our targeted pricing actions and from customers trading up to higher-priced unlimited plans.

行動後付費電話 ARPU 為 56.23 美元，年增 1.4%。 ARPU 的成長繼續在很大程度上受到我們的目標定價行動以及客戶升級到價格更高的無限計劃的推動。

Postpaid phone churn of 0.84% for the quarter remains historically low. Our continued low churn levels clearly demonstrate customers prefer the value proposition they are getting from AT&T.

本季後付費電話流失率為 0.84%，仍處於歷史低點。我們持續的低流失率清楚地表明客戶更喜歡從 AT&T 獲得的價值主張。

In prepaid, our phone churn was less than 3% with cricket phone churn substantially lower. We remain encouraged by the overall health of the wireless industry and are confident that our Mobility business will deliver again as we expect to continue to grow in customers, service revenues and EBITDA at a healthy clip in 2024.

在預付費中，我們的電話流失率低於 3%，其中板球電話流失率要低得多。我們仍然對無線產業的整體健康狀況感到鼓舞，並相信我們的行動業務將再次交付，因為我們預計 2024 年客戶、服務收入和 EBITDA 將繼續健康成長。

Now let's move to Consumer and Business Wireline results, which are on Slide 9. Let's start with Consumer Wireline. As John mentioned, the financial and operational performance of our fiber business is exceeding our initial expectation. Wherever we have fiber, we continue to win.

現在我們來看幻燈片 9 上的消費者和商業有線結果。讓我們從消費者有線開始。正如約翰所提到的，我們光纖業務的財務和營運績效超出了我們最初的預期。只要有光纖，我們就能持續獲勝。

In the fourth quarter, we added 273,000 fiber customers even in a seasonally slow fourth quarter and lower year-over-year household moves. This accentuates the resiliency of fiber and the superior experience it provides to customers.

即使第四季季節性放緩且家庭搬遷量年減，第四季我們仍增加了 273,000 名光纖客戶。這增強了光纖的彈性及其為客戶提供的卓越體驗。

Broadband revenues grew more than 8% year-over-year due to fiber revenue growth. Fiber ARPU was $68.50, up $0.29 sequentially with intake ARPU now at more than $70.

由於光纖收入成長，寬頻收入較去年同期成長超過 8%。光纖 ARPU 為 68.50 美元，比上一季成長 0.29 美元，目前的 ARPU 已超過 70 美元。

Consumer Wireline EBITDA grew more than 10% for the quarter and more than 8% for the full year due to growth in fiber revenues and the more efficient cost profile of fiber. And while fiber remains our focus and lead product, we've also been encouraged by the initial introduction of AT&T Internet Air, our targeted fixed wireless access service. We had 93,000 AT&T Internet Air subscribers at the end of the year and now offer this service in parts of 35 locations.

由於光纖收入的成長和更有效率的光纖成本狀況，消費有線 EBITDA 本季成長超過 10%，全年成長超過 8%。雖然光纖仍然是我們的重點和主導產品，但我們也對 AT&T Internet Air（我們的目標固定無線存取服務）的首次推出感到鼓舞。截至年底，我們擁有 93,000 名 AT&T Internet Air 用戶，現在在 35 個地點的部分地區提供這項服務。

Turning to Business Wireline. EBITDA was down about 19% in the quarter. This was impacted by about $100 million of items, primarily discrete intellectual property transaction revenues we had in the fourth quarter of 2022 that did not repeat in the fourth quarter of 2023. As I will discuss in a moment, we expect trends in Business Wireline EBITDA to improve on a full year basis in 2024.

轉向美國商業資訊。本季 EBITDA 下降約 19%。這是受到約1 億美元項目的影響，主要是我們在2022 年第四季獲得的離散智慧財產權交易收入，這些收入在2023 年第四季沒有重複。正如我稍後將討論的，我們預計Business Wireline EBITDA 的趨勢到2024年全年將有所改善。

In the fourth quarter, our Business Solutions wireless service revenues grew nearly 6%. This is an area where we continue to grow faster than our nearest peer. FirstNet also continues to be a growth vector for us with wireless connections growing by about 260,000 sequentially.

第四季度，我們的商業解決方案無線服務收入成長了近 6%。在這個領域，我們繼續比最接近的同行成長得更快。 FirstNet 也持續成為我們的成長載體，無線連線數量連續成長約 26 萬個。

Now let's move to Slide 10 for our 2024 financial guidance. Here are our expectations for the year. First, we expect to again grow Mobility subscribers against a healthy but normalized industry growth.

現在讓我們轉到投影片 10，了解我們的 2024 年財務指南。這是我們對今年的期望。首先，我們預計行動用戶數量將在健康但正常的產業成長的情況下再次成長。

We also anticipate continued benefits from a larger subscriber base and modest growth in postpaid phone ARPUs. This should result in wireless service revenue growth in the 3% range for the full year.

我們也預計，更大的用戶群和後付費電話 ARPU 的適度成長將持續帶來好處。這將導致全年無線服務收入成長 3%。

For broadband, we expect revenue increases of 7%-plus for the full year. This growth reflects continued fiber subscriber growth and higher ARPUs from the mix shift to fiber. Overall, we expect to continue to grow consolidated revenues next year.

對於寬頻，我們預計全年營收將成長 7% 以上。這一成長反映出光纖用戶的持續成長以及混合轉向光纖帶來的 ARPU 值的提高。總體而言，我們預計明年綜合收入將持續成長。

As we think about the EBITDA trends in 2024, we expect to grow Mobility EBITDA in the mid-single digits as our disciplined approach helps us to grow valuable subscribers. In Business Wireline, we expect EBITDA to be down about 10% plus or minus. We expect legacy Business Wireline declines to be partially offset by incremental cost savings and increased fiber and fixed wireless revenues. Additionally, our guidance reflects the impact of the expected deconsolidation of our cybersecurity services business.

當我們考慮 2024 年 EBITDA 趨勢時，我們預計行動 EBITDA 將實現中個位數成長，因為我們嚴格的方法有助於我們增加有價值的用戶。在 Business Wireline 中，我們預計 EBITDA 將下降約 10%上下。我們預計傳統商業有線業務的下滑將被成本節約的增量以及光纖和固定無線收入的增加所部分抵消。此外，我們的指導反映了我們網路安全服務業務預期拆分的影響。

In Consumer Wireline, we expect to grow EBITDA in the mid-single-digit range, thanks to continued growth in fiber revenues and to a lesser degree, growth in fixed wireless subscribers. This will be partly offset by an expected continued decline in legacy copper revenues.

在消費有線領域，我們預計 EBITDA 將在中個位數範圍內成長，這要歸功於光纖收入的持續成長以及固定無線用戶的成長（較小程度上）。這將被傳統銅收入預期持續下降所部分抵銷。

Finally, similar to last year, we expect to benefit from ongoing corporate cost reductions again this year. These factors combined deliver consolidated adjusted EBITDA growth in the 3% range for the full year.

最後，與去年類似，我們預計今年將再次受益於持續的企業成本削減。這些因素結合起來，全年綜合調整後 EBITDA 成長在 3% 範圍內。

Moving to EPS. Here's what to think about when you do your calculations. Our full year guidance reflects noncash headwinds of about $0.24, which include the following: $0.17 higher depreciation. Approximately half is from accelerated depreciation on Nokia assets impacted by our Open RAN transformation, and we expect this impact to continue through 2026.

轉向每股收益。以下是您進行計算時要考慮的事項。我們的全年指引反映了約 0.24 美元的非現金阻力，其中包括： 折舊增加 0.17 美元。大約一半是由於受 Open RAN 轉型影響的諾基亞資產加速折舊，我們預計這種影響將持續到 2026 年。

The other half is incremental depreciation from our elevated 5G and fiber builds. Headwinds of approximately $0.07 associated with higher noncash pension and postretirement benefit costs, largely driven by declines in prior service credit amortization. As a reminder, prior service credit are the result of amendments made in prior years to our post-retirement benefit plan that reduced benefits.

另一半是我們提升的 5G 和光纖建設帶來的增量折舊。與較高的非現金退休金和退休後福利成本相關的約 0.07 美元的不利因素，主要是由於先前服務信貸攤銷的下降。提醒一下，先前的服務積分是前幾年對我們的退休後福利計劃進行的修改的結果，該計劃減少了福利。

Under GAAP, the impact of these amendments is recorded as a credit and equity and amortized into income over the expected service period of planned participants. In 2023, prior service credit amortization was $2.6 billion, which is a positive contribution to other income. In 2024, we expect prior service credit amortization to be $2 billion or a decline of about $600 million.

根據公認會計原則，這些修訂的影響被記錄為信貸和權益，並在計劃參與者的預期服務期間內攤銷到收入中。 2023 年，先前服務信貸攤銷為 26 億美元，這對其他收入做出了積極貢獻。到 2024 年，我們預計前期服務信貸攤提將為 20 億美元，即減少約 6 億美元。

Next year, we expect a more moderate decline in prior service credit amortization, continuing to decrease in the subsequent years as prior year planned changes become fully amortized. We have provided the projected future annual amortization by year in the footnotes of our supplemental financial trends document on our Investor Relations website.

明年，我們預計前期服務信貸攤銷將出現更溫和的下降，並且隨著上一年計劃的變化得到全額攤銷，在隨後的幾年中將繼續下降。我們在投資者關係網站上的補充財務趨勢文件的腳註中提供了預計的未來年度攤銷。

Importantly, we have continued to lower our pension obligation, including our transfer of certain pension assets and liabilities seen last year. And we don't expect any material required contributions to our pension plans for the balance of this decade.

重要的是，我們繼續降低退休金義務，包括去年轉移的某些退休金資產和負債。我們預計在這十年的剩餘時間裡我們的退休金計畫不會有任何實質的必要繳款。

In addition to these noncash items, the guidance also includes $0.08 of other headwinds. These include $0.05 impact from lower spectrum-related interest capitalization as we near completion of our initial C-band spectrum deployment in 2024. We don't expect capitalized interest to be a significant headwind beyond 2024 and a $0.03 impact from lower adjusted equity income from DIRECTV, which we expect to be about $2.6 billion versus $2.9 billion in 2023.

除了這些非現金項目外，該指引還包括 0.08 美元的其他不利因素。其中包括隨著我們在2024 年接近完成初始C 頻段頻譜部署，與頻譜相關的利息資本化較低帶來0.05 美元的影響。我們預計資本化利息不會在2024 年之後成為重大阻力，以及由於調整後的股權收入較低而帶來 0.03 美元的影響。DIRECTV，我們預計 2023 年的營收約為 26 億美元，而 2023 年為 29 億美元。

Lastly, we expect an effective tax rate in 2024 consistent with the 2023 rate. Given these assumptions, adjusted EPS for 2024 is expected to be in the $2.15 to $2.25 range.

最後，我們預計 2024 年的有效稅率將與 2023 年的稅率保持一致。鑑於這些假設，2024 年調整後每股盈餘預計將在 2.15 美元至 2.25 美元之間。

Normalizing for these 4 items, our 2024 guidance would imply adjusted EPS growth consistent with our expected growth in adjusted EBITDA. We expect to be in a position to begin to grow adjusted EPS again in 2025.

對於這 4 個項目的正常化，我們的 2024 年指引將意味著調整後的每股盈餘成長與我們調整後的 EBITDA 的預期成長一致。我們預計 2025 年調整後每股盈餘將再次開始成長。

Turning to free cash flow. Here's what to consider for 2024. First, we expect adjusted EBITDA growth in the 3% range. We also expect cash taxes to be up about $1.5 billion based on current tax law. As we look out to 2025, we would anticipate cash taxes to increase around $1 billion over 2024.

轉向自由現金流。以下是 2024 年需要考慮的因素。首先，我們預期調整後 EBITDA 成長率在 3% 範圍內。根據現行稅法，我們也預期現金稅將增加約 15 億美元。展望 2025 年，我們預期現金稅將比 2024 年增加約 10 億美元。

Cash distributions from DIRECTV in 2023 were $3.7 billion, down about $750 million compared to the prior year. Looking forward, we expect DIRECTV cash distributions to decline at a similar rate in 2024 and thereafter.

2023 年 DIRECTV 的現金分配為 37 億美元，比前一年減少約 7.5 億美元。展望未來，我們預計 DIRECTV 現金分配將在 2024 年及之後以類似的速度下降。

I'd also like to point out that DIRECTV's debt levels have not changed materially since the end of 2021, and its debt is nonrecourse to AT&T. Another impact to free cash flow is lower capital investment. We expect 2024 capital investment levels in the $21 billion to $22 billion range.

我還想指出，自 2021 年底以來，DIRECTV 的債務水準沒有發生重大變化，並且其債務對 AT&T 沒有追索權。對自由現金流的另一個影響是資本投資減少。我們預計 2024 年資本投資水準將在 210 億美元至 220 億美元之間。

It's also important to note that the mix shift of our capital investment continues to move in a favorable direction as vendor financing obligations decline and project capital spend increases. Accordingly, we plan to continue to pay down short-term vendor and direct supplier financings this year as we shape an even more sustainable and ratable quarterly free cash flow cadence.

同樣重要的是要注意，隨著供應商融資義務的減少和專案資本支出的增加，我們的資本投資組合繼續朝著有利的方向發展。因此，我們計劃今年繼續償還短期供應商和直接供應商融資，因為我們塑造了更可持續和可評估的季度自由現金流節奏。

Remember, our capital investments consist of payments from prior year capital spend plus current year spend. This year, there would be less payments of prior year obligations than we saw in 2023 due to significant reductions in vendor financing. However, in the year, we do expect higher spend on capital projects.

請記住，我們的資本投資包括上一年資本支出的支付加上當年的支出。由於供應商融資大幅減少，今年上一年債務的支付量將少於 2023 年。然而，我們預計今年資本項目支出將會增加。

When you combine all these factors, we expect to deliver free cash flow in the $17 billion to $18 billion range this year. This is greater than 2x our current annual common dividend and more than enough to cover other commitments.

綜合所有這些因素，我們預計今年將實現 170 億至 180 億美元的自由現金流。這超過了我們當前年度普通股息的兩倍，並且足以支付其他承諾。

As we discussed in recent quarters, we continue to make progress on improving the ratability of our free cash flow. Last year, our free cash flow was about 70% back-end loaded to the second half. We expect that to be closer to 60% this year.

正如我們最近幾個季度所討論的，我們在提高自由現金流的比率方面繼續取得進展。去年下半年，我們的自由現金流約為後端負載的 70%。我們預計今年這一比例將接近 60%。

Accordingly, we expect first quarter free cash flows of at least $2.5 billion. Overall, the combination of increased free cash flow and fewer onetime items will enable us to continue our deleveraging progress in 2024 and remain on track to achieve our target range of 2.5x net debt to adjusted EBITDA in the first half of 2025.

因此，我們預計第一季自由現金流至少為 25 億美元。總體而言，自由現金流的增加和一次性項目的減少將使我們能夠在 2024 年繼續推進去槓桿化進程，並繼續在 2025 年上半年實現淨債務與調整後 EBITDA 2.5 倍的目標範圍。

Amir, that's our presentation. We're now ready for the Q&A.

阿米爾，這就是我們的演講。我們現在準備好進行問答了。

Thank you, Pascal. Operator, we're ready to take the first question.

謝謝你，帕斯卡。接線員，我們準備好回答第一個問題了。

Our first question will come from the line of John Hodulik of UBS.

我們的第一個問題將來自瑞銀集團的約翰·霍杜里克（John Hodulik）。

Great. First, thanks for all the detail on the free cash flow, Pascal, but can we focus on the sustainability of the postpaid phone growth in '24? You added 1.7 million subs, but gross adds were down a bit in the fourth quarter.

偉大的。首先，感謝 Pascal 提供有關自由現金流的所有詳細信息，但是我們可以關注 24 世紀後付費電話增長的可持續性嗎？您增加了 170 萬訂閱者，但第四季的訂閱總數略有下降。

I guess, first, could you talk about the momentum you're seeing here in the first quarter and how competition is shaping up? And then, John, you talked about these underpenetrated markets, these 3 segments, the value, SME and converge. Any color you can give us in terms of how big of an opportunity those underpenetrated segments are or how you expect to address that in the year in '24?

我想，首先，您能談談您在第一季看到的勢頭以及競爭是如何形成的嗎？然後，約翰，您談到了這些滲透不足的市場、這三個細分市場、價值、中小企業和融合。您能告訴我們這些滲透不足的細分市場有多大的機會嗎？或者您希望如何在 24 年解決這個問題？

So look, the -- first of all, in the aggregate market, as we've been indicating, we thought there was going to be a little bit of a slowdown from previous year's activity level. We saw that happen in '23. I think we're at a more normalized level right now. We're kind of expecting that is going to continue into next year.

因此，首先，在整體市場中，正如我們一直指出的那樣，我們認為與去年的活動水平相比將會略有放緩。我們在 23 年就看到了這種情況。我認為我們現在處於更正常化的水平。我們預計這種情況將持續到明年。

It will be probably right around the same place. We're not going to see it dramatically different. And our expectations are we're going to continue to attack the market the same way we've been attacking it. And we've been really consistent about that over the last 3 years.

它可能就在同一個地方。我們不會看到它有什麼顯著的差異。我們的期望是我們將繼續以我們一直以來攻擊市場的方式攻擊市場。在過去的三年裡，我們在這一點上一直非常一致。

And I don't think you should expect to see that there is going to be any less sustainability of our performance than what you've seen over the previous couple of years and the strategies and the tactics we use. And the market is a healthy market right now.

我認為您不應該期望看到我們的業績的可持續性會比您在過去幾年中看到的以及我們使用的策略和戰術要低。目前市場是一個健康的市場。

I would say if you would look at the fourth quarter and look at what we delivered on postpaid phone net adds, your point on gross is an accurate statement. And I think it reflects the fact that we're trying to be incredibly disciplined around profitable growth.

我想說，如果你看看第四季度，看看我們在後付費電話網路上交付的內容，你對毛利率的看法是準確的。我認為這反映了這樣一個事實：我們正努力在獲利成長方面保持極其嚴格的紀律。

We managed to outgrow one of our peers that has already reported. We did that, I think, being very disciplined on our promotional levels and being very strategic in the channels that we operate in.

我們成功地超越了一位已經報導過的同行。我認為，我們做到了這一點，在我們的促銷水平上非常嚴格，並且在我們運營的管道上非常具有戰略意義。

As I've indicated on previous calls, we delivered an incredible churn level, which helped us do that. It's always easier to keep your customers and churn them out. We've managed to keep that churn level while we've been growing ARPU.

正如我在之前的電話中指出的那樣，我們提供了令人難以置信的客戶流失率，這幫助我們做到了這一點。留住客戶並流失他們總是更容易。我們在 ARPU 不斷增長的同時成功地維持了客戶流失率。

We're driving operating leverage and EBITDA growth in a really strong fashion. I think the equation is incredibly sustainable with what we're doing right now. We're going to tweak it. And that's what I was alluding to in some of the things that we know there are some areas where we could probably do a little bit better.

我們正在以非常強勁的方式推動營運槓桿和 EBITDA 成長。我認為這個方程式對於我們現在正在做的事情來說是非常可持續的。我們將對其進行調整。這就是我在一些事情中提到的，我們知道在某些領域我們可能可以做得更好一點。

I suspect looking at some of the numbers yesterday from what Verizon reported. There are some areas that they probably looked at and said that they can do a little bit better in. And we all have regional players that we play against and things that we do like the cable companies as we kind of understand the playbook and look at it, we can adjust how we approach that. They're kind of a new player in the market.

我懷疑昨天查看了 Verizon 報告中的一些數據。他們可能會關注某些領域，並表示他們可以做得更好一點。我們都有與我們對抗的區域性參與者，以及我們所做的事情，就像有線電視公司一樣，因為我們了解劇本並關注它，我們可以調整我們的處理方式。他們是市場上的新玩家。

My guess is after everybody comes out and reports, we're going to see the 3 large incumbent wireless carriers have had very effective quarters. We all understand how to run our business.

我的猜測是，在每個人都出來報告之後，我們將看到三大現有無線營運商度過了非常有效的季度。我們都知道如何經營我們的業務。

I think we're all being pretty disciplined around how we go about it. I think we're all conscious of the fact that we've invested at record levels and need to make sure that we're driving returns on those record levels of investments. And to me, that kind of lines up for a very sustainable outlook as we move into next year.

我認為我們在處理事情的方式上都非常自律。我認為我們都意識到這樣一個事實：我們的投資達到了創紀錄的水平，並且需要確保我們正在推動這些創紀錄的投資水平的回報。對我來說，隨著我們進入明年，這種前景將非常永續。

And Simon Flannery of Morgan Stanley.

還有摩根士丹利的西蒙弗蘭納裡。

I wanted to come back to the balance sheet. We're now looking at sort of this time next year or to near where you hit your 2.5x first half of '25. So it's getting closer. How are you weighing at this point the opportunities to either buy back stock or to attack that 10 million to 15 million additional fiber homes or delever further? It would be great to get your thoughts on that. And then if you can give us anything on your ACP exposure and how that might play out and your latest thoughts on BEAD, that would be great.

我想回到資產負債表上來。我們現在正在考慮明年的這個時候，或是接近 25 年上半年達到 2.5 倍的水平。所以它越來越近了。目前您如何權衡是回購股票還是攻擊 1000 萬至 1500 萬個光纖家庭或進一步去槓桿化？如果您能對此有何想法，那就太好了。然後，如果您可以向我們提供有關您的 ACP 暴露情況、這可能會如何發揮作用以及您對 BEAD 的最新想法，那就太好了。

Sure. So I would say, first of all -- and we've been really clear on this, and it doesn't change. First and foremost, we want to invest at the right level in our business to make sure that we can grow it in a way that we think drives sustainable returns to our shareholders.

當然。所以我想說，首先——我們已經非常清楚這一點，而且它不會改變。首先也是最重要的是，我們希望對我們的業務進行適當的投資，以確保我們能夠以我們認為能為股東帶來可持續回報的方式發展業務。

Secondly, the dividend is something that we have to protect and make sure that we're offering a fair return on, and then getting the balance sheet where we want to get the balance sheet is absolutely critical. When we arrive at that point, it's the time to make the decision.

其次，股利是我們必須保護的東西，並確保我們提供公平的回報，然後讓資產負債表達到我們想要的水平是絕對關鍵的。當我們到達那個點時，就是做出決定的時候了。

And the decision has to be made relative to where stock is trading, where interest rates are in the environment, what opportunities we have in front of us as a business to continue to grow things based on how policies evolve in this country and where we think there's opportunity for us to grow and get fair returns. All those things will go into the Board's deliberation.

做出決定時必須考慮到股票交易的情況、環境中的利率水平、我們作為一家企業在我們面前有哪些機會來繼續發展，這些機會基於這個國家的政策如何演變以及我們的想法我們有機會成長並獲得公平的回報。所有這些事情都將進入董事會的審議。

I think what you're touching on, though, is we are about ready to enter the doorstep where we have choices around what we do with that capital. And that's the most important thing.

不過，我認為你所說的是，我們即將進入門檻，我們可以選擇如何使用這筆資金。這是最重要的事。

And I step back from the year of 2023 and look at the progress that we have made not just on delivering the commitments that we made back to all of you and our investors, but the fundamental improvements in the structure of our balance sheet, the momentum that we have in the business and to be on the doorstep of those options is a really exciting thing in aggregate for the management team. And I think it shows an incredible amount of progress and the hard work.

我從 2023 年退一步，看看我們所取得的進展，不僅是在兌現我們向大家和我們的投資者做出的承諾方面，而且是我們資產負債表結構的根本改善、勢頭的改善。對於我們的管理團隊來說，我們在業務中擁有的優勢以及能夠獲得這些選擇的機會是一件非常令人興奮的事情。我認為這顯示了令人難以置信的進步和辛勤工作。

We have a tremendous amount of optionality in front of us. As we shared with you, our balance sheet is in really good shape in terms of how we've been able to terrace out our obligations and the rates that we're paying on it and how our organic cash flow will allow us to pay down the maturing debt that's in there.

我們面前有大量的選擇。正如我們與您分享的那樣，我們的資產負債表狀況非常良好，包括我們如何能夠履行我們的義務、我們支付的利率以及我們的有機現金流將如何讓我們還清債務那裡的到期債務。

And so as we choose to drive more shareholder value, the field is wide open to us as to where we wish to go and what we wish to do. And we will do what is in the most and best interest of the shareholder at that point in time.

因此，當我們選擇推動更多股東價值時，我們的目標和目標就向我們敞開了。我們將及時做最符合股東利益的事。

And we view it as being a really important moment for us to arrive at. It's something the management team is focused on and is ensuring that we get there. And we all know that it's incredibly important to driving the value of our stock.

我們認為這對我們來說是一個非常重要的時刻。這是管理團隊關注的重點，並確保我們能夠實現這一目標。我們都知道，這對推動我們股票的價值非常重要。

On the ACP side, I guess the editorial comment I'll make is it's unfortunate that we're at this moment, and I say that from the perspective of we have an awful lot of subsidy that's deliberate over -- that are in regulatory structures today, which are important to ensure that every American can gain access to the Internet.

在 ACP 方面，我想我要發表的社論評論是，我們現在處於這種情況是不幸的，我說，從我們有大量經過深思熟慮的補貼的角度來看，這些補貼是在監管結構中的今天，這對於確保每個美國人都能使用網路非常重要。

And those subsidies, unfortunately, in many cases, were set up and structured from many years ago. And they've been funded under constructs that have kind of run their time as industry and products have shifted and changed.

不幸的是，在許多情況下，這些補貼是多年前就設立和建構的。他們的資金結構隨著產業和產品的轉移和變化而運作。

And from my point of view, regulators right now should be spending their time and energy stepping back from that and understanding how we take all the different subsidy structures in place and get them together in a coherent approach to ensuring those most in need can get subsidy that they need to be able to afford access to the Internet so that as a country, we can step back and say that everybody has access to capable, scalable Internet that allows them to do all the things that are so critical today.

在我看來，監管機構現在應該花時間和精力，了解我們如何將所有不同的補貼結構落實到位，並以連貫的方式將它們組合在一起，以確保最需要的人能夠獲得補貼他們需要能夠負擔得起互聯網的費用，這樣作為一個國家，我們就可以退一步說，每個人都可以使用功能強大、可擴展的互聯網，使他們能夠完成當今如此重要的所有事情。

And I think through a combination of ACP, universal service reform, other programs that are out there, that money is there. If there was a political will and a coherent policy put forward that it would be good for the industry and good for our country.

我認為，透過 ACP、普遍服務改革和其他現有計劃的結合，資金就在那裡。如果有政治意願並提出連貫的政策，這對產業和我們的國家都有好處。

Unfortunately, we now are looking at a triage moment on one program, ACP. I don't know where it's going to go. I will tell you, either way it goes, we'll be fine.

不幸的是，我們現在正在關註一個項目 ACP 的分類時刻。我不知道它會去哪裡。我會告訴你，無論怎樣，我們都會沒事的。

We've given you guidance fully knowing it can break one way over the other. I'm comfortable that what we can deliver in our plan next year isn't going to hang on what the government chooses to do with ACP. If they choose to cancel the program and don't fund it and move forward on it, we have plays that will run. We have things that we'll do with our customers and how we approach the market and what we do to respond to it.

我們已經為您提供了指導，充分了解它可能會以一種方式突破另一種方式。我感到放心的是，我們明年計劃中所能實現的目標不會取決於政府選擇對 ACP 採取的行動。如果他們選擇取消該計劃並且不為其提供資金並繼續進行，我們還有可以上演的劇目。我們有一些與客戶一起做的事情，以及我們如何進入市場以及我們如何應對市場。

And we believe we can manage through that in an effective way within the context of the size of our company and what we do and how we go to market. If they go the other way and they do manage to fund it or fund it on some kind of a revised basis, AT&T will be continuing to lobby that regulators should be thinking about a more holistic and sustainable approach trying to get this right for the future so we don't approach this moment again.

我們相信，根據我們公司的規模、我們所做的事情以及我們進入市場的方式，我們可以以有效的方式解決這個問題。如果他們走了另一條路，並且他們確實設法為其提供資金或在某種修訂後的基礎上為其提供資金，AT＆T將繼續遊說監管機構應該考慮採取更全面和可持續的方法，試圖在未來實現這一目標。所以我們不會再接近這一刻。

It's some last-minute circumstance and that we can have a thoughtful approach to it. And that battle will not go away, and I think it's the important thing for all of us to do.

這是最後一刻的情況，我們可以採取深思熟慮的方法來應對。這場戰鬥不會消失，我認為這是我們所有人要做的重要事情。

On the BEAD side, Simon, I don't know that a lot has changed other than we've seen some incremental progress on a couple of states moving forward in their process. As I shared with you the last time I was asked this question, we'll probably have 50 different recipes of how BEAD ultimately works its way into the market.

Simon，在 BEAD 方面，除了我們看到幾個州在進程中取得了一些漸進式進展之外，我不知道發生了很多變化。正如我上次被問到這個問題時與大家分享的那樣，對於 BEAD 最終如何進入市場，我們可能有 50 種不同的方案。

There may be some similarity between each of the states, but there clearly is 50 different states and 50 different points of view on this. I think we're going to be very measured and targeted as to where we go in, both in terms of the states that are setting up the right kind of rules that incent the joint private sector investment as well as the right rules that are sustainable for how you operate in that.

每個州之間可能有一些相似之處，但顯然有 50 個不同的州，對此有 50 種不同的觀點。我認為我們將非常謹慎和有針對性地選擇我們的方向，無論是在製定正確的規則來激勵私營部門聯合投資的國家方面，還是在製定可持續的正確規則方面。看看你在這方面的運作方式。

I think a good news story is I point to a state like Texas, I think was the largest benefactor of BEAD financing. Seems to me policy-wise, they have a pretty sound approach to things. It looks to me like we can work effectively in the state. Given it's a large amount, we'll probably have a good opportunity there.

我認為一個好消息是我提到德克薩斯州這樣的州，我認為它是 BEAD 融資的最大捐助者。在我看來，從政策角度來看，他們的處理方式相當合理。在我看來，我們可以在該州有效地工作。鑑於金額很大，我們可能會在那裡有一個很好的機會。

There's a few other states that I look at and say, I'm not sure the policies are going to line up effectively. At the end of the day, as I said in my opening comments, we have 10 million to 15 million organic opportunities to go and invest and build.

我查看了其他一些州並說，我不確定這些政策是否會有效地協調一致。歸根結底，正如我在開場白中所說，我們有 1000 萬到 1500 萬個有機機會可供投資和建設。

We know what the average cost per pass location is for us to build those areas. It's a very controlled and measurable number. In some of the BEAD circumstances, the amount of private capital per living unit that's being required is actually substantially higher than what our average cost is and what I would call our organic and market-driven non-BEAD footprint.

我們知道我們建造這些區域的每個通道位置的平均成本是多少。這是一個非常可控且可測量的數字。在某些 BEAD 情況下，每個居住單位所需的私人資本數量實際上大大高於我們的平均成本以及我所說的我們的有機和市場驅動的非 BEAD 足跡。

And so if I think about I can get more scale, more households faster in places where the construct is very straightforward, the amounts and the plays to run are getting more scale in existing areas, that's what weighs against your incentive to invest. And I think states that understand that are coming up with smart policies to try to be competitive with that. And states that don't understand that are probably going to have pretty voluminous and deep requirements that ultimately cause private capital to maybe shy away from matching in some of those areas.

因此，如果我認為我可以在結構非常簡單的地方更快地獲得更大的規模、更多的家庭，在現有地區運行的數量和項目正在變得更大，這就會影響你的投資動力。我認為了解這一點的國家正在製定明智的政策，試圖與之競爭。不了解這一點的國家可能會提出相當大量且深入的要求，最終導致私人資本可能會避免在其中一些領域進行配對。

And Phil Cusick of JPMorgan.

還有摩根大通的菲爾庫斯克。

John, maybe talk about pricing in wireless this year, and Verizon just ran through another one. It seems like the inflation-driven wave of general consumer price increases is slowing.

約翰，也許談論今年的無線定價，Verizon 剛剛經歷了另一次定價。通膨驅動的一般消費者物價上漲浪潮似乎正在放緩。

Do you think there's more room to take a little more price in the postpaid space? And then maybe just expand on the AT&T Air effort. How much does this scale over time? And how many more markets you think are possible this year?

您認為後付費空間還有更多的空間可以採取更高的價格嗎？然後也許只是擴大 AT&T Air 的努力。隨著時間的推移，這個規模會擴大多少？您認為今年還有多少個市場是可能的？

So look, I'll give you the same answer on pricing I think could probably give every time I'm asked it. And I just suggest there's a string of data points to go back and look at to kind of buttress up my observations on this, which is we've been pretty deliberate about where we think we add additional value into our customers and whether or not we can ultimately drive price changes that are aligned with driving that incremental value.

所以看，我會給你關於定價的相同答案，我想每次我被問到的時候都可能給出同樣的答案。我只是建議有一系列的數據點可以回顧一下，以支持我對此的觀察，也就是說，我們一直在深思熟慮地考慮我們認為我們在哪裡為客戶增加了額外的價值，以及我們是否最終可以推動與推動增量價值一致的價格變動。

And as I mentioned earlier, we've invested a heck of a lot in our networks. People are using over 30% more of it per year. They are getting more utility out of what we do, and the capability of the networks is allowing them to do more things in more ways.

正如我之前提到的，我們在網路上投入了大量資金。人們每年的使用量增加了 30% 以上。他們從我們所做的事情中獲得了更多的效用，而網路的能力使他們能夠以更多的方式做更多的事情。

And as a result of that, I think that value is allowing us to go in, in places and certainly drive some remuneration to the level of investments that we're putting in. And you see it in our ARPU growth. I think we shared with you that we expect probably some modest ARPU accretion in our guidance as we move through next year in the wireless space.

因此，我認為這種價值讓我們能夠進入一些地方，並且肯定會將一些報酬提高到我們投入的投資水平。你可以從我們的 ARPU 成長中看到這一點。我想我們曾與您分享過，隨著我們明年在無線領域的發展，我們預計 ARPU 可能會在我們的指導中出現一些適度的成長。

Some of that will come from moving people up to higher-priced plans with more bells and whistles, and some of that will come through pricing movement. I would tell you I go and I'd rest on our track record.

其中一些將來自讓人們升級到具有更多花哨功能的更高價格的計劃，其中一些將來自定價變動。我會告訴你我走了，我會繼續我們的記錄。

You're seeing the numbers. You've seen what we've been able to do. I think we can continue to run many of the same plays that we've run. And we're doing it with -- I don't know, we may end up with another record churn quarter or best-in-industry churn quarter. We'll be darn close to it, and we're doing it at levels of ARPU performance in the market that I think is pretty stealth.

你看到了這些數字。您已經看到了我們所做的事情。我認為我們可以繼續上演許多我們已經上演過的戲劇。我們正在這樣做——我不知道，我們最終可能會迎來另一個創紀錄的流失季度或行業最佳的流失季度。我們將非常接近這個目標，而且我們正在以市場上的 ARPU 性能水平做到這一點，我認為這是相當隱密的。

So my message is, I think we know how to do this. I think we've done it pretty effectively. I think the team is pretty diligent about it. I think there's opportunities for us to continue running the business the way we've been running the business. And I expect we'll have to do that in 2024 to deliver our plan and do what we need to do, inflation-driven or not.

所以我的信息是，我認為我們知道如何做到這一點。我認為我們做得非常有效。我認為團隊對此非常努力。我認為我們有機會繼續以我們一直以來經營業務的方式經營業務。我預計我們必須在 2024 年做到這一點，以實現我們的計劃並做我們需要做的事情，無論是否受通膨驅動。

On AT&T Air, again, not much different in my narrative around it. I don't expect that we are going to be pushing the product in the same way that some others in the market are pushing it to date.

在 AT&T Air 上，我的敘述並沒有太大不同。我不認為我們會像市場上其他人迄今為止推廣該產品的方式一樣推廣該產品。

We've made a conscious choice as a company that we want to dedicate capital to investing in fiber, which we believe is a more sustainable long-term means to deal with stationary and fixed broadband needs. It doesn't mean that we don't think that fixed wireless serves some segment of the market. It does.

作為一家公司，我們有意識地選擇將資金投入光纖投資，我們相信這是滿足固定和固定寬頻需求的更永續的長期手段。這並不意味著我們不認為固定無線服務無法服務某些市場領域。確實如此。

It serves certain types of circumstances in the consumer base. It serves certain types of circumstances in the business base. And we'll take advantage of those certain circumstances.

它服務於消費者群中的某些類型的情況。它服務於商業基地中的某些類型的情況。我們將利用這些特定情況。

As I've said, there's a lot of small businesses that have usage profiles that fixed wireless is very attractive to. It's something that we will lean into this year. You will see it reflected in our performance as we move throughout the year.

正如我所說，有很多小型企業的使用情況對固定無線非常有吸引力。這是我們今年將重點關注的事情。隨著我們全年的發展，您會看到這一點反映在我們的業績上。

We have places where because of our spectrum profile and our share position in particular markets, we can maybe lean in a little bit more aggressively and defining the consumer segment that we might serve with the product and service on a competitive market that you will see us begin to add some degree of market penetration on.

由於我們的頻譜概況和我們在特定市場中的份額地位，我們可能可以更積極地傾斜一點，並定義我們可以在競爭激烈的市場上通過產品和服務服務的消費者群體，您將看到我們開始增加一定程度的市場滲透。

And as I've told you before, we will continue to use it very, very actively in our transition away from legacy assets as we begin to shutter copper footprint, take out square miles in our network, not have the operating costs associated with those fixed infrastructure that we can use this as a catch product.

正如我之前告訴過你的那樣，當我們開始關閉銅足跡，在我們的網路中減少平方英里時，我們將在從遺留資產的過渡中繼續非常非常積極地使用它，而不是與這些相關的運營成本固定的基礎設施，我們可以將其用作捕獲產品。

It's a very effective catch product in some of those areas, especially given the density characteristics of what's happened that we haven't built fiber there yet or we will not build fiber. But it still allows us to meet our obligation back to the customer base and in our state franchise agreements, et cetera.

在其中一些領域，這是一種非常有效的捕獲產品，特別是考慮到我們尚未在那裡建造光纖或我們不會建造光纖的密度特徵。但它仍然允許我們履行對客戶群和州特許經營協議等的義務。

So I don't think you're ever going to see a scale of the kind of monthly numbers and quarterly numbers you see coming from some of our competitors, but it's a great tool. It's a great opportunity for us to continue to grow.

因此，我認為您永遠不會看到來自我們的一些競爭對手的月度數據和季度數據的規模，但它是一個很棒的工具。這對我們來說是一個繼續成長的好機會。

I think the most important thing to understand as you've seen is we are broadband positive, aggregate broadband positive. And we are going to continue to be aggregate broadband positive going forward. So not only are we growing EBITDA, we're going to now start growing the customer base. And this will be one of the tools we use to have that ratable sustainable growth that I think we've been seeking.

我認為，正如您所看到的，最重要的是要理解我們對寬頻的積極態度，對整體寬頻的積極態度。未來我們將持續積極推動寬頻整體發展。因此，我們不僅要增加 EBITDA，而且現在還要開始擴大客戶群。這將是我們用來實現我認為我們一直在尋求的可持續成長的工具之一。

We have a question from the line of David Barden of Bank of America.

美國銀行的大衛‧巴登向我們提出了一個問題。

I guess the first one, Pascal, if you could kind of elaborate a little bit on the range of the free cash flow guidance. Is it dependent largely on where capital investment lands within that 21 to 22? Or are there other potential moving parts that we don't see in that equation?

我想第一個，帕斯卡，如果你能詳細說明一下自由現金流指導的範圍。它主要取決於資本投資在 21 到 22 之間的分佈嗎？或者有其他我們在該等式中看不到的潛在移動部分嗎？

And I guess related to that, maybe, John, you ended the year at 26 million fiber homes passed. The goal is 30 million by 2025. Obviously, you've got a choice to kind of continue to kind of deploy the way you've been doing, which puts you close to that 30 by the end of this year or you could throttle it back in an effort to contain the capital investment out the door and support the free cash flow guide. Could you kind of elaborate a little bit on the game plan there?

我想與此相關的是，約翰，您今年結束時光纖家庭數量達到了 2600 萬個。目標是到 2025 年達到 3000 萬。顯然，你可以選擇繼續按照你一直在做的方式進行部署，這會讓你在今年年底接近 30 個，或者你可以限制它努力控制對外資本投資並支持自由現金流指南。您能否詳細說明一下那裡的遊戲計劃？

Here's the way I think about cash. We've made really good progress over the course of 2023 in paying down some more short-term financing obligations. And therefore, as I look at the capital spend in 2024, it's going to be more heavily weighted towards project spend.

這是我對現金的看法。 2023 年，我們在償還一些短期融資債務方面取得了非常好的進展。因此，當我審視 2024 年的資本支出時，專案支出將更加重要。

We have really good line of sight on that. It's going to be within the range we provided to you, and we feel really good about that. The other factor that we have reasonably good line of sight to is our cash taxes for the year based on current legislation. We have pretty good line of sight towards to where that lands.

我們對此有很好的視野。這將在我們為您提供的範圍內，我們對此感覺非常好。我們有相當好的視野的另一個因素是根據現行立法的今年的現金稅。我們對它著陸的地方有很好的視線。

Obviously, we're expecting EBITDA to grow. That's going to be the driver of the growth coupled with the step down in capital investment. I don't anticipate any material headwinds from working capital, albeit depending upon how we're doing, we may decide to continue to lean into short-term financing obligations to reduce those.

顯然，我們預計 EBITDA 將會成長。隨著資本投資的減少，這將成為成長的驅動力。我預計營運資金不會產生任何重大阻力，儘管這取決於我們的表現，我們可能會決定繼續依靠短期融資義務來減少這些阻力。

So those are the swing factors. But look, all in all, I feel really good about our ability to deliver on the guidance and continue to grow the business from there.

這些就是搖擺因素。但總的來說，我對我們提供指導並繼續發展業務的能力感到非常滿意。

Dave, the way I would tell you, I go back to the question that was asked earlier about capital allocation and what we need to do. And I would say, first and foremost, you got to understand we've given you guidance. We've made a set of commitments. Those are important to us. That's what we need to deliver.

戴夫，我要告訴你的是，我回到之前提出的關於資本配置和我們需要做什麼的問題。我想說，首先也是最重要的是，你必須明白我們已經為你提供了指導。我們做出了一系列承諾。這些對我們很重要。這就是我們需要提供的。

And whatever decision making we ultimately undertake has got to be within that context of ensuring that we're consistent in delivering back to you in our commitments. What I would tell you, it's not just making a decision of, well, are there incremental homes you can go get with fiber.

我們最終做出的任何決策都必須在確保我們始終如一地向您兌現我們的承諾的背景下做出。我要告訴你的是，這不僅僅是做出一個決定，嗯，是否有更多的家庭可以用光纖獲得。

There are opportunities to present ourselves -- present themselves to our business in a variety of different places where we have a choice to say we're a little ahead of plan or we were a little more efficient, should we do something else here or there.

我們有機會展示自己——在不同的地方向我們的企業展示自己，我們可以選擇說我們比計劃提前了一點，或者我們效率更高了一些，我們應該在這裡或那裡做點別的事情嗎？ 。

And we'll take advantage of those things every time they pop up. And I would tell you, very comfortable we're going to meet our commitment to you of 30 million passings. But I don't know, we could see something happen where we get a vendor circumstance like we've seen in wireless where somebody comes in and changes pricing, and we get more efficiencies out of something that we're -- we see great results coming back in on the GigaPower side, and we decide that's a better place to go and allocate a little bit more capital.

每次這些東西出現時我們都會利用它們。我想告訴你們，我們很高興能夠履行對你們 3000 萬人次的承諾。但我不知道，我們可能會看到一些事情發生，我們得到了供應商的情況，就像我們在無線領域看到的那樣，有人進來並改變了價格，我們從我們的東西中獲得了更高的效率——我們認為很棒結果回到了 GigaPower 方面，我們認為這是一個更好的地方，並分配更多的資本。

All those things are evolving. We'll weigh them. We'll make decisions. And we'll come back in, and we'll tell you what we're going to do, all within the context that we want to make sure we're consistent in meeting our commitment back to you.

所有這些事情都在不斷發展。我們會稱重它們。我們會做出決定。我們會回來告訴您我們將要做什麼，所有這些都是在我們希望確保我們始終如一地履行對您的承諾的情況下進行的。

Michael Rollins of Citi.

花旗銀行的麥可‧羅林斯。

I'm just curious what you're seeing in terms of the stages of the economy for consumers and businesses. And for your Business Wireline segment, can you share more of the playbook of how AT&T is planning to improve operating performance in that segment?

我只是好奇您對消費者和企業的經濟階段有何看法。對於您的 Business Wireline 細分市場，您能否分享更多有關 AT&T 計劃如何提高該細分市場營運績效的策略？

Michael, happy to. So look, the economy is proven resilient. I expect the economy is probably going to continue to be reasonably resilient moving into this year. It's an election year. Not that I'm a great soothsayer of what it's going to drive in terms of policy, but it seems like there's winds lining up that like you would expect moving into an important election year, policy will probably be such that it favors trying to keep growth in the right place.

邁克爾，很高興。因此，事實證明，經濟具有彈性。我預計今年經濟可能會繼續保持相當的彈性。今年是選舉年。並不是說我是政策方面的一個偉大的預言家，但似乎有風在排隊，就像你所期望的進入一個重要的選舉年一樣，政策可能會傾向於試圖保持在正確的地方成長。

And I think that will probably take what was a bit of a tenuous situation last year in terms of the rate of inflation decline and what that might do to growth rates and move us through 2024 that's probably going to continue to be one where we park along and see the economy growing. Our expectations aren't that we're going to see some kind of uptick in growth.

我認為，這可能會解決去年通膨率下降的情況，以及這可能對成長率產生的影響，並推動我們度過 2024 年，這可能會繼續成為我們的目標並看到經濟成長。我們的預期並不是會看到某種程度的成長。

We think the combination of a little bit higher than probably target level inflation and what's going on in aggregate in the economy, it's going to keep it a little bit tampered down. But it's something that we expect to still see to be relatively productive. We haven't seen anything with the consumer that suggests they're not paying their bills or not in a position to continue to buy services from us.

我們認為，略高於可能的目標水準的通膨以及經濟總體狀況的結合，將使通膨保持在一定水準。但我們預計這仍然是相對富有成效的。我們還沒有看到消費者有任何跡象表明他們沒有支付帳單或無法繼續從我們這裡購買服務。

We certainly don't see anything in business formation right now that causes us any degree of concern at this juncture. So by and large, I think we feel like we're in a pretty good place moving into 2024. Absent what I would call big exogenous variables in the global system that occurs, we feel like policy will probably line up pretty well.

目前，我們當然沒有看到任何業務形成引起我們任何程度的擔憂。因此，總的來說，我認為進入 2024 年我們感覺處於一個非常好的位置。如果全球體系中沒有出現我所說的大外生變量，我們認為政策可能會很好地協調一致。

On the Business Wireline side, I think there's a couple of things I'd first say is one, what was not the right stuff in the fourth quarter that we have to kind of acknowledge one, Pascal mentioned in his comments. We had nearly $100 million of onetime stuff that didn't repeat. That's certainly fully explainable, something we expected would be the case.

帕斯卡在評論中提到，在美國商業資訊方面，我認為我首先要說的幾件事是，第四季度哪些事情不是正確的，我們必須承認這一點。我們有近 1 億美元的一次性產品沒有重複。這當然是完全可以解釋的，也是我們所期望的。

The piece that probably -- I don't think we nailed at the beginning of the planning cycle for '23 that ended up transpiring over the course of '24 that further impacted that segment was wholesale revenues were weaker than what we expected. Those are important revenues in the segment because they tend to be higher margin, more resilient, subscription-based services.

我不認為我們在 23 年的規劃週期開始時就確定了這一點，而最終在 24 年期間發生的事情進一步影響了該細分市場，那就是批發收入弱於我們的預期。這些是該領域的重要收入，因為它們往往是利潤率更高、更有彈性的基於訂閱的服務。

There's been a fair amount going on in the industry relative to restructuring of access services and wholesale. Some of it's been driven through M&A consolidation, some of it's through technology. We are through, we believe, the worst of that now.

在接入服務和批發的重組方面，該行業已經發生了相當多的事情。其中一些是透過併購整合推動的，有些則是透過技術推動的。我們相信，我們現在已經度過了最糟糕的時期。

We've had 2 years of having to kind of deal with a lot of that repositioning and renegotiation of contracts. We think we're in a pretty good position where our visibility for '24 is better than where we have been and don't expect that we're going to have quite the pressure we saw from that side of things that is a bit different from forecasting and fundamentals perspective.

兩年來，我們不得不處理大量合約的重新定位和重新談判。我們認為我們處於一個非常好的位置，我們對 24 年的能見度比以前更好，並且不希望我們會受到從有點不同的方面看到的相當大的壓力從預測和基本面的角度來看。

And then I go to how we have to execute differently. I've given a fair amount of information and focus on we're really shifting into the mid-market and trying to be a much more effective provider into the mid-market. And we are, in fact, seeing the green shoots of that occurring.

然後我會討論我們如何以不同的方式執行。我已經提供了大量信息，並重點關注我們正在真正轉向中端市場，並努力成為中端市場更有效的提供者。事實上，我們正​​在看到這種情況的出現。

It's moving a little slower than I might like. It requires us to open up entirely new distribution channels. It requires us to cultivate new relationships with ways to represent our products than what we've traditionally done through what I would call direct owned and operated channels, requires us to rebundle and repackage the products a bit differently to be effective in that space, of which we've been doing.

它的移動速度比我希望的要慢一點。它要求我們開闢全新的分銷管道。它要求我們透過代表我們產品的方式培養新的關係，而不是我們傳統上透過我所說的直接擁有和經營的管道所做的事情，要求我們以稍微不同的方式重新捆綁和重新包裝產品，以便在該領域發揮作用，我們一直在做的事情。

And that requires us to do things like reprice, change systems, build capabilities for third parties to work with. We are making progress, and we're seeing that. We're starting to see that instantiate itself in fiber-driven revenues that are coming on the products and services we want to sell, which are connectivity-based products and services.

這需要我們做一些事情，例如重新定價、改變系統、為第三方建立合作能力。我們正在取得進展，我們也看到了這一點。我們開始看到，光纖驅動的收入體現在我們想要銷售的產品和服務上，這些產品和服務是基於連接的產品和服務。

And so we're going to continue to run those plays. We've got to get a little bit better at it. But I'd also say step back and realize that while we report segment-wise for wireline only, you should understand that the business marketplace is an important marketplace to us.

所以我們將繼續演出這些戲劇。我們必須在這方面做得更好一點。但我還要說，退一步並認識到，雖然我們僅按有線線路進行報告，但您應該了解商業市場對我們來說是一個重要的市場。

And on a combined basis, wireless and wireline, we're still growing EBITDA in that segment. And some of it is being driven from the goodness of more and more businesses are able to run the core of their company on a wireless infrastructure.

在無線和有線的綜合基礎上，我們在該領域的 EBITDA 仍在成長。其中一些是由於越來越多的企業能夠在無線基礎設施上運行其公司的核心而推動的。

And you're seeing some of that put the pressure on the wireline side of the business, but we're benefiting from that on the pickup on the other side. And when we talk about things like fixed wireless asset and AT&T Internet Air being an opportunity for us, we will be in a much better position this year on the cash to do some of that.

您會看到其中一些因素給有線電視業務帶來了壓力，但我們卻從另一邊的皮卡業務中受益。當我們談論固定無線資產和 AT&T Internet Air 等對我們來說是一個機會時，我們今年將在現金方面處於更有利的位置來做到這一點。

And frankly, that's not a trajectory move and a structural move that I think is a bad one for us over the long run. So that's kind of how I view the segment moving in.

坦白說，這不是一種軌跡變化，也不是一種結構性變化，我認為從長遠來看，這對我們來說是一件壞事。這就是我對這細分市場的看法。

And we still think our brand plays incredibly well. We can walk in and have credibility. We've got the right products that ultimately customers want if we can get them distributed properly. And I have high optimism that as convergence becomes more important, we will distinguish ourselves further in the mid-market.

我們仍然認為我們的品牌表現得非常好。我們可以走進去並且有信譽。如果我們能夠正確分配產品，我們就能獲得客戶最終想要的正確產品。我非常樂觀地認為，隨著融合變得更加重要，我們將在中端市場進一步脫穎而出。

Mike, one other point just to add as well. As the legacy revenues continue to decline, we have an opportunity to continue to really hit costs in that sector fairly hard. And so I'm confident that, that will also be a factor in moderating the losses over time.

麥克，我還想補充一點。隨著傳統收入持續下降，我們有機會繼續大幅降低該行業的成本。因此，我相信，隨著時間的推移，這也將成為減輕損失的因素。

Our last question will come from the line of Tim Horan of Oppenheimer.

我們的最後一個問題將來自奧本海默的蒂姆霍蘭。

Can you talk about the longer-term capital intensity, what you're kind of thinking currently? And I guess in a lot of moving parts of free cash flow, maybe a sense, can you grow free cash flow for this year? It seems like you can, and it seems like your capital intensity is still relatively high versus your peers. Just some color around longer-term free cash flow growth.

能談談長期資本密集度嗎？您目前的想法是什麼？我想在自由現金流的許多變化部分中，也許從某種意義上說，今年你可以增加自由現金流嗎？看起來你可以，而且與同行相比，你的資本密集度似乎仍然相對較高。只是長期自由現金流成長的一些色彩。

Yes. Let me -- going back on the capital allocation issues, Tim. I obviously believe that we should not be at the sustained levels of investment that we're at right now forever. Our point of view is we're building infrastructure that's sustainable infrastructure that will build a franchise that will last for many years to come.

是的。讓我回到資本配置問題上來，提姆。我顯然相信，我們不應該永遠處於目前的持續投資水準。我們的觀點是，我們正在建立可持續的基礎設施，這將建立一個可持續多年的特許經營權。

The fiber investment is a hard one to do at the front end, but it's an incredibly durable investment. The depreciation levels on this go out a long time for a reason. And the beauty of the technology is improving capacity on it is a relatively light lift incrementally once you got the glass in the ground.

光纖投資在前端很難做到，但這是一項非常持久的投資。其折舊水準持續很長時間是有原因的。這項技術的美妙之處在於，一旦將玻璃放入地面，就可以逐漸提高其容量，這是一個相對較輕的提升。

So you heard me talk about we should be at mid-teens as a percent of revenue in a steady state as we kind of get through the front end of this investment cycle. As long as we continue to perform in the market the way we've been performing on this elevated level of investment, I'm comfortable that we should continue to do that.

所以你聽到我談到，隨著我們度過這個投資週期的前端，我們的收入百分比應該保持在穩定狀態的十幾歲左右。只要我們繼續在市場上保持我們在這種高投資水平上的表現，我就認為我們應該繼續這樣做。

But we've got to continue to perform and make sure we deliver the right kind of results on that. So we've probably come through the worst of it at this juncture. We will get through kind of what we need to do on fiber before we're into another air interface investment.

但我們必須繼續表現並確保我們在此方面取得正確的結果。所以我們現在可能已經經歷了最糟糕的時刻。在我們進行另一項空中介面投資之前，我們將完成一些我們需要在光纖上做的事情。

And as I mentioned in some of my public remarks that I made in December, the fact that we're moving to ORAN will give us another way to kind of manage some of our capital intensity moving forward. The way I wish to describe that is it's not going to get us to different levels of historic investment that it will be one of the tools that we do to manage our portfolio of capital investment between fixed and mobile services to drive the kind of returns we need to drive.

正如我在 12 月的一些公開演講中提到的，我們轉向 ORAN 的事實將為我們提供另一種方式來管理我們未來的一些資本強度。我想描述的是，它不會讓我們達到不同水平的歷史投資，它將成為我們管理固定和移動服務之間的資本投資組合以推動我們的回報的工具之一。需要開車。

We're going to get more tools out of our ORAN investment to do that and still meet the needs of our capacity growth in a more efficient fashion in our wireless network moving forward that gives us the room to do some of the things that we want to do on the fixed side.

我們將從 ORAN 投資中獲得更多工具來實現這一目標，並在無線網路的發展中以更有效率的方式滿足容量增長的需求，這為我們提供了做一些我們想做的事情的空間在固定側進行。

So I feel pretty good about where we are. I think we're through the worst of it. We'll see it continue to get more efficient as we move forward. We'll be selective on where we can get those kind of returns based on our market performance. And overall, I think we're in good shape. Pascal, did you want to add anything on that?

所以我對我們現在的處境感覺很好。我認為我們已經度過了最糟糕的時期。隨著我們的前進，我們將看到它繼續變得更有效率。我們將根據我們的市場表現來選擇可以獲得此類回報的地方。總的來說，我認為我們狀態良好。帕斯卡，你想補充什麼嗎？

No, look, the investments we've been making, obviously, are working. And as I look forward, we've said it. We expect to operate at mid-teens capital intensity long term. And we're committed to that. We're also committed to having a capital allocation plan that also looks for all the ways to deliver value to shareholders.

不，看，我們一直在進行的投資顯然正在發揮作用。正如我所期待的，我們已經說過了。我們預計長期資本密集度將達到十幾歲左右。我們致力於此。我們也致力於制定資本分配計劃，尋找為股東創造價值的所有方法。

Thanks very much, Tim. I turn it over to John for final comments.

非常感謝，提姆。我將其交給約翰徵求最終意見。

Well, thanks. I appreciate everybody sticking with us, and I apologize about some of the longer prepared remarks at the front end, but that's not atypical as we try to give you some guidance and visibility into the business. And appreciate you enduring that.

非常感謝。我感謝大家堅持我們，並且我對前端準備的一些較長的評論表示歉意，但這並不罕見，因為我們試圖為您提供一些指導和對業務的了解。並感謝您忍受這一點。

I would just reiterate what I said in my opening remarks that I thought 2023 was an incredibly solid year for us from an execution perspective at AT&T. I'm incredibly proud across the board of what we've done and the formula in optimizing the various parts of the business as we move through it.

我只想重申我在開場白中所說的話，從 AT&T 的執行角度來看，我認為 2023 年對我們來說是非常堅實的一年。我對我們所做的一切以及在我們發展過程中優化業務各個部分的公式感到非常自豪。

It's a solid, a fundamental year at AT&T as I can remember in recent history, certainly in a very long time. If I think about those fundamentals, you see them manifested all the way through the balance sheet and our cash flow statement.

在我的記憶中，尤其是在很長一段時間內，AT&T 的這一年是堅實的、基本的一年。如果我考慮這些基本面，你會發現它們在資產負債表和現金流量表中一直體現出來。

And I think that's the most important thing to kind of step back from and realize this business enters 2024 in a very, very strong and healthy position. I'm excited about where we enter 2024.

我認為最重要的是要退後一步，認識到這項業務在進入 2024 年時會處於非常非常強大和健康的狀態。我對 2024 年的到來感到興奮。

We've taken great steps to simplify our business. We still have some more work to do in that regard, but we are entirely focused on the future right now. And it's a future that I believe lines up incredibly well for the asset base of AT&T. As consumer tastes are changing, as we're seeing the move to convergence, as we see the growth that's occurring and the importance of high-performance networking, I believe AT&T has the asset base and the positioning to move with where this future is going.

我們已採取重大措施來簡化我們的業務。在這方面我們還有更多工作要做，但我們現在完全專注於未來。我相信這個未來與 AT&T 的資產基礎非常契合。隨著消費者品味的變化，隨著我們看到向融合的轉變，隨著我們看到正在發生的成長和高效能網路的重要性，我相信 AT&T 擁有適應未來發展的資產基礎和定位。

And that's why I'm so optimistic about what we have in front of us. And I think we're going to get to a very exciting place, the start of 2025 where we have the choices in front of us that we would like to have and we worked so hard to get.

這就是為什麼我對我們面前的情況如此樂觀。我認為我們將到達一個非常令人興奮的地方，即 2025 年初，我們面前有我們想要的選擇，並且我們為此付出了巨大的努力。

I'll give you one final housekeeping thing before we separate. This is Amir's last call with us. We've worked him hard in the last 3 years. And I guess like any thoroughbred that we work hard, we need to send him on to his next chapter, and we're excited about what he's going to be able to do for us is we give him a new opportunity to show what he's been able to do and learn about the business.

在我們分開之前，我會給你最後一件家務事。這是阿米爾最後一次打電話給我們。過去三年我們一直在努力訓練他。我想就像任何純種馬一樣，我們努力工作，我們需要讓他進入下一個篇章，我們對他將為我們做的事情感到興奮，我們給他一個新的機會來展示他的過去。能夠開展業務並了解業務。

And as a result of that, I hope you join me in welcoming Brett Feldman to AT&T. A couple of you might know Brett. He's been around a little bit. We're delighted to add Brett. And as good a job as Amir has done, and it's really hard to fill those Air Jordans, I'm sure Brett will do an exceptional job of that. We think he'll be a great addition to the management team. And we'll continue to work hard to keep you in the loop moving forward.

因此，我希望您和我一起歡迎 Brett Feldman 加入 AT&T。你們中的一些人可能認識布雷特。他已經來過一段時間了。我們很高興加入布雷特。儘管阿米爾做得很好，但要填補這些 Air Jordan 的空缺確實很困難，我相信布雷特會在這方面做得非常好。我們認為他將成為管理團隊的重要補充。我們將繼續努力讓您隨時了解進展。

So thank you all very much for your time this morning, and we'll see you in 90 days.

非常感謝大家今天早上抽出寶貴的時間，我們 90 天後再見。

Ladies and gentlemen, that does conclude today's AT&T's earnings call. We'd like to thank you for your participation, and thank you for using our service. Have a wonderful day. You may now disconnect.

女士們先生們，今天的 AT&T 財報電話會議到此結束。我們衷心感謝您的參與，並感謝您使用我們的服務。祝你有美好的一天。您現在可以斷開連線。