AT&T hackers obtained data containing six months of call and text interactions of nearly all of its customers, the company said Friday.

The data obtained by the hackers included records of calls and texts between approximately May 1 and Oct. 31, 2022, and on Jan. 2, 2023, AT&T said in an SEC filing on Friday, where it added that it has closed off the access point the hackers used. 

AT&T is working with law enforcement and at least one person has been apprehended, AT&T said. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is part of investigations, the commission confirmed. 

What to do if you're an AT&T customer

While a hack of this scale can sound alarming, there is some promising information and also some steps you can take. 

First, it's important to note that AT&T said the hacked data does not include "content of calls or texts, personal information such as Social Security numbers, dates of birth, or other personally identifiable information." 

Rather, the hacked data only includes "records of calls and text," but that does extend to "nearly all of AT&T's wireless customers." The company added that the hacked data doesn't include or link itself to customers' names, but names can be linked to telephone numbers through other research means.

If you are wondering if you were impacted, AT&T said it will provide notice to current and former customers, so you should keep an eye out for that. If you're a customer with questions, you can call AT&T wireless customer service at 1-800-331-0500.

Although personal information was not part of this hack, you may still be worried about your security. With that in mind, there are some steps you can take. For example, if you're an AT&T user, updating your passcode via the myAT&T Profile page is a way to protect your account. 

You may also want to change the passwords on other key accounts, like with your banking and investing institutions or your email. This is a simple way to add a safety measure to your personal information, whether there was a recent hack or not. You can also use safe password managers, like 1Password, to build secure passwords for you. 

After a hack disclosed in March, AT&T encouraged customers to monitor their account activity and credit reports, which is another smart move to protect yourself on a regular basis. At the time, AT&T recommended setting up free fraud alerts from credit bureaus Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. FreeCreditReport.com provides, as the URL suggests, free credit reports you can review. 

Kiplinger experts also recommend seven smart moves to prevent identity theft, including securing your personal devices, safeguarding your Social Security number and using strong, diverse passwords. 

More woes for AT&T users

AT&T previously disclosed a data breach in March following a release of customer data on the dark web in the weeks prior. AT&T determined the data was from 2019 or earlier and impacted 7.6 million current account holders and 65.4 million former account holders. 

In that case, personal information of users, such as Social Security numbers, email addresses, mailing addresses, AT&T account numbers, phone numbers and more were obtained in the beach, AT&T said.

The company added that those impacted by the breach would be contacted by AT&T by mail or email and offer complimentary identity theft and credit monitoring services.

If you find yourself looking for a new wireless provider in the wake of these breaches, you can also reduce your monthly bill by selecting a smaller one. While there are some trade-offs by going smaller, Kiplinger contributor Ashlyn Brooks says these eight good value mobile companies are worth your consideration.

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To help you understand what is going on in the technology sector regarding net neutrality and what we expect to happen in the future, our highly experienced Kiplinger Letter team will keep you abreast of the latest developments and forecasts (Get a free issue of The Kiplinger Letter or subscribe). You'll get all the latest news first by subscribing, but we will publish many (but not all) of the forecasts a few days afterward online. Here’s the latest…

The odds are good that reinstated net neutrality rules are thwarted by the courts. The 2015 rules passed legal muster, but the Supreme Court has changed, with three new conservative justices in the 6-3 majority and a new, stricter stance on agencies’ regulatory power. 

Advocates remain confident the rules approved this month will survive. But the telecom debate has dragged on in Washington for over two decades, and the legal battle will take many months to settle as the telecom industry and business groups look to prevent the Federal Communications Committee's (FCC) action. The aim is to police blocking, throttling and discriminating against legal online content by web providers. 

The agency says that applying utility-style regulations also helps with oversight of network outages and cybersecurity issues. Opponents say the rules don’t solve any real problems and will ding network investment and hurt innovation. 

Under the original 2015 rules, broadband providers, like Comcast and AT&T, said the regulations were too restrictive. They also said they've voluntarily committed to not slowing or blocking internet access, so the explicit rules are unnecessary. 

The fight won’t be as contentious as previous battles, which came to a head in 2015 when rules were passed, and again in 2017 when they were overturned. One thing is certain: Congress isn’t about to step in and clear up the issue.

This forecast first appeared in The Kiplinger Letter, which has been running since 1923 and is a collection of concise weekly forecasts on business and economic trends, as well as what to expect from Washington, to help you understand what’s coming up to make the most of your investments and your money. Subscribe to The Kiplinger Letter.

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Historically, communication services is a robust sector with resilient fundamentals. This diverse segment of the market includes companies involved in advertising, broadcasting, internet media services, publishing, entertainment and mobile telecom services. The best communication services stocks range from mature operators that have been around for decades and pay attractive dividends to early stage growth startups, which are years away from showing profits.

This sector, like so many others, sold off last year alongside the broader market. And while many communication services stocks have shown strength so far in 2023, there are still a few concerns clouding the near-term outlook. 

For instance, recession worries have many companies cutting back on advertising spending, which could affect some of the big-name players in this space. Also, some of the largest companies in the sector are falling under the watchful eye of bipartisan regulators. Antitrust investigations could soon become a thing for the world's largest social and communications companies.

But there are "pockets of opportunity," writes Matthew Drukker, portfolio manager at Fidelity, including among streaming platforms and broadband/wireless providers. "Companies that can cut costs and maintain solid balance sheets may have the best long-term prospects to come out of a downturn in a stronger position," Drukker adds.

With that in mind, here are nine of the best communication services stocks to buy now. With a handful of household names and even some smaller opportunities making this list, communications is definitely one sector that shouldn't be overlooked by any investors with a long-term outlook.

Data is as of March 14. Dividend yields are calculated by annualizing the most recent payout and dividing by the share price. Analysts' average price targets courtesy of S&P Global Market Intelligence.

• Market value: $154.9 billion
• Dividend yield: 7.1%
• Analysts' average price target: $45.62 (23.7% implied upside)

Last year, Verizon Communications (VZ, $36.88) hit a rough patch as subscriber numbers flatlined and the company had to fend off tough rivals like AT&T (T) and T-Mobile (TMUS). The result was that – during 2022 – Verizon's stock price dropped from a February high in the mid-$50s to an October low in the mid-$30s. 

But it looks like things are getting back on track. In the latest quarter, Verizon reported a 217,000 increase in postpaid connections. These types of subscribers are critical because they tend to be more stable and have higher margins.

There are some other catalysts for the Dow stock. With 5G mostly built out, capital expenditures are expected to decline to $18.25 billion to $19.25 billion this year, compared to $23.1 billion for the prior year. For 2024, the capex forecast is for $17 billion. 

Another boost should come from the synergies from the massive Verizon platform. The company is poised to benefit from the trend of bundling streaming services. Verizon's +play platform, which helps customers better manage streaming subscriptions, has offerings like Netflix (NFLX), Disney Plus, and HBO Max. There is also a revenue split for this. 

Given Verizon's longer-term technical struggles, the valuation is still at an attractive 7.8 times forward earnings. VZ is also one of the best communication services stocks for income investors (and one of the best dividend stocks period), yielding 7.1% at present.

• Market value: $9.4 billion
• Dividend yield: N/A
• Analysts' average price target: $47.33 (17.0% implied upside)

Even though interest rates may be close to a peak, they are likely to remain fairly high for the foreseeable future. The Federal Reserve wants to make sure it gets inflation under control.

But a high interest rate environment has been painful for the real estate market. Just look at Zillow Group (Z, $40.42). After the stock price reached a peak above $200 in early 2021, the direction has been mostly downward. Currently, Zillow trades around $40.

Yet this is an opportunity to buy one of the best communication services stocks in the digital real estate space. The company's platform averaged 198 million monthly active users (MAUs) in the fourth quarter and there are about 2.2 billion visits. 

There is even an interesting AI play with Zillow. In January, the company announced a ChatGPT-like app that allows for natural language queries. According to Zillow's press release on the new service, users "can enter phrases like '$700K homes in Charlotte with a backyard' or 'open house near me with four bedrooms' directly into the Zillow search bar, rather than starting with a location and having to filter their way to the homes they want." 

Z wants to become the housing super app and AI will certainly be key for this. The company also has the advantage of an extensive proprietary database, which includes data on 135 million homes. 

To deal with the macro headwinds, Zillow has engaged in belt tightening. However, the company has continued to increase investments in product and technology. This is an encouraging sign, as it shows the confidence in the business and the secular trends.  

As Rich Barton, co-founder and CEO of Zillow, noted in his latest shareholder letter: "We expect 60 million homes will trade hands over the next 10 years, which reflects a much more natural and healthy mover rate. And, given all the product and service innovation opportunities we see, we believe we can capture an increasing and meaningful share of those customer transactions and drive value for our customers, partners, employees, and shareholders."

• Market value: $170.6 billion
• Dividend yield: N/A
• Analysts' average price target: $129.00 (38.2% implied upside)

In November, Walt Disney (DIS, $93.36) was looking shaky. The company posted a disappointing earnings report and said its streaming division lost $1.47 billion. There was also muted guidance. The share price sank 9% on the news.

Not long after, Disney's board and senior executives replaced CEO Bob Chapek with Bob Iger. It was bold and disruptive, but it looks like it was the right move.

Consider that Iger has wasted little time in making changes. He has set in motion layoffs for 7,000 jobs and will cut $5.5 billion in costs. Part of this is aimed at getting to profitability for the streaming business, but Iger is also realigning the power structure at the company, providing more control with content executives.

This could perhaps be the most impactful change. A key to Iger's success as CEO of Disney from 2005 to 2020 was his focus on producing blockbusters. He bolstered this with savvy acquisitions for Pixar Animation Studios, Lucasfilm, Marvel Entertainment and 21st Century Fox.

On Iger's first earnings call in February, he talked about sequels for popular franchises like "Frozen," "Toy Story," and "Zootopia." These should boost growth for the blue chip stock. 

As a testament to Iger's plan, activist investor Nelson Peltz called off his proxy fight, saying the company has a solid plan. "Now they've got to execute," Peltz added.

True, now is the time to follow through. But Iger has demonstrated he can successfully lead Disney – and this should be good news for investors seeking out the best communication services stocks.

• Market value: $981.1 million
• Dividend yield: N/A
• Analysts' average price target: $46.22 (35.0% implied upside)

Founded at the peak of the dot-com boom in the late 1990s, TechTarget (TTGT, $34.22) is a leading platform for content and marketing tools for the technology industry. It has over 150 websites that cover topics like networking, storage, cybersecurity, cloud, DevOps and virtualization. 

Unfortunately, the business has suffered because of the problems in the IT world. With sluggish growth and layoffs, there have been cutbacks to marketing budgets. For 2023, TechTarget forecasts a decline in revenues of 11% to 14%. 

But the company has strong competitive advantages. It has a user base of 30 million and 95% of the traffic is unpaid. And consider that there are more than 1.2 million page one rankings on Google.

The company is also building useful tools that should help boost growth. One is the Priority Engine, which leverages TechTarget's rich database to improve conversations for leads.  Then there is the content enablement segment. This is a comprehensive program that helps validate market opportunities, test messaging, create buyer personas and develop competitive analysis.

Even with the expected fall-off on the top-line for this year, TechTarget is still expected to have an attractive EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) margin of about 35% and net income of $16.2 million to $23.2 million. This is partly due to an asset-light business model. In fact, for the past 19 years, the company has generated positive free cash flows.

• Market value: $27.7 billion
• Dividend yield: N/A
• Analysts' average price target: $67.41 (19.2% implied upside)

The Trade Desk (TTD, $56.53) operates a cloud-based ad buying platform that allows for campaigns across display, video, audio, mobile, social and CTV (connected TV).

Unfortunately, the industry has been under pressure, but The Trade Desk has been able to continue to show robust growth. In the latest quarter, revenues jumped by 24% year-over-year to $491 million and adjusted EBITDA came to $245 million, up 27.6%. By comparison, the company's large competitors were posting drops on the top line.

What's the difference? A major factor for the growth is TTD's AI platform, Koa.This sophisticated technology allows granular profiling of audiences, and is based on processing more than 600 billion queries per day. From all this, a marketer can get the right insights to build effective campaigns. 

In the meantime, The Trade Desk is benefiting from the secular trend of CTV. This allows for personalized ad campaigns. But this requires state-of-the-art technologies like Koa. 

On The Trade Desk's latest earnings call, founder and CEO Jeff Green said, "The shift from linear TV to CTV continues to accelerate, and I predict that, at some point in the near future, we will reach a precipitous tipping point. It won't be a long, gradual shift to CTV. It will be an acceleration and then a full-on shift."

• Market value: $30.6 billion
• Dividend yield: 0.7%
• Analysts' average price target: $133.67 (19.9% implied upside)

The gaming industry can definitely be choppy. A game can easily flop or fade. Then there are the inevitable delays.

This is why it's a good idea to focus on game publishers that have a set of durable franchises. They can ride out the temporary problems – and ultimately provide investors a way to benefit from the continued growth of the industry.

Of course, Electronic Arts (EA, $111.48) fits the bill. Its franchises include FIFA, Madden, UFC, Star Wars and Sims. There is also a massive player network, which is at 650 million.

It's true that there were problems in the recent quarter. EA pulled the Apex Legends Mobile game. Even though it was the game of the year for 2022 for Apple and Google app stores, it was not enough. This does show how difficult the mobile gaming segment can be. 

Another problem was that EA delayed the launch of its Star Wars Jedi: Survivor console game. Instead of being released in mid-March, it will be for late April. Still, the game has a good chance of being a hit and a boost for growth.  

In other words, EA's recent issues appear to be temporary, while its long-term prospects look bright, especially as other games are launched this year. For investors, this allows them the chance to get one of Wall Street's best communication services stocks at a discount.

• Market value: $11.8 billion
• Dividend yield: N/A
• Analysts' average price target: $83.33 (32.2% implied upside)

Founded in 2008, Twilio (TWLO, $62.99) has been a strong innovator. The company started as a platform that allowed developers to include communication services – like voice, messaging and email – into their apps. It then leveraged this expertise into creating solutions for the contact center. This was then followed up with technologies for sales reps. And then there was a move into the customer data market, which came through the acquisition of Segment.

While all this has created a large company, Twilio has had its problems. The disparate businesses have become more difficult to manage. The headcount also got bloated.

But co-founder and CEO Jeff Lawson has taken swift actions, most recently dividing his organization into two groups: Twilio Communications and Twilio Data & Applications. This has resulted in a shakeup of leadership ranks.

There have also been significant layoffs, with 26% of the workforce let go in recent months. The company also eliminated many employee perks – including its sabbatical program – and reduced its real estate footprint.

Now, the good news is that Twilio continues to grow. In the fourth quarter, revenues were up 22% year-over-year.  

But given the state of the company – in which revenues are at over $1 billion per quarter – there is a need to focus on profitability. All in all, it seems Lawson's plan is spot-on for this.  

• Market value: $11.3 billion
• Dividend yield: N/A
• Analysts' average price target: $34.52 (61.6% implied upside)

ZoomInfo Technologies (ZI, $21.36) is a provider of market intelligence for sales, marketing, operations and recruiting. For example, the platform can help provide an account executive a 360-degree view of a prospect, which should help close sales.

The databases are massive. They have over 220 million professional profiles and more than 100 million companies. There are roughly 1.5 billion updates daily. 

All this has been crucial for ZoomInfo's AI efforts. Some of the features include predictive modeling for customer personalization, targeted messaging, web form optimization and conversation intelligence.

In early 2023, ZoomInfo announced it will launch a ChatGPT-type language system for its products. The company noted in a press release: "this cutting-edge technology will transform the way sales and marketing teams find and connect with their ideal customers, cutting prospecting time and driving more efficient results for go-to-market (GTM) teams."

While the economic slowdown has weighed on ZI's business, the company has continued to grow, with revenues up 36% in the latest quarter. It also has a lean operating structure, with impressive free cash flows of $122.4 million.

To gin up growth, ZoomInfo has been investing heavily in its enterprise segment. And there is lots of runway for one of Wall Street's best communication services stocks. The company estimates that its addressable market opportunity is at about $100 billion.

• Market value: $10.3 billion
• Dividend yield: N/A
• Analysts' average price target: $63.14 (71.9% implied upside)

Like many other digital companies, Match Group (MTCH, $36.74) stock got off to a strong start in 2023. But the enthusiasm soon fizzled. The reason? A weak earnings report. The company reported a 2% year-over-year drop in revenues to $786 million and a 54% fall in operating income to $107 million. There was also weak guidance for the first half of this year. 

But investors should not throw in the towel on Match stock. If anything, this is an opportunity to get a better valuation on one of the best communication services stocks.

One catalyst for future growth is the changes CEO Bernard Kim has been making to the Tinder app. A key to this has been a slew of innovative features, as well as a new marketing campaign, which should help accelerate the growth.

In the meantime, there have been important changes to the Hinge app, such as boosting monetization by adding subscription tiers. There is also the push into foreign markets, including Asia.

Again, the near term is expected to be challenging, and restructuring efforts will take some time to get results that move the needle. But this should set Match up for renewed growth in the second half of the year. 

Just as fashions rotate in and out of style, so, too, do stock market favorites. Out of favor big-time these days are communications services stocks. The broad sector includes telecom companies (think AT&T), media and entertainment firms (Netflix), and inter-active media and services (Electronic Arts, Twitter). Rising interest rates and higher inflation have dampened the outlook for shares in growth-oriented companies, tripping up the sector (and others). Over the past 12 months, the S&P 500 Communications Services index has lost 22%.

Fidelity Select Wireless (FWRLX) has done better than the sector index over the past year, albeit with a loss of 9.6%. Manager Matthew Drukker keeps a trim portfolio of 47 stocks, investing in U.S. and foreign stocks across what he calls the “telecommunication ecosystem,” which includes smartphone chip makers, mobile service providers and firms behind popular apps.

A handful of Drukker’s top holdings have posted good gains over the past 12 months, including Apple (up 22%) and chipmaker Marvell Technology (up 27%). But stocks such as social media firm Snap (down 53%) and Swedish telecom company Ericsson (down 42%) have been a drag.

Drukker isn’t worried. Many of the companies in the fund, he says, will benefit from the rollout of 5G, including Verizon Communications, T-Mobile and Marvell. But adoption of this fifth-generation tech standard for wireless networks has been slow. “We’re a couple years into what is going to be a 10-year cycle,” he says.

For now, it’s business as usual. Drukker favors firms with pricing power, a growing market share, or product innovation that can drive revenue growth and boost free cash flow (money left over after paying necessary expenses to maintain and invest in the business).

Take American Tower, which owns and operates cell-phone towers all over the world. The real estate investment trust bakes in a 3% annual increase to its leasing rates in its U.S. contracts with service providers such as T-Mobile and Verizon. And clients tend to stick around: In some locales, the telecom firms don’t have other options.

The market began the week just as it ended the last one, with interest rates rising and tech shares selling off.

Indeed, rates rose for a seventh straight day to hit levels not seen in some time. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note spiked 5.7 basis points Monday (a basis point is one-one hundredth of a percentage point) to a three-year high of 2.77%.

Predictably, the technology sector was one of the worst-performing sectors, sinking 2.5%.

But it was the energy sector (-3.0%) that led the market lower, hurt by a drop in oil prices. U.S. crude oil futures shed 4% to settle at $94.29 per barrel amid fear that extended COVID-19-related shutdowns in China will sap global energy demand.

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The Nasdaq Composite ended the day down 2.2% at 13,411, hurt by weakness in big-cap tech stocks like Microsoft (MSFT, -3.9%) and Nvidia (NVDA, -5.2%). The broader S&P 500 Index (-1.7% at 4,412) and blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average (-1.2% at 34,308) likewise finished the session in the red.

As a reminder, it's a short week for traders and investors. The stock market will be closed on April 15 for Good Friday.

Other news in the stock market today:

• The small-cap Russell 2000 gave back 0.7% to 1,980.
• Gold futures gained 0.1% to settle at $1,948.20 an ounce.
• Bitcoin plunged 6.4% to $40,034.52. (Bitcoin trades 24 hours a day; prices reported here are as of 4 p.m.)
• Twitter (TWTR) stock was down more than 3% at its session low following news that Tesla (TSLA) CEO – and new TWTR stakeholder – Elon Musk would not be joining the social media firm's board of directors, as reported late last week. "Musk's decision to not join the board of Twitter is the culmination of a week of bizarre behavior and is simply a distraction from the many operational woes facing Tesla," says David Trainer, CEO of investment research firm New Constructs. "The Musk bump in Twitter shares is likely to fade as investors realize the only value Musk brought was publicity - not all of it good. Although Twitter remains a popular platform, it has its own problems and suggestions like removing a letter from its name can do more harm than good." TWTR was able to shake off its earlier weakness and end the day up 1.7%.
• AT&T (T) jumped 7.7% after the telecommunications firm's WarnerMedia unit on Friday officially completed its merger with Discovery. (The combined company – Warner Bros Discovery – began trading on the Nasdaq today under the symbol "WBD.") Additionally, J.P. Morgan analyst Philip Cusick resumed coverate on T with an Overweight (Buy) rating. "The company is investing in its wireless network with its 5G build out as well as expanding its fiber footprint to 30 million locations by 2025," Cusick writes in a note. "The network enhancements support wireless subscriber and service revenue growth in Mobility and broadband services in Consumer and Business Wireline."

Earnings Season is About to Begin

Although interest rates have been the market's main driver for months, earnings season will likely steal away traders' attention soon enough. Corporate results start flowing this week, and they're not projected to be as robust as we've come to expect.

"Analysts and companies have been more pessimistic compared to recent quarters in their earnings estimate revisions and earnings outlooks for the first quarter to date," says John Butters, senior earnings analyst at FactSet.

The current estimated earnings growth rate for the S&P 500 is 4.5%, which would mark the lowest earnings growth rate since Q4 2020, Butters says. However, considering that the majority of S&P 500 companies report earnings above estimates, the analyst expects the actual growth rate to top 10% for a fifth consecutive quarter.

JPMorgan Chase (JPM) headlines this week's earnings calendar when it unveils first-quarter results before Wednesday's opening bell, marking a stretch of reporting from a number of Dow Jones stocks and financial firms. Speaking of the latter, high inflation and rising interest rates put financial earnings in particulary sharp focus. Here, we've compiled a list of some of the most compelling plays in the sector, according to Wall Street's pros.

We’ve witnessed a lot of changes in the past couple of years, but you may have overlooked the upheaval in the wireless industry. Sprint customers finally became T-Mobile customers in 2020, thanks to the companies’ completed merger (although some Sprint customer plans are still in transition). The deal reduced the number of major wireless carriers from the big four—AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon—to the big three. But the big four weren’t the only ones making waves.

Cox Communications, a cable provider, appealed an October 2021 court decision that stopped a wireless network deal with Verizon. Cox was hoping to follow in the footsteps of fellow cable providers Comcast and Charter Communications, which have entered the mobile fray as Xfinity Mobile and Spectrum Mobile, respectively, with network deals with Verizon. Add in the smaller carriers, including Ting, Mint Mobile, Google Fi and others, and the competition for your dollars is intense.

Shopping for a new plan comes down to the data and phone needs of you and your family. A family of four can save close to $930 a year, on average, by switching wireless carriers, says Toni Toikka, president of Alekstra, a New York City–based research firm that analyzes the wireless service industry. Plus, carriers may allow you to stack promotions because phone deals and plan deals are separate.

Read on for plan recommendations for four typical users. To compare wireless plans, you can go to WhistleOut.com or Wirefly.com. Both sites offer search tools that allow you to compare plans and current promotions from dozens of carriers. If you agree to set up automatic payments and elect paperless billing, you’ll typically score a discount ranging from $5 to $10 a month per line.

But don’t let price alone sway you. On top of your data needs, consider how often you like to upgrade your phone and how valuable the promotions are to you.

Promotions Galore

To combat customer flight to com­peting carriers, the big three have been offering free lines and free phones. Plus, wireless companies are increasingly pairing up with media companies to offer subscriptions to HBO Max, Netflix and more.

AT&T and Verizon are essentially giving phones away to attract and keep customers. AT&T is offering new and existing customers a free iPhone 13 with 128 gigabytes of storage that you own outright with an eligible trade-in. Verizon is offering those who open a new line and trade in their old device (as long as it’s working) up to $1,000 off the iPhone 13 Pro, which has a starting retail price of $999.99. The newer your current phone is, the higher its trade-in value. Verizon is also offering a similar promotion with Android phones.

However, to take advantage of this deal at either company you must sign up for one of the unlimited data plan options. And because the promos are doled out as credits applied to your monthly bill, you are essentially stuck with your carrier until the promo is finished, which is typically two years. If you wanted to switch carriers after a year, say, you’d have to pay for the remaining balance of the phone.

T-Mobile, for its part, is giving away more. It recently offered eligible new and existing customers a third line for free if they sign up for any unlimited plan. Plus, T-Mobile has ways for you to score a free phone, as long as you are willing to be paid in bill credits and you sign up for a particular unlimited plan.

If you’ve cut the cable cord and stream your favorite TV shows and movies from various services, you might save money signing up with a carrier that pays the tab for a service, either partially or in full. Verizon is tossing in up to a year of AMC+ with its iPhone 13 Pro offer, depending on which unlimited plan you select. And AT&T customers who sign up for the Unlimited Elite plan get HBO Max for free.

T-Mobile’s Magenta plan pays for Apple TV+ for a year. For Ted Lasso fans, that’s a savings of $24.95 for the year. The plan also comes with a free Netflix basic account (meaning only one screen or device can watch a show at a time), which typically costs $8.99 a month. To upgrade to four screens, you’ll pay an additional $9 per month. (If you were to sign up for Netflix on your own, that plan would cost $17.99.)

The Magenta plan starts at $35 per month per line for four lines. That price includes a discount for signing up for automatic payments, plus a discount that covers the cost of the third line. (For more details, see The Right Plan for You.)

Pick a Plan to Cover Your Data Use

Having enough data is always a concern, as most folks use their smartphone to surf the web, play games or stream shows. And if you’re not using your home wireless internet connection or another Wi-Fi network, your data use can add up quickly. Data availability is also a concern for remote workers who use their phone’s mobile hotspot feature to connect their laptop to the internet. According to an NPD Connected Intelligence Data Consumption report, the average amount of data used per phone was 17.3GB a month at the end of 2020. (For context, a high-definition movie stream on Netflix uses 3GB of data per hour per device.)

You won’t have to worry about running out of data if you have an unlimited plan. And to participate in any of the big three’s new-phone deals, you will more than likely have to sign up for one.

If you don’t need unlimited full-speed data (or a new phone), you have other options. AT&T offers Unlimited Extra, a mid-tier plan that includes unlimited talk and text and 50GB of premium data, after which AT&T may slow your speeds if the network is busy. The cost is $40 per month per line for four lines (a single line costs $75) if you agree to paperless billing and autopay. The plan includes 15GB of hotspot data per line, too. AT&T also offers Unlimited Starter, a package without mobile hotspot that costs $35 per month per line for a family of four. Verizon and T-Mobile offer similar plans.

Shop the Smaller Carriers, Too

The big three aren’t the only carriers who have tempting plan and phone deals. If you’re not sold on a plan with a juicy subscription add-on, consider one of the smaller carrier’s new-customer deals.

Mint Mobile, for example, allows new customers to test out its service with a three-month plan. You can choose among four plans, including an unlimited plan with free mobile hotspot that costs $30 a month for three months. Once the three months are up, you can choose to sign up for a plan that lasts either three, six or 12 months—but to keep the cost at $30 a month, you would have to sign up for the 12-month plan.

This offer doesn’t come with a smartphone, so you would receive a SIM card that needs activating. Before pulling the trigger, double check that your phone is compatible with Mint’s service (see BYO Phone).

Mint also has a new-customer offer that allows you to buy a new phone and six months of service while getting another six months of service for free. An iPhone 13 Pro with 128GB of storage and six months of service, for example, would cost a grand total of $1,269. Mint gives you the option of either paying up front or financing the purchase through Affirm, the buy-now, pay-later installment company, over 24 months.

At Xfinity mobile, you can also choose among four plans, including one with an unlimited option. The cost is $30 per line per month for a family of four. However, to cash in on the savings, you have to sign up for Xfinity’s internet services. If you later switch internet providers and you don’t sign up for Xfinity TV or Voice services, you’ll be charged an additional fee of $25 per line each month.

Small carriers’ plans look similar to the ones provided by the big three, but there are caveats. For one, your service may not be as fast as advertised. “Those carriers use one of the big three’s networks,” says Toikka. “Technically, you should be able to get the same quality because it’s the same network. However, that’s not always true, because the bigger carriers can prioritize their own traffic,” he says.

Say you sign up for a plan with Mint Mobile, which uses T-Mobile’s network. If more T-Mobile customers—which now include former Sprint users—are using the network, your Mint plan could potentially be slowed to a crawl even though all plans boast that they have 5G or 4G LTE speeds.

Another caveat: If you need help with your service, you won’t be able to go to a brick-and-mortar store to talk to a customer representative. You would have to address your problems over the phone, online or through the carriers’ smartphone app.

BYO Phone

Want to keep your phone but switch to another plan? Most carriers allow switchers to bring their own phone or device (BYOP) as long as it’s compatible and unlocked. You may even receive a discount for doing so.

Verizon, for example, will give switchers who keep their phone up to $500 on a Verizon gift card to use on Verizon products and services—including your bill. To get the full amount, you have to sign up online for a Do More, Play More or Get More unlimited plan; the three plans range from $45 to $55 a month per line for a family of four. If other family members keep their phones, each phone qualifies for a gift card. The offer ends December 31, 2021.

To see if your phone is compatible with a carrier, check the carrier’s website. It will have a tool for you to type in your phone’s make, model and device identification number, called the IMEI. To request an unlock, call your carrier or check your account online for steps to follow, and have your device’s IMEI on hand. Devices bought directly from a carrier are typically locked for a period ranging from 40 to 60 days after purchase. Once unlocked, you would then switch out your old SIM card for the new one.

Or you could purchase an unlocked phone directly from a manufacturer or from a retailer such as the Apple Store, Best Buy, Target or Amazon. These unlocked devices are ready to use—you just put in the SIM card of the carrier of your choice. “As a rule of thumb, the flagship phones, like the iPhone 13 Pro Max, the Samsung Galaxy S21 5G Ultra and Samsung Z Fold 3, and the new Pixel 6 Pro with Verizon or AT&T, grab the highest marks,” says Michael Ahene, deputy editor of deals website Brad’s Deals.

The manufacturer or retailer may have its own financing program. Apple and Samsung, for example, offer financing, and Best Buy offers financing if you have a Best Buy credit card. Be sure to buy a phone that’s 5G compatible.

The Right Plan for You

We picked solid, competitively priced plans for four profiles. If you are not inclined to shop around, call your carrier and ask if there’s anything it can do for you. For example, the plan you originally signed up for may not be offered to new customers anymore, so you could be upgraded to a newer plan at your current price.

Families

For a family of four looking for a combination of phone and plan deals, T-Mobile’s Magenta plan is a solid choice. It costs $35 per month per line and it comes with 100GB of premium data and 5GB of high-speed hotspot data (after which the data slows to 3G speeds, but data use is unlimited). The plan also comes with a basic Netflix account. T-Mobile currently has a promotion that offers to pay off eligible phones up to $1,000 if you switch to T-Mobile from another cell-phone carrier by bringing your number over. Eligible subscribers include Verizon, AT&T, Spectrum, U.S. Cellular and more. The promotion is limited to five lines per subscriber, meaning your whole family could be reimbursed for each phone and number that is ported. Reimbursement is via prepaid Mastercards. (As of mid November, the promotion’s expiration date hadn’t been set.)

Bargain Hunters

If getting the lowest price pos­sible is your top goal, and you have a compatible phone you want to hang on to, take a look at Visible’s Party Pay. Here’s how it works: Each family member signs up for their own service at $25 for the first month, with one family member creating the “party” and asking the rest to join. Once everyone is activated and has joined, the cost stays at $25 per line a month, and everyone is billed separately. Each person gets unlimited talk, text and data and 5GB of mobile hotspot data. Visible is powered by Verizon’s network. For more information, go to www.visible.com/plan/party-pay.

55-Plus

You have a couple of attractive options if you’re 55 or older. T-Mobile’s Unlimited 55+ Magenta plan includes a basic subscription to Netflix and is a bargain at $70 a month for two lines. The plan is similar to T-Mobile’s regular Magenta plan but shaves off $50 a month for two lines. And if you need a phone upgrade, you may qualify for a free Android 5G-compatible phone if you sign up for financing.

Light Users

Just need something to ring friends and the kids? Ting’s Flex account is $10 a month, or $20 a month for two lines. Data is extra (and shared with other lines on your account); you pay $5 per gigabyte of data used. Ting uses the T-Mobile and Verizon networks. Or consider Mint Mobile’s 4GB data 3-month plan. The cost is $15 a month per line, or a total of $90 for the first three months if you sign up for two lines. To keep the price at $15 a month per line, you have to choose a 12-month plan at the time of renewal for both plans.

Get Ready for 5G

On top of keeping current customers happy and attracting new ones, all carriers are focused on increasing and improving their 5G infrastructure while making sure customers understand what all of this means for them.

“We’re about two years into the 5G rollout, and it typically takes anywhere from four to six years for the telecom operators to fully cover the United States,” says Daniel Hays, a telecom principal with PwC US, which provides auditing, tax planning and consulting services.

If you have access to a 5G network and your phone is 5G compatible, your access speed could still be slower than you expect. Carriers are still retrofitting towers, and they are adding them in more densely populated areas before they branch out to rural areas. For example, in New York City, you may get speeds of less than 100 megabits per second on your compatible smartphone, says Toni Toikka, president of Alekstra, a New York City–based research firm that analyzes the wireless service industry. 4G typically downloads at speeds of 50 megabits per second, so the speed difference isn’t big enough for most people to notice, he says.

If you don’t have a 5G-compatible phone, 5G is meaningless until you get a new phone. The shutdown of 3G cellular service by all of the major cell-phone carriers has already been announced (see Say Goodbye to 3G Phone Service). The time lines vary throughout the year, but they will be wrapped up as early as January for Sprint’s 3G network. If you have a device that relies on the old wireless standard, you will no longer be able to use some data services, send texts or make phone calls, including dialing 911. Older 4G phones that don’t support modern cellular voice technologies, such as Voice Over LTE or HD Voice, are affected, too. Those customers may need a software upgrade.

Is your mobile phone more than a few years old? You may need to upgrade—fast. The shutdown of 3G cellular service by all of the major cell-phone carriers—AT&T, T-Mobile (which owns Sprint) and Verizon—is under way and will be completed next year. The long-planned sunset of 3G will free up airwaves for 5G and other advanced services. That’s the good news. The bad news is that if you have a device that relies on the old wireless standard, you will no longer be able to use some data services, send texts or make phone calls, including dialing 911.

Millions of phones and other commonly used products still harness 3G, including home security systems, medical devices and personal emergency response systems. Adding to the confusion, older 4G phones that don’t support modern cellular voice technologies, such as Voice Over LTE or HD Voice, are impacted, too. Those customers may need a software upgrade or a new phone.

The time lines for shutdowns vary, but they will be wrapped up as early as January for Sprint’s 3G network. Other carriers, including prepaid providers Cricket, Boost and Straight Talk, are also affected, because they rely on airwaves from the Big Three.

Do you need to upgrade? How do you know if your aging phone is at risk? Carriers say they have been reminding customers who need to act via direct mail, e-mail and text. Your carrier’s website may provide a list of affected devices. You can also look up the model number online and search for product details of the phone, including the mobile broadband generation (3G, 4G, 5G). If you see it’s a 3G generation phone, you know you are affected. You can also look for a “3G” icon at the top corner of your phone, but be careful: Not all 3G phones have that icon.

If you need to upgrade to a new phone, shop for deals. Discounts—or in some cases, free upgrades—are available. T-Mobile, for example, offers Sprint 3G customers the same monthly rate for 4G/5G service and a free device upgrade.

Wondering what to do with your old phone? If it has Wi-Fi capabilities, you can still use it to watch TV or play games over the internet. Otherwise, you’re probably going to have to recycle it. Some large retailers, such as Best Buy, offer recycling programs for old electronics. You can look into local recycling programs at www.earth911.com.

The end of 3G

Below is the time line for the shutdown of 3G services. After the shutdown is complete, phones and other devices that rely on this standard will no longer be able to make calls or perform other tasks that require a cellular connection.

• AT&T - February 2022*
• Sprint (owned by T-Mobile) - January 1, 2022
  (Sprint LTE shutdown - June 20, 2022)
• T-Mobile - July 1, 2022
• Verizon - December 31, 2022

*AT&T has not provided a specific date in February 2022 for its shutdown.

We waited years for the video streaming war to begin.

Well, it's here. It's heated. And it involves a host of well-backed streaming video stocks vying for relevancy amid a jam-packed crowd.

Netflix (NFLX) largely had its way over the past decade. It licensed popular content from other media companies and supplemented that with its own shows, becoming the undisputed industry leader along the way. Netflix started offering its streaming video service in 2007, and by the end of 2018 it claimed 139 million subscribers. In that time, the company faced a few half-hearted attempts to grab a piece of the pie.

But in the past 18 months or so, the video streaming war has really gotten legs. Netflix has been losing content from its library as new streaming services bring their TV shows and movies back under their own umbrella as exclusives.

Apple (AAPL) launched Apple TV+ on Nov. 1, 2019. Just two weeks later, Walt Disney (DIS) launched Disney+. In May 2020, AT&T (T) launched HBO Max followed by Comcast's (CMCSA) NBC Peacock, which went live in July 2020. The latest big entry took place in January of this year, when Discovery (DISCA) launched its Discovery+ streaming service.

And given very recent news, HBO and Discovery+ could soon become an even bigger threat.

These represent just a few of the now dozens of video streaming services competing for consumer dollars and threatening to upend the traditional TV viewing industry. We're reaching the point where at least a few clear winners and possible losers are beginning to come into focus. After all, consumers first switched to Netflix to save on their cable bills. Even if fragmented content convinces many viewers to have multiple subscriptions, few are going to pony up to all the streaming services.

Here's a look at the major streaming video stocks, and how their offerings appear poised in the current content landscape.

Data is as of May 16.

• Market value: $218.8 billion
• Streaming services: Netflix

Netflix (NFLX, $493.37) is the grandaddy of all the video streaming services, and the one to beat. The company started life as a mail order DVD rental service – taking on Blockbuster Video – before announcing in 2007 that it would begin streaming movies to its 6.3 million subscribers.

That move started inauspiciously, with the customers able to choose from 1,000 mostly older movie titles to stream over their PC as part of their $18-per-month DVD rental subscription.

But streaming video quickly gained momentum.

In 2008, Netflix made a huge move into taking video streaming mainstream. The company began snapping up the streaming rights for movies and TV shows, taking advantage of a disorganized marketplace and the desire by media companies to make "easy money." Recode describes what happened as a result:

"Netflix took the stuff Hollywood considered its leftovers and built a giant business with it – and ended up competing directly with the established media players, using their own content."

That content became more expensive over time as studios realized what had happened. When Netflix first acquired the rights to Disney movies in 2008, it paid $30 million; renewing that deal in 2012 cost $300 million. Netflix also began to invest heavily in producing its own content, releasing exclusive shows such as House of Cards and Stranger Things. NFLX spent more than $17 billion on original content in 2020, and that's projected to increase to a hair over $19 billion this year.

That spending has had to ramp up because now that other streaming video stocks have arrived in full force, Netflix is losing the rights to some of its most popular shows and movies. For example, Disney titles are all but gone, and The Office – the service's most watched show – disappeared this year, moving to NBC's Peacock.

NFLX faces three big challenges as the streaming wars kick off:

1. Escalating costs for its content library, which is becoming more reliant on original material.
2. Preventing churn, where subscribers ditch its service for the competition.
3. Growth. Netflix currently has around 208 million subscribers worldwide. It has tapped most of the potential in the lucrative North American market. It has much more market to eat in the EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) and the Asia Pacific regions, though subscribers there don't generate as much in revenues.

RBC Capital Markets analyst Mark Mahaney says if Netflix can replicate its current 57% penetration rate among U.S. households in global markets, it could add nearly half a billion subscribers. He calculates that kind of subscriber base would translate into earnings of $50 per share, and a $1,000 share price for NFLX within five years.

Netflix remains the king of streaming video, though growth will be more difficult to come by.

• Market value: $269.6 billion
• Streaming services: Peacock

Comcast's (CMCSA, $58.68) NBCUniversal media arm was one of the inadvertent early catalysts for the phenomenal growth of Netflix. Two of the top three most viewed TV shows on Netflix in 2018 – by a huge margin – were NBC properties: The Office and Parks and Recreation.

NBC's Peacock is the latest of the big video streaming services to launch and features the network's most popular series. The Office became a Peacock exclusive in January 2021, when the Netflix license expired. Peacock also will produce its own new programming. While the focus of this new streaming service is on TV shows, Peacock also has a library of movies available.

Comcast is hoping to extend the reach of Peacock by offering the service with a free, ad-supported tier that has limited programming. Premium service with access to the complete content library without advertising starts at $4.99 per month for Comcast cable subscribers. Non-subscribers can also access that premium tier for $9.99, undercutting Netflix.

Peacock is late to the game, but it's seen as a necessary move for Comcast. The company lost 671,000 residential cable subscribers in 2019. NBCUniversal's cable network revenue dropped 2.2% that year. Peacock is a play to appeal to cord cutters as a Netflix alternative, but it also can be used as an enticement to keep Comcast cable subscribers onboard. In addition, the free, ad-supported tier offers an alternative to consumers who don't want to pay for another streaming service.

Last year, Comcast said it expected to spend $2 billion on Peacock between 2020 to 2021 to grow the service. It expects to have 30 million to 35 million subscribers by 2024, and generate $2.5 billion in annual revenues.

• Market value: $315.3 billion
• Streaming services: Disney+, Hulu, ESPN+

Walt Disney (DIS, $173.70) has proven to be a savvy player when it comes to video streaming, and the company has positioned itself to become a powerhouse that rivals Netflix.

Disney was an early investor in Hulu – a U.S.-only streaming service with both paid and free, ad-supported tiers. In 2019, Disney bought out Comcast's stake to take full control of Hulu. This gave it an established streaming service with 28 million subscribers at the time.

Hulu will lose its NBC TV content, but it still gives Disney a platform where it can stream more mature content that might not be suitable for its family-friendly Disney+ offering. (Don't forget: Disney now owns not just ABC and its TV catalog, but also the TV and movie libraries of 21st Century Fox.)

The company's big-ticket entry is Disney+, which has proven to be an even bigger success than expected. The coronavirus pandemic hasn't hurt – its European launch during the height of the COVID-19 lockdown put more pressure on already strained regional internet infrastructure, requiring Disney to temporarily lower the video quality.

But Disney+ was always going to be a big deal, especially for families. The streaming service has exclusive access to Disney's back catalog of animated movies, as well as Marvel and Star Wars properties. Disney also has invested in new content, including The Mandalorian, which became the most streamed show in the U.S. shortly after launch.

Disney, which hoped to hit 30 million subscribers by the end of 2024, announced last May that it had signed up 54.5 million. By March, that number topped 100 million. The ability to bundle Disney+ with its other services has also had a halo effect, boosting subscribers for Hulu and Disney's ESPN+ sports.

Barely a streaming presence as 2019 wound down, Disney is now one of the top streaming video stocks. It's a clear winner. In fact, streaming revenues have helped counter the losses from closes parks and canceled cruises, allowing Disney to report a surprise profit for its fiscal first quarter.

• Market value: $1.6 trillion
• Streaming services: Amazon Prime Video

Amazon.com's (AMZN, $3,222.90) Amazon Prime Video is an interesting case. It has been around for a long time in one form or another (starting as Amazon Unbox in 2006). The company licenses content, but also spends a lot of money on original programming – to the tune of an estimated $7 billion in 2019.

You can subscribe to Amazon Prime Video for $8.99 month. However, Amazon isn't really running this video streaming service just to compete against other streaming video stocks. Instead, Prime Video is one of the big enticements to paying for an Amazon Prime membership. A $12.99 monthly Prime membership includes free shipping and other benefits, along with free access to Amazon Prime Video.

That Amazon Prime membership is a big deal for Amazon. In 2018, Prime members spent an estimated $1,400 on average shopping on Amazon.com, compared to $600 for non-Prime members. With 200 million paying Prime members worldwide, that extra spending adds up quickly.

Amazon Web Services (AWS) might be the company's profit center, but e-commerce still accounts for 90% of AMZN revenue. Keeping those online sales growing is a key driver of Amazon stock. That makes the company's ongoing investment in Amazon Prime Video a smart move, regardless of whether it's actually making money from video-specific subscriptions.

• Market value: $2.1 trillion
• Streaming services: Apple TV+

Apple (AAPL, $127.45) has had a long presence in TV streaming hardware (the Apple TV) and video rentals/purchases (iTunes). However, in November 2019, the company joined the video streaming race with its Apple TV+ service.

At $4.99 monthly, Apple TV+ is considerably cheaper than other streaming video services. But there's a catch – the content is all-new, exclusive shows and movies. There's no library of favorites licensed from other media companies. Apple reportedly spent $6 billion on producing content for its launch lineup, but it's still pretty thin.

What's Apple's spin on streaming video, since Apple+ doesn't seem like it's in position to directly compete against the market's top streaming video stocks?

Apple TV+ has two key goals. The first is to boost revenue for its Services division, which has become increasingly important as iPhone sales slide. In its fiscal second quarter ended in March, that Services revenue hit $16.9 billion. That's up 26.7% compared to last year and makes Services the company's second-largest revenue generator, after the $47.9 billion that iPhone sales brought in.

The second goal is part of a tried-and-true Apple strategy: keep people locked into the Apple ecosystem. Look no further than the fact that the company gives away a free year of Apple TV+ with the purchase of an iPhone, iPad, Apple TV or Mac computer for proof. Apple TV+ is another enticement to keep customers buying Apple products.

• Market value: $1.5 trillion
• Streaming services: YouTube Premium

Alphabet's (GOOGL, $2,278.38) Google is a streaming pioneer. Its YouTube brand offers a wide range of streaming services including YouTube TV – a paid alternative to cable with up to 70 live network TV channels) – and the free original YouTube, which has been an online streaming video fixture since Google bought it in 2006.

But Alphabet's legit contender to take on Netflix is YouTube Premium, which costs $11.99 per month.

Google isn't really playing the same game as everyone else. YouTube Premium's key value proposition for subscribers is getting to watch all the videos shared on the free site without having to sit through annoying ads. (The company also throws in access to YouTube Music for free.)

Google has paid for a smattering of original TV shows and movies, but it's the user-generated content that's front and center – just without ads. This approach has made YouTube Premium popular with millennials.

In 2020, Google broke out the advertising revenue for YouTube for the first time. It amounted to an astounding $15.15 billion in 2019. It brought in $6 billion during Q1 2021 alone, up 49% year-over-year. That's just ad revenue, which doesn't include subscriptions for YouTube TV or YouTube Premium.

YouTube and YouTube Premium don't compete directly with other streaming video services in the traditional sense, but YouTube Premium will be tough competition if consumers are forced to narrow down their choices of which streaming video services to pay for. Especially if those consumers are in younger demographics.

• Market value: $25.2 billion
• Streaming services: Paramount+

Do you subscribe to ViacomCBS's (VIAC, $38.91) Paramount+?

Unfortunately for ViacomCBS, the likely answer is: probably not.

Paramount+ is the new name for CBS All Access, which launched in 2014 and is priced at $5.99 per month with commercials, $9.99 without. And despite more than six years of operation, a library of over 12,000 CBC TV show episodes, original content like Star Trek: Picard and access to live sports, All Access/Paramount+ hasn't made a huge splash in the streaming TV market.

In February, ahead of the changeover to Paramount+, ViacomCBS said it had 30 million subscribers across all its platforms. Admittedly, that includes some significant growth – its 17.9 million domestic subscribers were up 73% year-over-year. But it remains notably light on subscribers compared to larger services such as Netflix and Disney+.

Streaming revenues also aren't much compared to what ViacomCBS gets for licensing its content elsewhere. Combined streaming ad and streaming subscription revenues of $816 million, while up 65% year-over-year, are still less than half of VIAC's $1.8 billion-plus in "licensing and other" revenues.

Relatively low penetration, and the high value of its content library when licensed to other services, could result in Paramount+ eventually becoming a casualty in the streaming wars.

• Market value: $230.2 billion
• Streaming services: HBO Max

AT&T (T, $32.24) owns HBO Max, a new streaming video service that offers the programming of HBO, content from WarnerMedia and a rotating selection of movies. At $14.99, it's on the expensive side, but AT&T is providing free access to most customers who already subscribe to HBO on cable.

HBO Max launched last May, and the company will be phasing out its existing HBO Go service.

One of the HBO Max wins – courtesy of the that WarnerMedia library – is Friends. The one-time second most-watched show on Netflix is now an HBO Max exclusive. The deal cost AT&T, though. Last January, the company said its WarnerMedia division lost $1.2 billion in revenue by forgoing licensing deals to make content available to HBO Max.

That said, AT&T's place in the streaming wars has changed overnight.

In the latest shakeup, on May 17, AT&T announced a deal that would see it spin off WarnerMedia and combine those assets with Discovery, creating a standalone streaming media powerhouse to take on market leaders Netflix and Disney+. Pending regulatory approval, the deal is expected to be completed by mid-2022.

There is no word yet in in terms of what this development holds for existing streaming services run by the two companies including Discovery+ and HBO Max. They could be kept separate or combined into a "mega" streaming service.

We explain what this could mean for current AT&T shareholders in a breakdown of the AT&T-WarnerMedia-Discovery deal.

• Market value: $18.0 billion
• Streaming services: Discovery+

One of the latest big-player newcomers to the streaming wars is Discovery+, launched on Jan. 4 by Discovery Communications (DISCA, $35.65).

The streaming service offers more than 55,000 episodes spanning over 30 years of programming from the company's networks, including HGTV, A&E, Discovery Channel and the Food Network. Monthly subscriptions cost $4.99 with advertising, or $6.99 per month without ads.

It also offers a free one-year subscription to select Verizon (VZ) customers.

In its first-quarter earnings report, the company said Discovery+ subscribers had already topped 13 million. However, that did come at the cost of sliding subscribers from its cable portfolio, which dropped 4% during the same period.

But like with HBO Max, this becomes a more difficult service to handicap amid the pending deal with AT&T. It's possible the two services are merged in what would be a much more appealing offering likelier to compete with the market's largest streaming video stocks.

Shareholders in AT&T (T, $32.24) aren’t quite sure just how to react to Monday's news that the company would essentially undo its $85 billion acquisition of Time Warner – a deal that was widely criticized when it closed in 2018.

Indeed, shares in the blue-chip telecommunications giant popped as much as 4.8% at one point in Monday's early trading. However, those gains were pared back significantly by the early afternoon.

Income investors who have come to count on AT&T's generous dividend (currently yielding 6.5%) might want to hold their applause, however.

AT&T signaled that it will cut its dividend to reflect the company's smaller size once it spins off its media business into a separate entity.

Based on what shareholders get out of the deal, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. But it does make it all the more important for current and prospective T shareholders to understand the ins and outs of this pending deal, and AT&T's new place in the streaming video wars.

The AT&T-WarnerMedia-Discovery Deal

AT&T and Discovery Communications (DISCA, $35.65) rocked the communications industry before Monday’s opening bell by announcing a mega-deal that would combine their formidable cable and streaming media assets.

AT&T, which says it expects to receive $43 billion between cash and securities in the deal, will spin off WarnerMedia properties such as HBO, CNN, TNT, TBS and Warner Bros Studios. Those properties will combine with Discovery assets such as Food Network, Animal Planet and HGTV to form a new publicly traded company. The as-yet-to-be-named media firm will also own streaming media assets HBO Max and the newly launched Discovery+.

T and DISCA hope that the resulting entity will possess the scale and resources to compete with the likes of Netflix (NFLX) and Walt Disney (DIS) in the rapidly expanding streaming media business.

The new company – which is expected to be formed by mid-2022 – will have some catching up to do. HBO Max and HBO combined have about 44 million U.S. subscribers. Discovery+ has roughly 15 million subscribers. Meanwhile, Netflix has more than 200 million global subscribers, and Disney+ has more than 100 million.

But back to AT&T.

Why Is the Dividend Getting Cut?

AT&T said it expects an annual dividend payout ratio of 40% to 43% from more than $20 billion of expected free cash flow. That implies a total payout of between $8 billion and $8.6 billion.

That would represent a steep drop from the $15 billion AT&T paid in dividends in 2020, when free cash flow – or the cash left over after operating costs and capital investments – came to more than $40 million. Morgan Stanley analyst Simon Flannery points out that it would mark "a nearly 50% reduction from current levels ... and would put the stock on a low 4% (yield)."

Although income investors might have to accept less in the way of dividend income, that doesn't mean this is automatically a bad deal for them.

For one thing, it bolsters T's balance sheet. The telco took on tremendous debt when it acquired Time Warner. As of March 31, AT&T carried net debt of $169 billion.

Some analysts and investors worry that the sheer weight of all that debt hampers AT&T's financial flexibility. Telecoms have enormous capital expenditures. They must continuously expand, maintain and upgrade their networks.

The advent of next-generation ultra-high-speed networks only adds to the cost pressure. Indeed, AT&T spent $23.4 billion on wireless spectrum licenses in the Federal Communications Commission's most recent round of auctions.

And although AT&T is spinning off its media assets, the structure of the deal with Discovery still allows current T shareholders the potential to profit from the growth of streaming media and content in general.

Under terms of the deal, AT&T shareholders will hold a 71% stake in the combined media company, in the form of new shares. Discovery shareholders will own the remaining 29% stake. In return, AT&T will receive $43 billion of cash, debt securities and WarnerMedia’s retention of certain debt. The new media company will carry about $55 billion in debt.

Whether the new media company pays dividends remains to be seen, but it certainly will have higher growth prospects than AT&T. But the eventual spinoff and new shares will force current holders of both T and DISCA to re-evaluate their holdings.

Bank of America Global Securities analysts, who rate T at Buy, are optimistic about what this deal could mean for shareholders.

"Given a choice between acquiring new media assets and spinning out a pure play, we believe shareholders are benefited by the latter," writes BofA analyst David Barden in a note to clients. "A combined entity would have an enhanced ability to offer the widest variety of content to attract the largest possible subscriber base on a global basis."

Income investors may be forgiven if they're still shell shocked a year after they suffered a tsunami of dividend cuts, suspensions and cancellations the likes of which the market has rarely seen.

In 2020, investors could hardly keep up with the daily drumbeat of bad dividend news. Even immense blue-chips like Walt Disney (DIS), a stalwart dividend payer and component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, were turning off the spigots that return cash to shareholders. Heck, Disney's dividend remains suspended to this day.

Happily, the flood of dividend cuts and cancellations we saw last year has slowed to barely a trickle in 2021. But that doesn't mean the wider stock market has been totally kind to income investors' wallets. A look beyond the S&P 500 reveals that we're not completely safe from bad news as far as dividend cuts are concerned.

Perhaps just as important, although some companies have since reinstated their dividends after suspending them for a time, the reinstated payouts are far less than what income investors had come to expect.

To get a sense of where income investors remain at peril, we screened the Russell 3000 for key recent dividend cuts, suspensions and cancellations. Have a look at the three most notable dividend decreases of the past three months.

Share prices and other data are as of June 30, unless otherwise noted. Dividend yields are calculated by annualizing the most recent payment and dividing by the share price.

• Market value: $205.5 billion
• Action: Dividend decrease
• Annual dividend prior to change: $2.08 per share*

Big changes are coming to AT&T (T, $28.78) in 2022.

On May 17, the telecom giant announced that it was spinning off WarnerMedia – which it acquired in June 2018 for $85 billion – and merging it with Discovery Communications (DISCA), the company behind cable networks such as HGTV, Animal Planet, and the Food Network.

Together with HBO, CNN, TBS, the Warner Bros. movie studio and other media properties, the combined entity will have the scale necessary to compete with Netflix (NFLX), Disney (DIS) and the rest of the entertainment industry's behemoths.

AT&T will receive $43 billion in cash, debt securities and the assumption of some of WarnerMedia's debt by Warner Bros. Discovery, the new name of the combined entity. AT&T and its shareholders will own 71% of Warner Bros. Discovery.

However, dividend investors won't be getting the same payout they've become accustomed to once the combination is completed in mid-2022.

According to AT&T CFO Pascal Desroches' June 15 update to shareholders, the company will pay out between $8 billion to $9 billion annually for dividends. That's approximately 40-43% of the $20 billion or more in free cash flow it expects to generate once WarnerMedia's been spun off.

In the first quarter ended March 31, AT&T paid out $3.83 billion in dividends. That's $15.32 billion on an annualized basis. Based on the midpoint of the company's dividend payout guidance post-closing, AT&T will reduce its dividend by 45% to an estimated $1.19 per share.

The cut won't take place until the transaction is completed. The good news is that it plans to invest the savings in 5G and its fiber network, increasing its annual capital investment to $24 billion.

Analysts are mixed about the move.

"Everybody recognizes that [AT&T] is a lumbering old giant with slower growth prospects and a lot of debt. So, I think they've done this transaction in an attempt to change the perception of the company to something with some more growth characteristics," Baskin Wealth Management president David Baskin told the Cantech Letter in early June.

* The cut has not occurred yet. This is based on an AT&T projection.

• Market value: $5.0 billion
• Action: Dividend decrease
• Annual dividend prior to change: $1.23 per share

Antero Midstream (AM, $10.39) gave investors a jolt in mid-February when it slashed its dividend 27% in order to allocate more capital to infrastructure investments.

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The operator of pipelines and storage facilities for natural gas, liquid natural gas, and water handling and treatment, slashed its annual payout to 90 cents a share from $1.23 a share.

The move allows AM to boost capital expenditures by about $65 million, notes Raymond James analyst J.R. Weston, who rates the stock at Market Perform (the equivalent of Hold).

"While we've previously cautioned of the AM financial model attempting to 'thread the needle,' and the stock has persistently traded with a double digit dividend yield, we still expect the dividend cut will surprise some investors," Weston said in a note to clients.

UBS analyst Shneur Gershuni, who rates the stock at Neutral (Hold), largely agrees with Weston's take on events.

"While AM's headline dividend cut supports future near term volume growth, lowers leverage and creates a fresh cash flow entity, the optics of cutting to raise capex was not well received by investors," Gershuni writes.

Shares in Antero Midstream plunged more than 12% after the Feb. 18 disclosure, which is typical after stocks announce dividend cuts. However, it managed to reclaim the lost ground in a matter of weeks. And even after a bout of recent weakness, AM is up more than 35% for the year-to-date through the end of June, beating the S&P 500 by more than 20 percentage points.

At 90 cents per share annually, AM's dividend yield based on the June 30 closing stock price comes to 8.7%.

Analysts' consensus recommendation on AM stock stands at Hold, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence. Their average annual earnings growth forecast stands at 3% over the next three to five years.

• Market value: $17.9 billion
• Action: Dividend decrease
• Annual dividend prior to change: $1.48 per share

Healthpeak Properties (PEAK, $33.29), a real estate investment trust (REIT) that invests in life sciences, medical offices and senior housing properties, cut its dividend in February by 19%.

The most recent quarterly dividend of 30 cents per share – down from a previous payout of 37 cents a share – will result in annual dividend savings of about $150 million. At a projected $1.20 a share annually, PEAK's dividend yield comes to 3.6% as of the end of June.

Analysts applaud the REIT's efforts to transform its portfolio by selling its more than $4 billion senior housing portfolio, but note that the asset sales are also a drag on near-term earnings.

Indeed, by one measure, PEAK would appear to have ample resources backing its dividend. After all, the company spent a total of $787.1 million on dividends in 2020 – up from $720.1 million the previous year – and still had $1.6 billion in free cash flow after paying interest on debt.

However, net income in 2020 came to just $413.6 million. When the bottom line has to catch up to the dividend amid a costly repositioning of the business, PEAK's financial prudence is understandable.

Besides, analysts say that reducing exposure to senior housing facilities is a critical strategic move.

"In the wake of the sharp increase in COVID cases in late 2020 into January 2021, we lower our outlook for senior housing given weaker occupancy trends and higher operating expenses," says Mizuho Securities analyst Omotayo Okusanya, who rates PEAL at Neutral (Hold). "Transforming its portfolio to majority life sciences and medical office buildings could result in positive re-rating from the investor community."

Analysts' average recommendation on PEAK comes to Buy. They forecast the company to deliver average annual earnings growth of 3.9% over the next three to five years, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence.

• Market value: $409.8 million
• Action: Dividend decrease
• Annual dividend prior to change: 24 cents per share

National CineMedia (NCMI, $5.07) isn't a movie chain, but it has been hammered by the pandemic in just the same way. The company displays advertising to movie-goers throughout the U.S., and with cinema attendance only just starting to trickle back after a long pandemic drought, revenue has been hurting.

NCMI reduced its quarterly payout to 5 cents a share from 7 cents a share as part of its fourth-quarter earnings release in early March, but analysts say investors shouldn't be alarmed by the move.

Wedbush's Michael Pachter, who rates NCMI at Neutral, says payout reduction was "out of an abundance of caution," as the company has more than enough cash available for dividends, income tax payments, and other fees.

Furthermore, the analyst is cautiously optimistic about the course of its business as theater chains gradually normalize operations.

"We think NCM will be well-positioned within the ad delivery ecosystem once attendance rebounds, but currently low theatrical attendance severely limits NCM’s ability to sell impressions even as advertisers are ready," writes Pachter in a note to clients. "As theatres reopen and the release slate schedule becomes more clear, we view NCM's position as increasingly positive."

At 5 cents a share per quarter, or 20 cents per share annually, the yield on NCMI's dividend came to 3.9% as of the end of June. Analysts' consensus recommendation stands at Hold, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence.

5G technology is set to become one of the most important technologies for the next several years. This isn't news – 5G stocks have been on investors' radars for quite some time.

In fact, 5G stocks as purely 5G plays are almost played out.

Still, the tremendous growth in the space is hard to ignore. For instance, 5G network infrastructure spending doubled in 2020 after a staggering 350% rise in 2019, according to a forecast from Gartner.

"Early 5G adopters are driving greater competition among (communication services providers)," says Kosei Takiishi, senior research director at Gartner. "In addition, governments and regulators are fostering mobile network development and betting that it will be a catalyst and multiplier for widespread economic growth across many industries."

But investors looking to play this powerful trend should perhaps consider 5G stocks that have other things going for them. Most catalysts likely will at least tie into 5G use as the network continues to roll out and new uses are discovered, but in some cases, strong parts of the bull argument are completely independent from 5G.

Here are seven 5G stocks that can continue to benefit from the growth in the technology, but also boast other factors that make them even more appealing.

Data is as of March 1. Dividend yields are calculated by annualizing the most recent payout and dividing by the share price.

• Market value: $126.1 billion
• Dividend yield: 2.7%
• Catalyst: Automation

The German-based industrial conglomerate Siemens (SIEGY, $78.91) isn't an obvious play on 5G … at least when looking at 5G as purely a consumer-based technology. However, outside the world of faster downloads to a smartphone, 5G networks can be built on non-cellular networks.

For a giant factory, enabling a business-level 5G network can allow for more optimized automation, which can drive costs down and directly improve a company's bottom line.

"Enterprise applications allowing different machines to talk to each other in factories and automation. That's a real 5G use case that you're starting to see," says Reaves Asset Management analyst Brian Weeks. "That's not mobile internet, those are private networks that don't rely on a wireless spectrum."

Siemens is the leader in these business and industrial applications for 5G technology – not just in use, but in development. In November, for instance, the company released the first industrial 5G router. These routers will allow companies to integrate networks and better automate processes across giant plants.

BofA Securities analysts give Siemens a Buy rating and recently upgraded their estimates in part because of "strong growth and good visibility in China on both industrial automation and software businesses."

While SIEGY shares, which trade over-the-counter in the U.S., have been flat for years, a broader shift into industrial stocks, as well as Siemens' advances in industrial automation, could drive better performance going forward.

• Market value: $200.8 billion
• Dividend yield: 7.4%
• Catalyst: Streaming

You can't have a list of 5G stocks without one of the major telecoms.

AT&T (T, $28.09) has spent several years and mountains of debt – $151 billion in long-term IOUs as of the end of 2020 – building itself into more than just a telecom play.

Its acquisitions of DirecTV and Time Warner gave it access to broadcasting as well as content creation. The former hasn't gone so well; AT&T has been trying to unload its satellite business for months, and finally agreed to a deal with private equity firm TPG Capital that will see the firm spin off DirecTV into a separate entity.

However, Time Warner – which includes Warner Bros., HBO, and numerous Turner properties including CNN, TBS and TNT – is a catalyst some investors might be sleeping on.

The company's HBO Max service saw signups surge by 40% amid the exclusive release of Wonder Woman 1984 starting on Christmas. That's a higher growth rate than Disney's (DIS) Disney+ enjoyed when it released the highly anticipated Hamilton on its service in July, though it was starting from a lower number.

It's a potential catalyst, albeit one with some risks. Some signups might not stay with the service, especially given its high price of $14.99. There also are worries about streaming interest waning as COVID-19 does.

"The nearly $5 billion investment in HBO Max over the next five years represents a substantial risk for AT&T if subscriber acquisition/retention metrics and/or financial returns for the service do not accord with management's projections," writes Argus Research analyst Joseph Bonner (Buy). But he adds, "We think management did a good job with content and pricing, and will undoubtedly market the new service through all of its many consumer touch points."

Despite this, and the potential wave of growth from 5G service, shares trade like … well, a telecom. T stock is priced at less than nine times future earnings estimates, largely out of concerns about the company's high debt level and what it means for the sustainability of the dividend. AT&T pays out $2.08 per share annually, translating into a high 7% yield at current prices.

The good news on that front? The TPG deal will give AT&T $7.8 billion to use against its debt, and Argus believes it will "have a positive effect on margins and EBITDA growth."

• Market value: $29.2 billion
• Dividend yield: 0.9%
• Catalyst: 4G

What if 5G networks take more time than expected to roll out? Technological hiccups aren't exactly rare, and already, some early predictions for 5G network coverage have been proven overly optimistic.

In that case, companies still providing 4G coverage should fare well.

But no matter how fast or slow 5G rolls out, it's all good news for cell tower companies. Why? Because these firms act as the onramp for network coverage, no matter what generation. It's effectively an oligopoly that drives strong returns for the participants. Even better, the likelihood of future tower growth is slim; most 5G tech will use much of the same tower real estate as the existing 4G network.

"The biggest winner from 3G to 4G were the towers," says Reaves Asset Management's Weeks. "You didn't even have to pick the right one, you just had to throw a dart. It's one of the best business models ever. The existing inventory of towers in the U.S. is the inventory in the future. You can't really build new towers because of zoning and regulatory issues."

Enter SBA Communications (SBAC, $262.80).

SBA Communications is a telecommunications real estate investment trust (REIT) that leases infrastructure out to telecom providers. While REITs are a traditionally dividend-friendly sector given their mandate to share most of their profits with stock owners, SBAC doesn't offer much in the way of yield. Fortunately, that's largely a byproduct of its rapid share price growth over the past few years.

Given the company's likely growth trajectory on fixed costs and rising profits, however, the yield is likely to increase over time.

The company recently made a $973 million deal with PG&E (PCG) to place its antennas on the utility company's electric towers – a deal UBS's Batya Levi (Buy) says "will increase leverage." She adds, however, that "management expects to return to its targeted range by YE21 while still supporting a 25% dividend increase, other portfolio growth and/or continued share repurchases."

SBAC shares have cooled off significantly after years of ramping higher, and are now down roughly a quarter from their 52-week highs. That provides a much better entry point for this eventual 5G beneficiary.

• Market value: $342.9 billion
• Dividend yield: 0.1%
• Catalyst: IoT, AI, machine learning, cryptocurrency

Nvidia's (NVDA, $553.67) graphics processors are a key ingredient for the various tools that will run on 5G networks. For instance, in early 2020, Nvidia reported that researchers were using the company's processors to develop artificial intelligence that could use machine learning more efficiently for growing out the 5G network.

"We have found that for some very hard telecom problems, there's no math formulation, but AI can learn the problem models automatically, enhancing our GPU-based parallel solutions," says Yan Huang, a PhD student and researcher on the project.

In short, Nvidia might just surprise as a 5G play, as it can help develop the technologies that run on it. It might even come up with the most ubiquitous uses that, 10 years for now, seem obvious in hindsight if they seem impossible today.

Regardless, Nvidia's current role in a number of other emerging technologies – take your pick, whether it's the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, cryptocurrencies – places it front and center of a digital gold rush, much like the pick-and-shovel sellers in the gold rushes of yore obtained the safest and most consistent profits.

Consider the company's most recent report, which showed 2020 revenues up 53% year-over-year, and adjusted earnings up 73%. Those results were driven by products attached to a number of these trends, such as the company's A100 universal AI data center GPUs.

"Thousands of companies across the world are applying NVIDIA AI to create cloud-connected products with AI services that will transform the world's largest industries," CEO Jensen Huang said in a release.

From a hardware standpoint, Nvidia is a major player in a lot of areas. 5G is just a slice of a fast-growing pie.

• Market value: $158.8 billion
• Dividend yield: 1.9%
• Catalyst: Mobile infrastructure upgrades

Qualcomm (QCOM, $139.49), which is essentially a warehouse of patents on wireless communications, is another likely winner in the 5G race.

"Qualcomm is truly an incredible company (we own its shares, which we bought for the first time in 2015)," writes portfolio manager Vitaliy Katsenelson. "It owns essential patents on wireless technology. Your mobile phone runs on Qualcomm's intellectual property. Every time a mobile phone is sold on any part of this large planet, Qualcomm collects a few bucks. An incredible and very profitable business."

That's true whether a phone is 4G or 5G. Even if the upgrade cycle to 5G takes longer than expected, Qualcomm still benefits. That's the beauty of the company's royalty business model.

Remember: This isn't a one-and-done event. A study by Cambridge's Edward Oughton and the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid's Zoraida Frias estimates that 5G won't even reach 90% penetration until 2027. No matter how long the rollout takes, that leaves a long runway for companies benefitting from the trend, and a company selling products to suppliers of mobile devices on a royalty basis will likely continue to be a big winner, even if the market has already realized it.

QCOM has other avenues of growth, too. For instance, Argus Research's Jim Kelleher (Buy) says of Qualcomm's recent acquisition of Nuvia, "This under-the-radar acquisition, in our view, can accelerate Qualcomm's development of ARM-based CPUs for cloud and data center applications."

Still, 5G is an unquestionably significant driver for QCOM going forward.

"We believe that Qualcomm has barely begun to monetize its significant intellectual capital and multigenerational lead in 5G technology," Kelleher says. "As the 5G ramp moves from mainly infrastructure investment to the mass adoption of 5G handsets, we continue to look for a significant boost to revenue, margins, and EPS."

• Market value: $1.6 trillion
• Dividend yield: N/A
• Catalyst: Autonomous fleets and warehouses

Amazon.com (AMZN, $3,146.14) founder Jeff Bezos announced in early February that he would step down as CEO later this year. His replacement? Andy Jassy, who currently leads the company's cloud business.

Many consumers still see Amazon as a primarily online retail operation. While that's a massive business, the profit driver is the company's Amazon Web Services. The development of the company's cloud storage business and ancillary services has generated far thicker profits – which the company admittedly sometimes wipes clean with massive expansion reinvestments – than in its internet retail operations.

Here, the industrial applications of local 5G networks come into play. Amazon could easily test out autonomous fleets running on a local 5G network, which might allow it to better automate its warehouses.

"AWS is uniquely positioned for enabling the grid of the future," the company notes. "With the scalability that can deliver dynamic load flows in near-real time, AWS can offer unprecedented insights to the grid operators of the future. With sophisticated AI/ML tools, AWS can carry the heavy lift of complex decision making in controlling these dynamic grids, where generation and load (electric vehicles) can itself be mobile too."

5G or not, Amazon will continue to benefit from the two-headed monster that is its e-commerce and AWS services.

"As the leader in two large and rapidly growing sectors (eCommerce & cloud), with an emerging high margin marketing business, Amazon remains well positioned in a recovery scenario given cloud services, marketing services and certain eCommerce categories/geographies are still in the early phases of development," say Stifel's analysts, which rate the stock at Buy.

• Market value: $1.4 trillion
• Dividend yield: N/A
• Catalyst: Software suite for 5G applications

Sure, Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL, $2,069.66) is already releasing 5G versions of its Pixel smartphone. But that hardware story has been known for some time.

At the end of 2020, Google expanded its Anthos 5G ecosystem, which allows its software applications to better utilize 5G networks. Anthos is simply the company's old Cloud Services division, which was rebranded in 2019.

This software side of the equation is where the real catalyst for higher profits for the company going forward – and likely a higher share price.

"When 5G is available to them, enterprise customers can benefit from higher speeds and lower latency, and Anthos makes it very easy for these customers to then deploy an application once and scale it across networks, including to the edge – which is why we call it 'the effortless edge,'" Amol Phadke, Google Cloud's managing director, said in a release announcing the Anthos expansion.

Right now, this side of the business is still reinventing itself for 5G applications. In February, Google reported $15.6 billion in Q4 earnings. This cloud services division lost more than $1.2 billion – more than its notoriously unprofitable "Other Bets" division, which lost $1.1 billion.

In time, however, this division could end up being a major growth and profit center for the company. "5G needs the cloud more than the cloud needs 5G," Reaves Asset Management's Brian Weeks quips.

Why would you hunt down the best stocks to buy now for a downturn when the markets are at all-time highs?

The current bull market – currently fueled by cheap money from the Federal Reserve, another stimulus plan and, most importantly, the hopes that some day in the nebulous future, we'll have COVID under control – is going to end. Every bull market does.

That's not why, however. That end, which would occur with a 20% decline from a market peak, could be a long time coming. The reason why is that even a mere correction, which is a decline of between 10% to 20%, would be enough to rack up sizable losses and shake investor confidence. And several market watchers see the potential for a correction in the coming months.

"Overall, we still believe U.S. equities in general remain vulnerable to a bigger correction than we have experienced thus far- and that this could materialize in Q1 or Q2 with upwards of a -10-15% repricing off the recent highs," says Dan Wantrobski, technical strategist at Janney Montgomery Scott.

"The message from market sentiment and positioning indicators is that equities are ripe for a correction," adds BCA Research.

Naturally, it's better to have an escape plan before you need it. So if at some point the "hopium" disappears, you'll want to be exposed to more defensive stocks – companies that sell vital goods and services, have reliable earnings and, where possible, pay dividends. Almost everything is overvalued now, but these kinds of stocks should hold their value better in a downturn than the rest of the market.

Read on as we discuss 11 of the best stocks to buy now if you want to add some protection against future turbulence. Three specific areas of the market stand out right now: digital infrastructure stocks, healthcare providers and consumer staples stocks – all areas of the market that will be in demand no matter what happens over the next few months.

Data is as of Feb. 4. Dividend yields are calculated by annualizing the most recent payout and dividing by the share price.

• Market value: $206.2 billion
• Dividend yield: 7.2%
• Industry: Telecommunications

AT&T (T, $28.89) admittedly made some of the worst business mistakes of the last decade, buying both DirecTV and Time Warner. The idea was to get more from its Internet services by adding content to them, but so far, that hasn't worked out quite as planned.

Veteran AT&T executive John Stankey became CEO in July 2020. He replaced Randall Stephenson, who made those bad decisions. His first move was to consolidate the company's entertainment assets around HBO Max, a streaming service that competes with Netflix (NFLX). This meant, among other things, releasing theatrical movies online at the same time they go into theaters.car It's a risk – more people might sign up for HBO Max in the short-term, but top producers, directors and stars might be less willing to sign with AT&T's Warner studio longer-term.

The good news? Demand for 5G wireless service should bail out AT&T to some extent and help it maintain its phenomenal dividend – a hallmark of many defensive stocks.

AT&T currently boasts the fastest 5G network and was a major bidder in the recent auction of new spectrum. This could mean even more debt – AT&T reportedly was seeking another $14 billion in debt on top of the $179 billion in IOUs it carried at the end of 2020, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data. Still, 5G is essential to the Machine Internet, thus essential to economic growth, and thus essential to AT&T's growth.

Marc Lichtenfeld, chief income strategist at The Oxford Club, insists AT&T has enough cash flow to not only afford its dividend, but keep increasing it and maintain its status among the Dividend Aristocrats. AT&T's high payout is among the top reasons to consider T among the best stocks to buy now for a smoother ride in a downturn.

"Its entertainment business should rebound as the economy recovers and HBO Max is off to a strong start," Lichtenfeld adds.

Sam Hendel, president of Levin Easterly Partners, a New York-based asset manager, says the wireless business was very stable during the pandemic and will continue to generate cash. He also expects Warner Media to recover as the pandemic eases. "The stock at 8 times free cash flow has limited downside," he says.

Robert R. Johnson, a professor of finance at Creighton University's Heider College of Business, adds that AT&T is "attractively priced" at less than 10 times next year's earnings.

• Market value: $228.6 billion
• Dividend yield: 4.6%
• Industry: Telecommunications

Verizon (VZ, $55.14) didn't spend as heavily on content assets as AT&T over the past decade, and thus, its stock wasn't hit as hard by their failure to perform. Most of the value in the former America Online and Yahoo, combined as Verizon Media, was written off in late 2018.

What's left is a purer play in telecommunications than AT&T, with wireless and its FiOS cable unit at its center. Like AT&T, Verizon was a big bidder during the recent frequency auction. Its debt load is a little lighter, too, at $150 billion. VZ has focused on network management and has cut its costs by $10 billion per year, using technology and buying out some executives' contracts.

Jeff Bilsky, co-portfolio manager at Chartwell Investment Partners in Berwyn, Pennsylvania, calls Verizon's wireless services a staple of modern life. "Verizon should be one of the biggest beneficiaries of the 5G craze, he says. "As customers consume more data, both revenue and margins should improve."

"Verizon's laser focus on going all-in on 5G positions it as a strong investment opportunity with a strong yield," says Daniel Milan, managing partner of Cornerstone Financial Services in Southfield, Michigan. He is very bullish on 5G, which uses spectrum from the low frequencies of broadcasters to the highest ones of satellites. "Not making big bets on media has allowed Verizon to invest billions in the network."

Yale Bock, founder of YH&C Investments in Las Vegas, agrees that "consumers will keep paying" for wireless service, giving Verizon a sound revenue base. That stability makes VZ one of the best stocks to buy now to take a defensive stance.

• Market value: $159.0 billion
• Dividend yield: N/A
• Industry: Telecommunications

T-Mobile US (TMUS, $130.60) completed its acquisition of Sprint in April 2020. The all-stock transaction put the merged entity in good position entering the recent auction of new 5G spectrum, as it already has most of what it needs on that front.

T-Mobile is now busy buying equipment to build out its assets, and has already signed to spend $2.1 billion advertising 5G service through Initiative, part of Interpublic Group (IPG).

In May 2020, Mike Sievert replaced CEO John Legere, whose long hair and T-shirts defined the company's advertising for nearly a decade. Sievert has spent most of his career in marketing, including a stint at AT&T. He was hired as chief marketing officer by Legere in 2012.

Chartwell's Bilsky says that despite past outperformance relative to its rivals, T-Mobile still might have the best upside, even in a downturn. "T-Mobile now has the potential to steal significant market share," he says, and investors might be underestimating that.

Ryan Johnson, director of Portfolio Management & Research at Buckingham Advisors, a wealth advisor in Dayton, Ohio, believes T-Mobile has an edge in 5G that could last a year or more. He also thinks there are more cost savings to come from the Sprint merger.

"Earnings per share may triple from 2021 to 2024," he adds.

• Market value: $100.8 billion
• Dividend yield: 0.4%
• Industry: Industrial conglomerate

General Electric (GE, $11.45) is one of the "fallen angels" of the last decade. The mistakes made by former CEO Jeff Immelt, like buying Alstom's energy business in 2015, and hiding the damage from shareholders, are now legend.

Saving the company from bankruptcy was a close-run thing. But Larry Culp – recruited from the Harvard Business School after building Danaher (DHR) into a medical equipment conglomerate now worth more than GE – seems to have done it.

"CEO Lawrence Culp, who took over in October 2018, has long been known for his focus on cash," says Argus Research's John Eade, who has a Buy rating on GE and calls it a deep value idea. "His previous company, Danaher, has a multidecade history of generating more free cash flow than net income, and we have expected him to focus on this metric at GE.

"The company achieved more than $2 billion in operational cost reductions and $3 billion of cash preservation to mitigate the financial impact of the pandemic."

GE's biggest business is in turbines. This includes power turbines that create power from natural gas and wind turbines that create electricity from moving air, as well as jet engines that power jet planes. The usually reliable jet engine business has been hurt by the pandemic and the Boeing (BA) 737-MAX scandal. The power turbine market has also been weak during the pandemic.

But there's another big business at GE – one that Culp is familiar with from his time at Danaher. Healthcare is an "exceptional" business, says YH&C Investments' Bock. Since selling GE Healthcare's biopharma unit to Danaher to help the balance sheet, GE has become a buyer of other companies again. Its first acquisition is Prismatic Sensors, a Swedish company whose photon-counting technology can directly benefit GE Healthcare's CT scanners.

Now that General Electric has right-sized itself, its blend of businesses actually make GE more of a defensive play again, putting it among the best stocks to buy now to add ballast to a portfolio.

• Market value: $35.4 billion
• Dividend yield: N/A
• Industry: Healthcare plans

Centene (CNC, $60.40) earns its money managing Medicare and Medicaid contracts. It does this through managed care, in which it controls spending through contracts with front-line clinics, as well as acute care facilities such as dialysis centers, and by controlling drug disbursement.

The model proved very popular on the Healthcare.gov exchanges created under the Affordable Care Act, as the company could offer lower prices than traditional insurers.

Centene has already made an M&A move in this young year, agreeing to buy Magellan Health (MGLN) for $2.2 billion. Deutsche Bank analyst George Hill praises the Magellan buy, which focuses on specialties new to Centene, such as mental health. It also brings in 5.5 million new government patients, 18 million specialty health customers, and 16 million medical pharmacy members.

"Centene will double the lives covered in mental health and establish one of the largest behavioral health platforms in the U.S., with 41 million unique members," Hill says.

Centene trades at just 11 times earnings estimates. Part of that is because margins are thin, though, with just 2% of revenues hitting the bottom line. That means growth has to come from acquisitions, from low bids on the exchanges, or from new government health contracts.

"The more challenging the economy and the fewer people who have medical coverage from employers, the greater potential there is for them to seek Medicaid coverage," says Sam Hendel, president of Levin Easterly Partners in New York. He adds that Centene is a defensive stock "with a low correlation to economic or stock market weakness."

The analyst community also throws its weight behind CNC shares. Thirteen of 17 pros covering Centene put it among their best stocks to buy now, with an average $82.15 price target that implies 36% upside from current prices.

• Market value: $96.1 billion
• Dividend yield: 2.7%
• Industry: Pharmacy, healthcare plans

CVS Health (CVS, $73.00) isn't just a pharmacy chain. Instead, it's more of a total healthcare system, also offering doctor's visits, managed care through Aetna, and a pharmacy benefit management system that gives it control over drug costs.

The Aetna acquisition, in 2018, boosted revenues by $60 billion annually year. Like Centene, it's built for hard times.

In November, analysts at CFRA Research in New York reiterated their strong buy rating on the stock. Analyst Kevin Huang wrote that he didn't expect Amazon.com's (AMZN) PillPack offering to damage CVS. And there's reason to believe that Amazon won't necessarily cripple the competition in every business it touches. The company already decided earlier this year to shutter its Haven Healthcare – a joint-venture effort at managed care with Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B) and JPMorgan Chase (JPM). The decision emphasized the size of CVS' moat in pharmacy and managed care.

YH&C Investments' Bock holds CVS in some client portfolios because of its size, consistent cash flow and profitability. The analyst community is also strongly bullish on the pharmacy chain, giving it 21 Strong Buys or Buys against six Holds and no Sells of any kind. In addition to its attractiveness as a defensive stock, they believe CVS has about 18% upside in it over the next 12 months.

• Market value: $314.5 billion
• Dividend yield: 1.5%
• Industry: Healthcare plans

You might be noticing a trend: Health insurers make for pretty defensive stocks. No wonder, then, why we're also including UnitedHealth Group (UNH, $329.32). UNH is America's largest health insurer, and one of its most profitable, squeezing out a roughly 6% net margin on its $257.1 billion in 2020 revenues.

UnitedHealth dominated the past decade thanks in part to the technology platform built by its Optum unit. Its decision to buy Catamaran, a pharmacy benefit manager, in 2015 gave it greater control over drug costs.

Buckingham Advisors' Ryan Johnson believes UNH would weather a market downturn thanks in part to the growth of Optum, which delivers half its operating income.

"These businesses are focused on lowering costs, which is attractive in any environment," he writes.

UnitedHealth also has more than 8 million customers outside the U.S., mostly in Asia and South America, providing a little geographic diversification. And UNH's strong free cash flow and low debt, relative to its market value, should allow it to continue making acquisitions as it spies opportunities to grow.

CFRA's Sel Hardy believes UNH is among some of the best healthcare stocks to buy now, rating it a Strong Buy in part on optimism for the recent $13 billion acquisition of health-tech firm Change Healthcare.

"We cut our '21 EPS (Dec.) estimate by $0.20 to $18.65 as we trim our Q1 EPS estimate due to rising medical costs trend," Hardy says. "Following the closure of Change Healthcare transaction in H2 2021, we might revise our estimates up."

UNH isn't a big yielder, at just 1.5%, but its $1.25-per-share quarterly payout is 150% larger than it was five years ago. If UnitedHealth continues to upgrade its dividend at a brisk rate, current shareholders should enjoy a much better yield on cost over time.

• Market value: $35.0 billion
• Dividend yield: 3.6%
• Industry: Packaged foods

General Mills (GIS, $56.90) is as essential to the history of Minneapolis as Coca-Cola (KO) is to Atlanta, or Procter & Gamble (PG) is to Cincinnati. It's also an important holding for defensive investors.

General Mills' brands include Cheerios cereal, Yoplait yogurt, Pillsbury dough, and Häagen-Dazs ice cream, as well as Green Giant frozen vegetables, Totino's pizza, Progresso soup and Annie's organics. While the stock itself has effectively gone nowhere over the past five years, it trades for a reasonable 15 times earnings, yields more than 3%, and most importantly, has been extremely resilient during numerous market downturns.

"The company is now in a fundamentally better place than it was prior to 2020," write Credit Suisse analysts, who rate the stock at Outperform. The big risk to margins remains inflation, which management thinks it can hold down to 3%, hedging most of its exposure to rising commodity prices. Productivity also has increased by more than 4%, and GIS has been able raise list prices on some items. Credit Suisse expects about 10% upside on the stock based on normal conditions.

Argus Research rates GIS at Hold but admits it's a stock they "would like to get on our Buy list."

"We like management's efforts to create a differentiated portfolio of brands for health-conscious customers and to generate a higher percentage of revenue from new products," Argus analyst Christopher Graja says.

• Market value: $14.2 billion
• Dividend yield: 3.2%
• Industry: Packaged foods

Campbell Soup (CPB, $46.93) is one of the first names people think of when the economy goes sour. While it's typically a good performer in down markets, and while the pandemic caused a brief rush on the company's soup, emptying shelves, other issues have weighed on shares since.

Still, it could be one of the best stocks to buy now for a defensive posture.

CEO Mark Clouse, who took the helm in early 2019, had been CEO of Pinnacle Foods before its acquisition by Conagra (CAG) and spent most of his career in Kraft's snack division, renamed Mondelez International (MDLZ) after its spinoff. CPB shares are up 33% since Clouse came aboard, underperforming the market but marking a clear turnaround after a couple years of declines.

Levin Easterly Partners' Hendel, who calls Clouse "a strong CEO," acknowledges that soups are in a secular decline. Regardless, he notes that the consumer staples sector has "held up very well during the pandemic" and, in a downturn, investors will pay more for these stocks' earnings thanks to their stability.

Growth in 2020 was led by Campbell's "meals and beverage" division, which includes V8 juices, broths and Prego sauces, as well as the namesake soup. Clouse has shed Campbell's baking aisle, selling the Ecce Panis artisan bread brand to Jimmy's Cookies earlier this year. He is also closing a snack plant in Georgia that had been part of Snyder's-Lance, which it bought for $6.1 billion in 2018.

Argus Research has a Hold rating on shares but left the door open to "potential scenarios under which we could become more bullish on CPB." That was after the company raised its dividend 6% in December.

YH&C Investments' Bock notes Campbell's dependable cash flow and income that should help it survive another market downturn.

• Market value: $211.7 billion
• Dividend yield: 3.4%
• Industry: Beverages

Coca-Cola (KO, $49.01) is a company that, of late, deserves a little more explanation. They're not just about sugar. They're about safe drinking water at $10/gallon. Coke now has eight different brands of bottled water, including Dasani and SmartWater.

They're about so much more, too. Under James Quincey, an Englishman who became CEO in 2017, Coca-Cola has focused on improving margins and its image, selling sugary soda in smaller cans, and severing ties to a pro-sugar group accused of slanting its research. His biggest acquisition so far has been Costa Coffee, an English chain of coffee shops similar to Starbucks (SBUX). He also bought up the 57.5% of Fairlife, a milk company, that Coca-Cola didn't already own.

But it hasn't been all additions. Argus Research's Graja, who rates Stock at Buy, notes that Coca-Cola "eliminated more than 600 'zombie,' or unproductive, products in 2019 and worked to reposition the business through changes in core products."

"We expect Coke to be a stronger company when the pandemic fades," he says. "We expect the combination of more focused marketing and a more profitable brand portfolio to boost earnings and the share price as the away-from-home business rebounds."

Creighton's Robert Johnson, co-author of Investment Banking for Dummies, says KO is one of the best stocks to buy now in anticipation of any market downturn thanks in part to its steady dividend, which has been improved upon for 58 consecutive years. He also notes that its market share in juice, water, bottled tea, coffee and even energy drinks gives Coke a diversified revenue stream.

• Market value: $47.2 billion
• Dividend yield: N/A
• Industry: Auto manufacturing

Ford (F, $11.37) has long been a dirt-cheap automaker, both in nominal price and valuation. Ford shares only recently broke the $10-per-share level, and currently trade at just 10 times forward-looking earnings estimates.

The company was in rough shape last year, suspending its dividend in March to conserve cash during the pandemic. While it reported a $1.28 billion net loss in 2020, the company says it should earn between $8 billion and $9 billion in adjusted profits (pretax) in 2021, and turn about $3.5 billion to $4.5 billion of that into adjusted free cash flow. Some believe it could reboot its dividend as soon as this year.

While electric car stocks have lapped those from traditional automakers like Ford, the firm is still in the race with an electric Mustang Mach-E and a stake in Rivian, an electric truck startup. The firm also plans on investing $29 billion in EVs and autonomous vehicles over the next four years. Fortunately, Ford's F-series trucks remain in heavy demand, throwing off the cash the company needs to play catch-up in electrics.

Cornerstone Financial's Milan says "Ford is finally positioning itself well to be major players in the electric vehicle space," especially in high-margin truck and commercial van markets.

Joseph Hogue, founder of the Let's Talk Money! channel on YouTube and a former Wall Street analyst, thinks Ford "could keep heading higher on a strong outlook for auto sales." With a personal savings rate of 13% during the pandemic, a multidecade high, Americans "could be thinking of larger purchases" like a new car.

Creighton's Robert Johnson adds Ford has "a solid corporate governance and management team in place" and even prefers Ford at current levels to Tesla (TSLA). But that's because its dirt-cheap price provides a level of defense.

"Investors committing funds to Ford have a much higher margin of safety" than those in Tesla, he says.

Cellphones are a way of a life that Americans turn to for streaming video, playing games, applying for jobs and more. And that’s on top of good old-fashioned phone calls and text to family and friends. But that service isn’t cheap. Americans spend an average $906 a year for a single person, $1,281 for a married couple according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Add in kids and your bill has a potential to skyrocket to $2,000 or more.

Luckily, there are numerous ways to trim the cost of owning and using a cell phone. Some are as simple as changing your bill-payment method or picking up the phone to negotiate a better deal. If you’re up for switching to a different provider, you may save even more money. We’ve rounded up 10 techniques to cut expenses on both your plan and your device.

Data, data and more data. Streamers and non-streamers alike have a multitude of choices when it comes to unlimited data plans. While in years past, going unlimited generally meant paying more, now the big carriers—AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon—are offering mostly unlimited data plans at good prices. The difference between plans are the perks that come with it.

For example, T-Mobile’s Essential Unlimited plan costs $27 per line per month for a family of four, for a grand total of $105 a month. It comes with unlimited talk and text and unlimited 5G (when available). When it comes to data, you get 50GB of high speed data a month. Once you go over 50GB, your speeds could be slowed, though it’s still unlimited. If you wanted more perks, you could sign up for its Magenta plan which comes with 100GB of high speed, a mobile hotspot and more. The cost: $140 a month.

Verizon and AT&T also offer similar packages. For example, AT&T’s most costly unlimited plan—the Unlimited Elite—comes with mobile hotspot, 5G access, and unlimited high speed data for $50 per line for a family of four. Its cheapest unlimited plan is $35 per line per month for a family of four.

If multiple people use one wireless plan, the price per line is often less than for a plan with a single line. With four lines, for example, AT&T’s mid-tier Unlimited Extra plan is $40 per line, compared with $75 if you have the same plan with just one line.

If you already have a family plan with, say, your spouse, you may reduce the per-line cost by adding your parents or other family members to the plan, too.

Switching carriers may save you money if the new provider offers price breaks for new customers or has cheaper plans than your current carrier. For example, a family of four can save close to $930 a year, on average, by switching wireless carriers, says Toni Toikka, president of Alekstra, a New York City–based research firm that analyzes the wireless service industry. Plus, carriers may allow you to stack promotions because phone deals and plan deals are separate.

For example, Verizon is currently offering switchers with a compatible phone up to $500 on a Verizon gift card to use on Verizon products and services—including your bill.

Before you jump ship, make sure the new provider that you’re considering has strong coverage in your area. With this map from RootMetrics, you can check coverage at your location from each major network. You also need to make sure that your phone is compatible if you plan to keep it.

Companies known as “mobile virtual network operators,” or MVNOs, offer coverage from the networks of major carriers, but they often have lower-price plans. Mint Mobile, for example, charges $15 per month for the first three months for 4GB of data and unlimited calls and texts. After that, monthly prices range from $15 if you commit to a 12-month plan to $25 if you get another three-month plan.

Another MVNO worth a look is Tello, which lets you patch together the quantities of minutes, text messages and data that you need. For instance, you can get unlimited minutes and text messages plus 1GB of data for $10 a month, 2GB for $14 or 4GB for $19.

You can also go unlimited with smaller carriers too. Visible, for example, offers unlimited talk, text and data for $25 for the first month. After that, the plan goes up to $40 a line for a single line. To keep it at $25 per line per month, you would have to get three other family or friends to join the network.

However, there is a caveat with smaller carriers. Since they are using a network provided by one of the Big 3, your data speeds could be slowed during high traffic times as the big carriers can prioritize their own customers.

Even if you don’t want to depart your current carrier or change the type of plan you have, you may be able to talk your provider into a better deal. “A great question to ask is what they’re offering to new customers versus existing customers,” says Andrew Moore-Crispin, director of content for Ting. “One conversation with your provider could mean a lower bill for you.” Ask about retention offers for current customers, too, says Moore-Crispin.

Or if your plan no longer exists, you may be able to get upgraded at a better plan for the same price you were paying.

All the major wireless carriers offer a monthly discount, often $5 to $10 per line, on eligible plans for customers who use automatic payments and go paperless. That can add up to significant savings, especially if you have a family plan with several lines.

Make sure you read the fine print. With Verizon, for example, you must have your payment drawn from a checking account or debit card to qualify for the discount. Credit-card payments are not eligible unless you use the carrier’s own Verizon Visa card.

You may be able to get lower prices based on your age or affiliation with certain groups. Carriers commonly offer price breaks to military members, first responders, educators or certain employers that participate in a carrier’s discount program. Membership with an association such as AARP or AAA may also score you deals.

Or you may score a discount for being older. With T-Mobile, for example, those 55 and older pay $55 a month for two lines with unlimited data, talking and texting through the carrier’s essentials plan, compared with $90 a month for two people using the standard essentials plan.

When you sign up for a wireless plan and buy a phone, you’ll likely be offered insurance in case your device is damaged, lost or stolen. For those who are accident-prone with their phones, insurance may be worthwhile—especially for a pricey device. Otherwise, a protective case, which helps shield your device from everyday bangs and bumps, may be enough to get by. You can set aside the money you would have spent on insurance premiums—often about $10 to $20 per month—for backup in case you need to repair or replace your phone at some point.

Plus, your credit card may provide coverage for damaged or stolen smartphones. For example, the American Express Platinum, the Chase Freedom Flex and the U.S. Bank Visa Platinum card all offer cell-phone insurance as a free benefit if you pay your wireless bill with the card. However, insurance coverage is typically more limited with credit-card plans than with those provided through wireless carriers.

To see if any of the credit cards in your wallet offer cell-phone insurance, login into your account and look up your terms and conditions.

If you can live without the hottest high-end phone—which likely runs close to $1,000 or more—you can find plenty of good choices among less-pricey models. “The difference between what a $300 phone can do and what a $1,000 phone can do today is much narrower” than in the past, says Moore-Crispin.

Among well-regarded 5G phones with price tags significantly lower than $1,000, the OnePlus Nord N200 retails for $239.99 and the 2020 version of the Motorola Edge starts off at $399.99. If you’re more accustomed to Apple products, the iPhone 12 mini starts at $599.99. Or you can wait for the 2022 release of the iPhone SE, which is rumored to be the cheapest 5G iPhone ever.

Whatever device you get, you just need to make sure it’s 5G compatible. The shutdown of 3G cellular service by all of the major cell-phone carriers is under way and will be completed next year. If you have a device that relies on the old wireless standard, you will no longer be able to use some data services, send texts or make phone calls, including dialing 911. And getting a 4G capable phone may be a waste of money. Older 4G phones that don’t support modern cellular voice technologies, such as Voice Over LTE or HD Voice, are impacted, too.

A phone that has been previously used but inspected for quality by the manufacturer may do the job just as well as a brand-new device—but for a lower price. Samsung, for example, sells a pre-owned Galaxy Note20 5G starting at $400. A new device retails for $999.99. Keep in mind that a pre-owned phone may come with scratches or dings, but it should be functional. And as with buying a cheaper budget phone, you want to make sure your pre-owned phone is 5G compatible.

While the markets have rebounded from last year’s late plunge somewhat in 2019, there’s still one positive remnant from the selloff. Dozens of high-quality blue-chip stocks have been cut in price enough to lift their dividend yields above 4%.

At present, familiar names from the consumer staples sector are combining decades of steady dividend growth with near-record yields and bargain-priced valuations.

Energy stocks – which already were depressed due to weakened energy prices – were hacked even deeper. But these companies have already responded to market adversity over the past few years by shedding poorly performing assets, trimming costs, repurchasing stock and paying down debt. Some of those same companies were able to keep raising dividends, too, and now are positioned to survive in lean times and thrive as energy prices recover.

Even some international stocks’ yields are ballooning thanks to Brexit fears and a slowdown in several countries’ growth.

As a result, each of these 14 blue-chip dividend stocks currently off yields of 4% or better – with the highest payers delivering more than 6%.

Data is as of Feb. 21. Dividend yields are calculated by annualizing the most recent quarterly payout and dividing by the share price.

• Market value: $224.6 billion
• Dividend yield: 6.6%

Already well-known for its TV, mobile and broadband businesses that serve nearly 160 million subscribers, AT&T (T, $30.83) recently closed on an impressive portfolio of entertainment assets. Through the 2018 acquisition of Time Warner – which includes the Turner, HBO and Warner Brothers businesses – AT&T gained one of the world’s largest TV and film studios and a world-class library of entertainment content.

During the final quarter of 2018, AT&T reported profits of 78 cents per share to easily beat expectations of 65 cents, and revenues of $41.7 billion beat estimates of $41.2 billion. The company also beat the mark on U.S. wireless net additions, adding 2.7 million customers versus 2.2 million expected.

Future growth will come from rolling out 5G service in additional markets and launching a new direct-to-consumer bundled entertainment package. AT&T’s entertainment business began 2019 with the top-grossing movie of the holiday season (Aquaman), which has earned more than $1.1 billion worldwide.

While AT&T’s sizable debt load is a concern for investors, the company plans to use 2019 free cash flow (estimated at more than $26 billion) to trim $12 billion from debt and end next year with a debt ratio reduced to just 2.5 times EBITDA.

AT&T has delivered 35 consecutive years of dividend growth, putting it in the ranks of the Dividend Aristocrats … though growth has been relatively modest at 2.2% annually.

• Market value: $28.0 billion
• Dividend yield: 4.2%

Shares of General Mills (GIS, $46.95) were hit particularly hard by the 2018 market selloff, dropping more than 30% due to fears of slowed top-line growth and a significant debt load. General Mills owns iconic food brands such as Cheerios, Haagen-Dazs, Betty Crocker, Pillsbury, Old El Paso and Nature Valley and generated $15.7 billion of revenues last year.

The company plans to re-vitalize its top-line by launching new products next year that leverage its powerful brand names and strengthening brand management by increased investments in point-of-sale, packaging and sponsorship.

General Mills’ purchase of Blue Buffalo pet food has been a game-changer for its e-commerce business, which grew 50% last year and could hit $1 billion in sales by 2020. Blue Buffalo is the No. 1 pet food brand in specialty and e-commerce channels.

The company is committed to maximizing growth opportunities for the Blue Buffalo brand and extending its track record of double-digit growth. Divestitures are another aspect of General Mills’ portfolio strategy, with plans to sell assets representing roughly 5% of company revenues.

General Mills targets 9%-10% sales growth and 6%-9% operating profit growth this year. Cash flow will be used for capital expenditures (estimated at 4% of revenues), dividends and debt repayment. Over the next two years, the company aims to reduce debt from 4.2 times EBITDA to 3.5 times.

GIS has paid dividends without interruption for 120 years, increased its payout 14 years in a row and hiked dividends 8% annually over the last five years … but because of the size of the Blue Buffalo acquisition, it announced last year that it would freeze dividend hikes for now.

Still, three analyst firms upgraded ratings on the stock during 2018. Also, Standpoint Research analyst Ronnie Moas recently initiated coverage of General Mills with a “Buy” rating.

• Market value: $60.1 billion
• Dividend yield: 4.6%

Energy utility Dominion Energy (D, $74.34) serves more than 7.5 million customers and operates in 18 states. One of America’s largest producers and transporters of energy, Dominion owns $78 billion of assets that provide electric generation, transmission and distribution and natural gas storage, transmission and distribution.

Dominion grew operating earnings 12.5% in 2018 and trimmed debt by approximately $8 billion, achieving its credit quality goals two years ahead of schedule. The company also advanced construction of its Atlanta Coast Pipeline, which is expected to begin operating in late 2019.

In January, Dominion merged with SCANA. This transaction expands the company’s footprint in Georgia and the Carolinas and adds regulated operations that improve Dominion’s risk profile and growth outlook.

Dominion has increased its dividend for 15 consecutive years and generated five-year dividend growth averaging 8.2% annually. The last payout increase was a 10% hike in December.

• Market value: $33.3 billion
• Dividend yield: 4.5%
• LyondellBasell Industries (LYB, $88.50) is one of the world’s largest plastics, chemical and refining operations. Its products are used in food safety, water purification, vehicle fuel efficiency and electronics. The company sells in more than 100 countries and is the world’s largest producer of polymer compounds.

Last August, LyondellBasell paid $2.3 billion for A. Schulman, a leading global supplier of high-performance plastic compounds, composites and powders. The acquisition more than doubles the size of LyondellBasell’s existing compounding business and broadens its presence in higher-margin end markets like automotive, construction materials, electronic goods and packaging.

Other growth initiatives include launching a new Advanced Polymers Solutions operation that combines the company’s traditional strength in automotive applications with Schulman’s more diverse business lines, and breaking ground on a new propylene oxide plant in Texas.

In 2018, LyondellBasell grew its revenues by 13%, though EPS trickled slightly lower, from $12.23 to $12.01. The company also paid out $3.4 billion in dividends and stock buybacks during the year, and increased its quarterly payout for the 10th consecutive year, to $1 per share. That keeps up a double-digit dividend growth rate over the past half-decade.

LYB has enjoyed a slew of upgrades over the past few months, including a December grade hike by Deutsche Bank analyst David Begleiter. He moved the stock from “Hold” to “Buy,” noting that the company trades at the low end of the range for commodity chemical stocks and has an attractive dividend that mitigates risk.

• Market value: $70.1 billion
• Dividend yield: 4.5%

With assets under management totaling $998 billion, Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS, $57.10), which operates as Scotiabank, is Canada’s principal international bank and a leading financial services provider to Latin America. The bank derives 56% of its earnings in Canada and 44% from the U.S., Latin America, the Caribbean and other international markets.

In the past five years, Scotiabank has produced 7% annual EPS growth and 6% annual dividend growth while maintaining its strong capital position. Dividends have been paid every year since 1832.

Last year, Scotiabank made $7 billion in acquisitions that expanded its customer base and earnings, enhance economies of scale and bolster its presence in Canada and Latin America.

Purchasing BBVA Chile doubles its market share in that country and positions Scotiabank as Chile’s third largest private bank. The Canadian acquisitions of MD Financial Management and Jarislowsky Fraser strengthen its wealth management practice, add 110,000 new private customers and 500 new institutional customers, and create Canada’s third largest asset manager.

Scotiabank is differentiated from competitors by a sizable international footprint that enables the bank to capitalize on favorable demographics in Latin America, where only about half of the citizens have bank accounts. Over the past four years, Scotiabank has grown earnings from Latin American operations by more than 70%.

The bank is also focused on improving efficiencies through its Structural Cost Transformation program that is delivering more than $1 billion of annual run rate savings.

• Market value: $227.6 billion
• Dividend yield: 4.0%
• Chevron (CVX, $119.14) is one of the world’s largest integrated energy companies and ranks 19th on the Fortune 500 list. Chevron participates in every aspect of the oil and natural gas industry from exploration and production to refining, marketing and distribution. It also has significant alternative energy operations, and it is the world’s largest producer of geothermal energy.

Chevron grew its bottom line by 61% year-over-year to $14.8 billion in 2018. That was helped by record annual net oil-equivalent production of 2.93 million barrels per day (up 7% from 2017). Gains were fueled by a production ramp-up from Chevon’s Wheatstone field in Australia and from operations in the U.S. Permian Basin.

Earnings from international upstream operations more than doubled year-over-year thanks to higher oil and natural gas realizations. Chevron’s average sales price for crude oil ticked higher from $50 in Q4 2017 to $56 in 2018’s final quarter; natural gas selling prices came in higher, too.

Chevron plans to invest $20 billion in 2019 exploration and production activities, with more than two-thirds of these projects expected to produce cash flows within two years. A new project underway in Kazakhstan taps 9 billion barrels of known recoverable oil and could contain as much as 25.5 billion barrels of oil.

Chevron has hiked dividends for 32 years in a row, including a 6.3% increaseearlier this year. Over the past decade, dividend growth has averaged 6% annually, but slowed to less than 3% in the past five years.

Sixteen of the 24 analysts covering CVX call it a “Buy” or “Strong Buy,” with another seven “Holds.” UBS was the most recent analyst outfit to join the bull camp, upgrading the stock to “Buy” in January, citing the company’s free-cash-flow generation, stability and dedication to the dividend.

• Market value: $255.2 billion
• Dividend yield: 6.0%
• Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A, $62.36) is an integrated energy giant that operates in 70 countries, produces 3.9 million barrels of crude per day and has interests in 21 refineries. With 2017 revenues of $240 billion, Shell ranks seventh on the list of Fortune 500 companies.

Shell is actively re-shaping its portfolio and has shed more than $30 billion of non-core assets in recent quarters. The proceeds from asset sales has been reinvested in new energy projects that are expected to add 400,000 barrels per day to production and $7 billion to cash flow by 2020.

The 2016 acquisition of BG Group, the U.K.’s third largest energy player, made Shell the world’s leading producer of liquefied natural gas (LNG). The company plans to leverage its strength in this clean energy niche by constructing a massive LNG processing plant in Canada. World demand for LNG is forecast to rise from around 300 million tons currently to 500 million tons by 2030, fueled by growing demand from Asia.

Shell is allocating $25 billion for share repurchases through 2020 and reduced debt by $14.5 billion in 2018. The company also paid its dividend completely in cash this year – a stated goal.

Royal Dutch Shell is rated “Buy” or “Strong Buy” by 10 analysts and “Hold” by just one.

• Market value: $125.3 billion
• Dividend yield: 4.6%

As part of its Strategic Imperatives Plan for accelerating top-line growth, International Business Machines (IBM, $137.84) is downplaying legacy hardware, software and services businesses to focus instead on hybrid cloud computing, analytics/AI, digital and security products. The early success of these initiatives is evidenced by financial results, which show Strategic Imperative revenues up 9% in 2018 and cloud-related revenues up 12%.

IBM’s $34 billion acquisition of Red Hat (RHT) is a game-changer that positions the company as the top solutions provider in hybrid cloud computing. This acquisition also is expected to accelerate revenue growth, expand margins and produce operating synergies that amplify free cash flow growth over the next 12 months. Red Hat produces higher-margin revenues and has been growing its top-line at a 20% annual rate.

The Red Hat purchase is being funded with cash and debt. IBM plans to free up cash for debt reduction by suspending 2020-21 share repurchases. The company had been an aggressive repurchaser of its own shares, buying back nearly $64 billion of stock since 2011 while paying nearly $36 billion of dividends.

IBM has paid dividends every year since 1916 and has raised dividends 23 years in a row. Five-year dividend growth has averaged 11%. With a payout ratio typically less than 50%, IBM is able to grow its payout even amid industry difficulties.

• Market value: $94.4 billion
• Dividend yield: 6.4%

Shares of Altria Group (MO, $50.37) have declined roughly 20% over the past year, pushing the stock’s dividend yield above 6% and around eight-year highs. Altria owns leading tobacco brands such as Marlboro, Skoal and Copenhagen, and also sells premium wines under its Ste. Michelle label.

A big reason for the share-price decline is the huge price ($38 billion) paid by Altria to acquire a 35% stake in Juul, the market leader in e-vaping products. Altria is paying $12.8 billion for a business that generated $1 billion of revenues last year. Citibank analyst Adam Spelman complained in a note to investors that Altria was overpaying for Juul and downgraded his rating on the stock from “Neutral” to “Sell.”

The Juul transaction comes on the heels of shelling out $1.8 billion for a 45% ownership stake in Cronos Group (CRON), a global leader in cannabis products. This deal also includes warrants that could increase Altria’s stake in Cronos to 55% over the next four years.

In its communications with investors, Altria argued that there are significant new growth opportunities associated with Juul’s dominant position in a $23 billion worldwide e-vaping market and highlighted Chronos Group’s leadership role in a global cannabis market poised for rapid growth over the next decade.

Altria’s high recurring revenues, substantial cash flow and low existing debt should facilitate a rapid paydown of acquisition-related debt. Over the past five years, the company has generated 9% annual EPS growth and returned more than $30 billion to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases.

In addition, Altria recently announced a cost reduction program aimed at cutting $500 million to $600 million from annual expenses next year. The cost reduction will offset most of the increased interest expense associated with the Juul and Cronos acquisitions.

Altria Group has grown dividends 49 years in a row and delivered annual growth averaging 10.3% over the past five years. The payout ratio is relatively high at approximately 75%, but the company’s predictable cash flow provides a safety cushion for the distribution.

• Market value: $232.0 billion
• Dividend yield: 4.3%

Wireless services provider Verizon (VZ, $56.15) operates the nation’s largest 4G network, providing access to more than 98% of the American population. Since 2000, the company has invested more than $126 billion in building out its wireless network. Next year, it will spend $17 billion to $18 billion on the same thing, including getting its 5G wireless technology off the ground.

Verizon put out a mixed fourth-quarter report earlier this year. On the one hand, revenues missed expectations and the company said its 2019 adjusted earnings should be flat from 2018. On the other, it added 653,000 postpaid subscribers, which was nearly double the 355,600 that analysts expected.

The accelerated rollout of 5G services during 2019 should provide additional growth momentum. Verizon has partnered with Samsung to launch the nation’s first commercial 5G service in Houston, Indianapolis, Los Angeles and Sacramento.

In addition, the company remains on track to deliver its goal of $10 billion in cumulative cash savings by 2021. Initiatives include zero-based budgeting and an employee buyout program that has already reduced headcount by 10,400 workers.

Verizon generated $34.3 billion in cash flow, which was used to fund $17.6 billion in capital expenditures and $9.8 billion in dividends.While debt appears high at $113.1 billion, Verizon has no significant near-term debt maturities and a comfortable debt-to-EBITDA ratio of 2.3.

Verizon has recorded 14 consecutive years of dividend growth, and its increases have averaged 8.8% annually over the past five years.

• Market value: $118.5 billion
• Dividend yield: 5.4%

Shares of AbbVie (ABBV, $78.75) have taken a beating this year thanks to the announcement of a $4 billion impairment charge in connection with poor clinical trial results from a new cancer drug being developed by Stemcentrx, as well as a drop in Humira sales. AbbVie paid $5.8 billion to acquire Stemcentrx two years ago.

The failure of this one development-stage drug, as well as the dip in Humira revenues, shouldn’t overshadow the steady progress AbbVie has made growing its top line and reducing its dependence on its blockbuster arthritis drug that accounts for 60% of sales. Humira has U.S. patent protection until 2023 but is already facing competition from biosimilars in Europe.

AbbVie recently introduced new oncology drugs (Imbruvica and Venclexta) that are contributing $4 billion to revenues already and are growing at double-digit rates. By 2025, these drugs could add $9 billion to sales. Two new best-in-class immunology agents (Upadacitinib and Risankizumab) are expected to contribute another $10 billion of sales. By 2025, AbbVie expects non-Humira sales to exceed $35 billion versus 2018 total sales of $32.8 billion.

The company has hiked its payout every year for 46 consecutive years, including an 11.5% bump in 2019.

However, Wall Street analysts have soured on ABBV a bit, with only half the analysts covering the stock calling it a “Buy” or “Strong Buy” – the rest are “Holds.”

• Market value: $329.7 billion
• Dividend yield: 4.2%

Integrated energy giant Exxon Mobil (XOM, $77.82) generated $36 billion in cash flow from operating activities – its highest mark in the metric since 2014 – thanks to production gains, better pricing and improvements in its refinery business. Fourth-quarter 2018 liquids production was up 4% year-over-year, thanks in large part to growth in the low-cost Permian Basin.

The company used that cash – as well as $4 billion more from asset sales – to fund $25.9 billion in capital expenditures and $13.8 billion in dividends.

Exxon plans to enhance 2019 production by ramping up activity in key growth areas like the Permian Basin, where it has 38 drilling rigs deployed, and starting up major new drilling projects in Guyana, Brazil and Angola. The company recently made its ninth major offshore discovery in Guyana, acquired additional acreage in Brazil and began producing oil from its Kaombo Project in Angola, where production is expected to reach 230,000 barrels per day.

Exxon also is investing in its refinery operations. The company commenced production at a new line at its Baytow, Texas, processing complex that will produce 1.5 million metric ton of feedstocks per day and supply one of the largest plastics manufacturing facilities in the world. As part of an agreement with China, Exxon is also constructing a massive chemicals plant that will supply plastics feedstocks for the growing Chinese market.

Exxon has a track record of 36 straight years of dividend growth. Over the past five years, dividends have increased 5.6% annually.

• Market value: $48.8 billion
• Dividend yield: 6.0%

International telecom giant Vodafone (VOD, $18.28) ranks as the world’s second largest mobile operator, supplying service to well more than 500 million mobile customers worldwide. The company has its primary presence in Europe, but is also well-represented in higher-growth emerging markets such as Africa, Latin America and Asia. In addition, Vodafone recently paid $22 billion to acquire Liberty Global’s (LBTYA) assets in Germany, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Romania, expanding its footprint in these fast- growing Eastern Europe regions.

New CEO Nick Read has made generating more consistent results and improving the productivity of the company’s assets his top 2019 priorities, along with paying down debt. The company expects to capture $11.5 billion of capital expenditures and cost savings from merging Vodafone India with Idea Cellular, and $615 million of cost synergies from merging Liberty Global’s assets.

During the first half of 2018 – announced in November – Vodafone’s earnings fell due to a write-down on the Idea Cellular merger, but EBITDA improved 2.9% year-over-year and the company upped its EBITDA and free cash flow guidance. Vodafone is guiding for 3% EBITDA growth and free cash flow exceeding $6.2 billion, versus earlier guidance of $6 billion.

Vodafone has maintained or grown its dividend every year in the past decade and recently ensured investors no dividend cut was planned. The dividend will be frozen this year to facilitate debt reduction, but growth is likely to resume next year as cost savings fuel free cash flow growth. The company expects to generate nearly $20 billion of free cash flow over the next three years, which is more than enough to cover $4.6 billion of annual dividends.

Vodafone is rated “Buy” or “Strong Buy” by 11 analysts, “Hold” by two analysts and “Sell” by just one analyst.

• Market value: $142.8 billion
• Dividend yield: 5.8%

Nine years after the Deepwater Horizon rig disaster, BP plc (BP, $42.29) has re-emerged with one of the best drilling portfolios in the oil and gas industry. Spill damages costing $7 billion to $8 billion per year are predicted to drop to less than $1 billion per year beginning in 2020 and should be easily covered by $6.8 billion of annualized free cash flow.

Last July, BP announced its biggest acquisition in 20 years, paying $10.5 billion for US shale assets owned by mining firm BHP Billiton (BHP). This acquisition increases BP’s American onshore oil-and-gas resources by 57% and should quickly help the company’s bottom line. Unlike offshore assets that take many years to develop, the acquired shale assets can be immediately drilled and monetized.

Two new crude oil discoveries in the North Sea are expected to double BP’s production from that region this year, and new natural gas projects are likely to add 900,000 barrels to production by 2021. In 2018, production grew 3% year-over-year to 3.7 million barrels of oil equivalent per day. As a result, corporate profits more than doubled year-over-year to $12.7 billion.

In addition to prolific drilling assets and world-class refineries, BP is building a presence in retail fuel markets in China and Mexico. The company also holds a major stake in the world’s largest solar project developer and investments in India’s renewable energy market.

BP signaled its improving earnings prospects by hiking its dividend 2.5% in the second quarter. This was the company’s first dividend increase since 2014.

If you invest in exchange-traded funds, you’ll want to take a close look at the stocks and other securities held by your ETFs as 2018 progresses.

Two of the most prominent providers of indexes that determine what ETFs own are shaking up how they classify many popular stocks, including Facebook (FB) and Alphabet (GOOGL). Since the vast majority of ETFs are passively managed, the underlying index dictates what ETF managers buy and sell.

ETF investors received a heads-up that changes were coming, but the potential significance of the changes is becoming more apparent. Index providers S&P Dow Jones Indices and MSCI announced in November that they were looking to make changes to the structure of what’s called the Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS), which determines how stocks are sorted into sectors, industries and even sub-industries. The changes are slated to take effect at the end of September. On Thursday, S&P Dow Jones Indices and MSCI revealed the identities of 200 stocks (PDF) that would be affected by the changes.

ETF investors would be wise to pay attention.

The most significant GICS overhaul is coming to the telecom sector. The previously named Telecommunication Services Sector that was mostly known for the likes of AT&T (T) and Verizon (VZ) will now be broadened and renamed Communication Services. The new Communication Services sector will include telecoms, but also draw new companies out of three other buckets:

• Media Industry: Includes companies such as Comcast (CMCSA), which provides cable and Internet service, operates broadcast and cable channels, and includes the film production studio Universal Pictures, among other business arms.
• Internet & Direct Marketing Retail Sub-Industry: Includes companies such as TripAdvisor (TRIP), which provides travel reviews and booking services.
• Information Technology Sector: Includes companies such as Facebook, the ubiquitous social media site that connects people from around the world.

Yes, these changes are complicated, but that’s all the more reason for ETF investors to pay close attention. To help, here’s a simplified example of how GICS changes could affect your portfolio. Let’s look at the changes we theoretically could see in the Vanguard Information Technology ETF (VGT) – a popular tech ETF that holds more than $18 billion in assets.

Based on the chart above that shows the stocks held by the ETF that could be reclassified by the GICS changes, nearly 20% of VGT’s portfolio could change over, including prominent names such as Facebook and both share classes of Google parent Alphabet. The resulting classification shifts could mean that those stocks would end up moving into the Vanguard Telecom Services ETF (VOX), which also would bring in a few consumer discretionary stocks, including Walt Disney (DIS) and Dish Network (DISH). This could drastically alter the dynamics of both funds.

The VGT has averaged 13.4% annual gains over the past decade, versus just 5.9% annual returns for the VOX and its motley crew of sleepy telecom companies. The flipside? Those telecoms power a 4%-plus yield in VOX, versus just 1% for the VGT. So both income and growth potential alike could be in flux.

Some popular funds might be affected differently. For instance, the $400 billion Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK) already meshes tech companies such as Facebook and Alphabet with telecoms such as AT&T. However, it likely will be impacted by the influx of a few large consumer discretionary stocks migrating into telecommunications. Meanwhile, holdings such as eBay (EBAY) could move out of XLK and into the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLY).

The takeaway here? If you own any sector or industry ETFs, in particular, it’s time to pay close attention to the “Press Releases” or “Literature” section of your fund provider’s website. Over the next few months, many ETF providers are sure to release updates on what the new GICS classifications mean. Take them seriously: They could drastically alter the risk, growth potential and income generation profiles of some of your most important holdings.

EDITOR'S NOTE: This story has been updated to reflect potential changes to the XLK.

Building a dependable portfolio of retirement stocks isn’t easy in today’s world of historically low interest rates and record-high stock prices. The 2.4% yield offered on a 10-year U.S. Treasury note doesn't provide enough safe income to fund a full retirement, nor does the 1.8% average yield among companies in the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index.

Some investors have channeled more of their retirement money into high-yielding stocks, which provide greater current income and potentially stronger long-term total returns. But beware: Sometimes, eye-popping yields are a symptom of a struggling company that may deliver nothing more than steep capital losses and an eventual dividend cut or suspension.

The 18 high-dividend holdings featured today are different. They are arguably some of the best retirement stocks in the market as we head into 2018. These companies have elevated their payouts for many years, boast dividend yields up to nearly 7% and maintain healthy Dividend Safety Scores – a metric calculated by Simply Safe Dividends to assess a company’s risk of future dividend cuts. In other words, these companies have sturdy fundamentals that support secure, growing dividend income in the years ahead.

Let’s look at the 18 best retirement stocks for 2018.

Data is as of Dec. 5, 2017. Dividend yields are calculated by annualizing the most recent quarterly payout and dividing by the share price. Stocks are listed in alphabetical order. Click on ticker-symbol links in each slide for current share prices and more.

• Dividend yield: 5.4%
• Consecutive years of annual dividend increases: 34
• AT&T (T, $36.55) is a Dividend Aristocrat that has paid higher dividends every year for more than three decades. It’s also the largest communications company in the world, providing wireless service to 153 million customers, enabling 47 million pay-TV connections and supporting 16 million internet connections in service.

AT&T has required $140 billion in capital investments over the past five years to support the behemoth’s array of hard-to-replicate assets. Smaller companies simply lack the financial clout and customer base needed to build competitive infrastructure networks in these areas.

Competition between the major telecom and media giants remains fierce as new technologies, shifting consumer preferences, and mature markets are combining to create growth challenges, as Charles Sizemore points out. However, AT&T has responded by shifting its business mix beyond wireless services over the past few years, first buying DirecTV for nearly $50 billion in 2015, then in 2016 bidding to acquire Time Warner (TWX) – an acquisition it’s now battling with the Department of Justice to clear. Bundling these services together will hopefully reduce churn and squeeze more value out of the company’s existing customer base, providing excellent free cash flow with which to support the dividend.

While the company’s elevated debt load from recent acquisitions and investments means payout growth may remain low over the coming years, the dividend – which provides the highest yield in the Dow Jones Industrial Average – is on solid ground.

• Dividend yield: 3.9%
• Consecutive years of annual dividend increases: 3
• Crown Castle International (CCI, $108.81) is the highest-yielding stock in Bill Gates’ dividend portfolio and the largest provider of communications infrastructure in the U.S.

The real estate investment trust (REIT) owns, operates and leases more than 40,000 cell towers and over 60,000 route miles of fiber across the U.S. Wireless carriers such as AT&T depend on Crown Castle’s infrastructure so they can provide wireless services to consumers and businesses.

Morningstar analyst Alex Zhao, CFA, nailed the appeal of this mission-critical industry, writing, “Favorable characteristics of the tower business model include recurring revenue, high operating leverage, predictable operating costs, and minimal nondiscretionary capital expenditures. Long-term contracts with built-in price escalators lead to high revenue visibility. Additionally, the strong credit quality of tenants, the critical nature of tower assets, and the low tenant churn make the revenue source particularly stable.” It’s no wonder why Bill Gates’ investment manager appears to like Crown Castle for the long-term.

Management’s recent guidance for 2018 reflects more optimism going forward. The company expects adjusted funds from operations (AFFO, an important measure of a REIT’s financial performance) to grow 10% and had the confidence to increase the company's dividend by 11%. Crown Castle's forecast implies an AFFO payout ratio near 75%, which is very reasonable for a REIT – especially one that enjoys a high level of recurring revenue and an investment-grade credit rating.

CCI’s high yield and solid dividend growth prospects, combined with the continued growth of data, make it one of the best retirement stocks for 2018.

• Dividend yield: 4.1%
• Consecutive years of annual dividend increases: 13
• Duke Energy (DUK, $87.96) is a regulated utility company that serves approximately 7.5 million retail electric customers, as well as distributes natural gas to around 1.6 million customers, across the American Southeast and Midwest.

The key to Duke Energy’s appeal as a retirement stock is its stability. Regulated utility stocks essentially act as government-sanctioned monopolies, operating as sole suppliers within their service regions. Constructing power plants and distribution networks is extremely costly, often making it uneconomical to multiple utilities in any one territory. As a result, state commissioners regulate the price utilities can charge customers, providing enough incentive to encourage investments in improving quality and reliability without allowing consumers to be price-gouged.

Morningstar analyst Andrew Bischof, CFA, writes that “Duke operates in highly constructive regulatory regions, particularly in Florida, which allows the firm to recover costs in a timely fashion through supportive regulatory outcomes. … These constructive relationships that management has formed should also help protect Duke if interest rates rise and the company seeks rate relief for a higher cost of capital.”

These qualities have helped Duke Energy pay uninterrupted quarterly dividends for 91 years. Looking ahead, management targets 4% to 6% annual payout growth, which will be driven by mid-single-digit annual expansion in Duke Energy’s regulated electric and gas earnings base.

• Distribution yield: 6.8%*
• Consecutive years of annual dividend increases: 20
• Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (EPD, $24.80) is one of the largest integrated midstream energy companies in the country and has delivered clockwork-like distribution growth for 53 consecutive quarters. The master limited partnership’s (MLP) pipelines, storage facilities and processing plants are connected to U.S. major shale basins and play a critical role in aggregating domestic natural gas liquids to be used in plastics and other goods around the world.

Enterprise Products Partners has rewarded shareholders with many years of distribution growth in part thanks to its stable business model. The integrated nature of its operations reduces the impact of commodity swings, and a significant amount of its cash flow is fee-based and supported by long-term transportation contracts with blue-chip customers.

This Kiplinger Dividend 15 member boasts a healthy retained distributable cash flow coverage ratio of 1.2x over the past year, an investment-grade credit rating and numerous expansion projects under construction. That has the company in prime position to continue delivering safe, growing income for retirement portfolios.

*Master limited partnerships pay distributions, which are similar to dividends, but are treated as tax-deferred returns of capital and require different paperwork come tax time.

• Dividend yield: 3.7%
• Consecutive years of annual dividend increases: 35

Disruption across global energy markets in recent years forced several major oil firms, including ConocoPhillips (COP) and National Oilwell Varco (NOV), to reduce their dividends. But Exxon Mobil (XOM, $82.89) has remained strong, continuing to pay uninterrupted quarterly dividends since 1882.

Morningstar analyst Allen Good, CFA, doesn’t see that changing anytime soon, writing, “The combination of long-life assets and flexible investment in short-cycle assets should safeguard free cash flow in a volatile oil price environment, leaving Exxon able to cover the dividend at oil prices as low as $40 per barrel.”

Exxon’s impressive durability is made possible by the company’s massive scale, disciplined investments and integrated operations. Cash flow is nicely diversified across upstream, downstream and chemical operations globally, so when market is weak, another is likely picking up the slack. And as the largest publicly traded energy company, Exxon Mobil also enjoys greater economies of scale to help lower its operating costs – an important trait in commodity markets. Management has a solid long-term track record of disciplined capital allocation as well, helping the firm enjoy higher returns on capital employed than its major peers.

These factors have allowed Exxon to improve its dividend for 35 consecutive years. Exxon’s current cash flow already covers its payout, and oil prices are bouncing back, positioning the Dividend Aristocrat to continue its dividend growth streak.

• Distribution yield: 5.4%
• Consecutive years of annual dividend increases: 17
• Magellan Midstream Partners L.P. (MMP, $67.02) is a master limited partnership that helps transport, store and distribute petroleum products. The company boasts the longest refined-products pipeline in America and enjoys predictable fee-based profit driven by throughput volume and tariffs, not unpredictable commodity prices.

One of Magellan’s unique qualities is its lack of incentive distribution rights, which give part of an MLP’s incremental cash flow to the general partner. As a result, Magellan retains more cash flow which it can use to internally fund growth projects, boost shareholder distributions and keep financial leverage at a healthy level.

Magellan’s conservatism and mission-critical energy infrastructure have resulted in excellent long-term distribution growth. The company’s distribution has increased 62 consecutive quarters since the company’s IPO in 2001, growing at a compound annual rate of 12% during that time.

Management targets 8% annual distribution growth for 2017 and 2018 with a secure 1.2x distribution coverage ratio. In other words, income investors likely can count on Magellan to deliver the same generous, fast-growing cash flow stream it has become known for over time.

• Dividend yield: 5.7%
• Consecutive years of annual dividend increases: 6
• Main Street Capital (MAIN, $39.91) is an internally managed business development company (BDC) that has more than $3.7 billion in capital invested via its hybrid debt-and-equity strategy.

Congress created the BDC structure in 1980 to facilitate lending to and investing in small- and midsize businesses. Main Street provides debt and equity capital to private companies, earning a return by generating income and capital gains. Investing is all about managing risk, and Main Street Capital has shined here.

The company’s total investment portfolio is spread across nearly 200 companies with an average investment size of just $10 million. No investment exceeds 3.3% of overall portfolio value or income, and the portfolio is well-diversified across geographies, industries, transaction types and end markets.

The firm’s investment-grade debt rating from Standard & Poor’s and internally managed structure also lower its cost of borrowing, which provides the company with a greater margin of safety as it invests.

Main Street Capital has never lowered its recurring monthly dividend, which has increased 73% since the company went public in 2007. Furthermore, distributable net investment income has always covered its payout. Simply put: Main Street has earned its status as one of the best monthly dividend stocks.

• Dividend yield: 4.6%
• Consecutive years of annual dividend increases: 28

Companies focused on brick-and-mortar retail have been out of favor in the market, including National Retail Properties (NNN, $41.54), which has delivered a total return of less than 5% over the past year while the S&P 500 has rallied 22%. But while concerns about the continued rise of e-commerce and shifting consumer shopping preferences are valid for certain companies, NNN appears to be an exception.

National Retail owns more than 2,600 single-tenant properties that are leased to more than 400 tenants – such as Sunoco gas stations and Dave & Buster's (PLAY) – across 38 different industries, and has intentionally avoided retail categories most vulnerable to the e-commerce threat. That strength is clear in its occupancy rate, which has not dipped below 96% for more than a decade.

In fact, CFRA equity analyst Chris Kuiper wrote that “We think NNN is more insulated from retailer woes compared to peers as most of NNN’s tenants are either restaurants or retailers focused on necessity-based shopping such as convenience stores, auto parts/service centers, and banks.”

National Retail’s “triple-net” leases shift the burden of property operating expenses to the tenant, improving the company’s cash flow. That has allowed the company to grow its payout for 28 consecutive years, while maintaining a conservative 70% AFFO payout ratio.

Core funds from operations grew 10.2% year-over-year during the third quarter, and portfolio occupancy remained strong at 98.8%. As long as National Retail keeps producing results like that, it’s well-positioned to remain among the best high-dividend stocks.

• Dividend yield: 3.6%
• Consecutive years of annual dividend increases: 8
• Pfizer (PFE, $35.63) is one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world, boasting more than $50 billion in annual revenue. The company’s portfolio includes a range of medicines, vaccines and consumer health care products that are sold in more than 100 countries.

Substantial research and development costs are required to create new medicines and bring them to market. Successful new products enjoy patents that make monopolistic profits possible for several years. As health care spending continues rising and populations age around the globe, Pfizer’s diverse portfolio should see demand for many of its offerings grow in the years ahead.

Morningstar analyst Damien Conover, CFA, writes that “Pfizer’s foundation remains solid, based on strong cash flows generated from a basket of diverse drugs. The company’s large size confers significant competitive advantages in developing new drugs. This unmatched heft, combined with a broad portfolio of patent-protected drugs, has helped Pfizer build a wide economic moat around its business.”

Importantly, the company expects negative revenue impacts from branded products that have lost patent exclusivity to diminish over the next decade. Meanwhile, Pfizer’s growing pipeline potential should reduce the threat of generic competition to some of its legacy blockbuster products. The company has more than 90 projects in development, and management expects a multiyear wave of potential new product launches to begin.

Pfizer has delivered higher dividends for seven years and maintains a healthy payout ratio near 50%. An investment-grade credit rating, recession-resistant products and consistent cash flow generation put this Big Pharma giant among the best retirement stocks to buy in 2018 and beyond.

• Dividend yield: 4.1%
• Consecutive years of annual dividend increases: 9
• Philip Morris International (PM, $105.46) was formed when Altria (MO) spun off its international operations in 2008. Today, Philip Morris sells tobacco products in more than 180 markets around the world, excluding the U.S.

Philip Morris owns six of the top 15 international cigarette brands in the world, including No. 1 Marlboro, and commands an impressive 15.3% global market share (27.9% excluding China). Selling addictive products under those strong brands has helped PM enjoy premium pricing power and double-digit operating margins for many years.

As government excise taxes rise and health awareness increase, fewer consumers are smoking. However, Philip Morris has responded by developing reduced-risk products (RRPs), which present less risk of harm to smokers by heating rather than burning tobacco.

Argus analyst David Coleman recently wrote, “On the positive side, we think that PM’s core businesses remain strong and that its brands will continue to command premium prices. The company’s efforts to develop cigarette alternatives also appear promising in an age of increasing health awareness and regulation, and while cigarette demand may be stagnating, demand for e-cigarettes is growing rapidly in international markets.”

Philip Morris’ sales of RRPs nearly quintupled to 9.7 billion units during the third quarter of 2017, rising from 2.1 billion units a year earlier. Meanwhile, management expects full-year adjusted earnings to grow 9% to 10% in 2017, which should support continued dividend hikes. The company’s payout has increased each year since 2008 and likely will continue rising, providing nice retirement income.

• Dividend yield: 4.5%
• Consecutive years of annual dividend increases: 16
• PPL Corp. (PPL, $35.29) is one of the largest investor-owned companies in the utility sector, generating $7.5 billion in annual revenue. It’s also a little more diversified than your typical utility stock, providing service to more than 10 million customers across the U.S. and the U.K.

Importantly, management has shifted the company’s mix of business away from competitive energy markets, which accounted for 73% of sales in 2010, to be 100% focused on regulated utility operations. As a result, the company’s earnings are highly predictable, and PPL has numerous investment opportunities to profitably grow its regulated rate base in the future.

In fact, Morningstar analyst Andrew Bischof, CFA, believes “PPL has attractive regulated growth opportunities that could produce 5% annual rate base growth through 2021, supported by PPL’s operations in constructive regulatory jurisdictions.”

As a result, management expects the company to record 5%-6% annual earnings growth, which will drive dividend increases of about 4% annually. PPL has paid dividends for an impressive 287 consecutive quarters and offers one of the higher yields in its sector, making it an appealing candidate for retirement income and growth going forward.

• Dividend yield: 3.8%
• Consecutive years of annual dividend increases: 7
• Public Storage (PSA, $211.05) is an industry leader with more self-storage facilities than any company in the world. This REIT has been in business since 1972 and operates thousands of locations across the U.S. and Europe today.

The self-storage industry’s characteristics make Public Storage one of the best retirement stocks. First, tenants’ leases are on a month-to-month basis, which makes regular price increases possible in supply-constrained markets. And despite the relatively short-term nature of leases, switching costs are fairly high, providing very predictable cash flow. Transitioning from one storage unit provider to another is a pain and requires time and money to make it happen.

Public Storage has focused its business on major metropolitan areas that tend to have higher incomes and better population density than others. When combined with its leading scale and low operating costs, these factors have helped this REIT generate operating margins in excess of 50% in recent years.

PSA’s high-quality business model and excellent cash flow generation have enabled it to pay uninterrupted dividends for more than 25 years. The company has increased its dividend each year since 2010, and analysts expect a reasonable 80% AFFO payout ratio next year, so Public Storage should have no trouble continuing its dividend growth streak.

• Dividend yield: 4.7%
• Consecutive years of annual dividend increases: 24
• Realty Income (O, $55.22) has increased its monthly dividend for 80 consecutive quarters and is one of only nine U.S. REITs with at least one “A” credit rating. When combined with its relatively high yield, the company has earned a well-deserved reputation for safe income and growth.

Founded in 1969, Realty Income has built a portfolio of more than 5,000 commercial properties leased out to a diverse group of tenants under long-term contracts. The company’s real estate is focused on prime locations as demonstrated by its resilient occupancy level, which has never dipped below 96%. Management also has managed the company’s mix of tenants conservatively to reduce risk. No tenant is greater than 7% of Realty Income’s overall rent, and its 20 largest tenants represent a reasonable 53% of annualized rent revenue.

Equally important, no industry represents more than 11% of rent, and its largest exposures are to defensive sectors, such as drug stores, convenience stores, dollar stores, and health clubs.

While e-commerce could pose a legitimate long-term threat to many retailers, 20% of Realty Income’s total portfolio rent is from non-retail tenants. More importantly, 77% of its total portfolio rent is from retail tenants characterized by service-driven businesses, non-discretionary industries, low price points, and/or investment grade-rated credit. In other words, it seems unlikely that the rise of e-commerce would harm Realty Income’s business anytime soon. The company seems likely to remain a safe source of retirement income with moderate growth for many years to come.

• Dividend yield: 5.5%
• Consecutive years of annual dividend increases: 24
• Tanger Factory Outlet Centers (SKT, $24.99) is a real estate investment trust with 44 upscale outlet shopping centers spread across the country. These properties are leased out to more than 3,100 stores which are run by over 500 scompanies.

Many investors are spooked by retail-focused companies in the age of Amazon (AMZN), which is why Tanger’s stock has lost nearly a quarter of its value over the past year. However, the outlet mall operator's focus on offering a unique, high-end shopping experience has largely insulated it from any e-commerce headwinds thus far. In fact, management recently raised Tanger’s year-end occupancy guidance to 96.5% to 97%, and the firm continued to grow its AFFO in the latest quarter.

The dividend also remains in good shape considering Tanger’s healthy AFFO payout ratio (expected to be 56% for full-year 2017), an investment-grade credit rating from Standard & Poor's and 56 consecutive quarters of same-center net operating income growth.

Such resiliency and conservatism has allowed the business to boost its payout each year and deliver dividends every quarter since its 1993 IPO. Both trends seem likely to continue.

• Dividend yield: 4.9%
• Consecutive years of annual dividend increases: 7
• Ventas (VTR, $62.73) is arguably one of the highest-quality health care REITs in the market. Approximately 94% of its revenue is from private-pay sources rather than Medicare and Medicaid, which could be pressured as reimbursement models evolve in the future. The company also boasts an investment-grade credit rating and has delivered double-digit FFO-per-share growth annually since 2001.

Ventas focuses on a diverse range of more than 1,200 health care properties, including senior living, medical office buildings, life science and acute care. Management has made several moves in recent years to strengthen the quality of the firm’s property portfolio. The company disposed of almost all of its skilled nursing facilities, as well as acquired acute care company Ardent Health Services and life sciences operator Wexford, positioning it for sustainable growth.

And as the senior population continues aging, Ventas is optimistic about demand tailwinds in the $1 trillion health care real estate market.

Ventas has paid uninterrupted dividends since going public in 1999 and has rewarded shareholders with 8% annual dividend growth since 2001. Health care spending is projected to grow 5.8% annually through 2024, and the REIT maintains a reasonable payout ratio near 75% – two signs that the payout should continue to rise in the years ahead.

• Dividend yield: 4.6%
• Consecutive years of annual dividend increases: 11
• Verizon (VZ, $50.92) is the largest provider of wireless services in the country, boasting approximately 115 million wireless retail customers and providing 4G LTE coverage to more than 98% of the U.S. population.

Smaller rivals T-Mobile (TMUS) and Sprint (S) have put pressure on the wireless market in recent years by offering unlimited data plans and improving the quality of their own networks. As a result, Verizon recorded its first-ever subscriber loss earlier this year and has found it increasingly difficult to maintain its premium pricing.

However, the company has since returned to subscriber growth, and Argus analyst Joseph Bonner, CFA, writes, “The subscriber growth suggests that Verizon is gaining traction from its new unlimited data plans and that industry competition slackened in 3Q.”

While the telecom market’s competitive environment does seem to be changing, Verizon’s dividend remains a solid bet for retirement income. The company and its predecessors boast a track record of paying uninterrupted dividends for more than three decades, and Verizon has boosted its payout for 11 consecutive years.

Management announced a $10 billion cost reduction plan earlier this year, which is expected to be completed by 2022 and fund the company’s dividend through cash savings. Combined with the company’s healthy and recession-resistant cash flow generation and analysts’ forecasts for low-single-digit earnings growth over the coming years, Verizon’s payout should keep improving.

• Dividend yield: 5.3%
• Consecutive years of annual dividend increases: 14

An investment in Welltower (HCN, $66.12) represents a conservative way to play the theme of an aging U.S. population, which is expected to drive higher demand for the real estate investment trust’s 1,334 health care properties.

Specifically, with the 85-plus age group population expected to double in 20 years, Welltower’s focus on senior living (70% of third-quarter net operating income) should provide a nice tailwind for the company’s growth and the security of its dividend. Even better, Welltower’s portfolio is arguably more resilient than many other medical-focused REITs because its tenants don’t depend much on Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements, which could come under pressure depending on how Washington shapes tax and health care legislation in the years ahead.

Instead, 93% of Welltower’s facility revenue mix is derived from private pay. The company’s dividend is further supported by management’s conservatism, which is reflected in Welltower’s investment-grade credit rating and its reasonable AFFO payout ratio, which sits below 90%.

Welltower has paid uninterrupted dividends for more than 20 years and appears likely to continue rewarding shareholders with low-single-digit annual payout increases like it has done for more than a decade, making it one of the best retirement stocks for 2018 and beyond.

• Dividend yield: 5.7%
• Consecutive years of annual dividend increases: 19
• W.P. Carey (WPC, $70.10) is a real estate investment trust that has increased its dividend every year since going public in 1998, recording 19 consecutive years of payout growth. Part of the firm’s success is its focus on maintaining a highly diversified portfolio of assets.

Specifically, its properties are nicely spread among industrial (30%), office (25%), retail (16%) and warehouse (14%) functions; the company’s top 10 tenants combine for only 31.8% of annualized base rent; and the business spans the globe, with roughly two-thirds of its assets in the U.S. and another 30% in Europe.

W.P. Carey generates predictable cash flow, thanks in large part to a 99.8% occupancy rate and a weighted average remaining lease term of nearly a decade. When combined with its investment-grade credit rating and reasonable 75% AFFO payout ratio expected in 2017, WPC’s high dividend appears to be a solid fit for investors living off dividends in retirement.

Brian Bollinger was long CCI, GIS, NNN, PFE, PM, PPL, T and VZ as of this writing.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average and other major indexes are hitting all-time highs regularly, and that is making it increasingly difficult to find bargains. That’s especially true among Dividend Aristocrats – Wall Street’s elite group of payout-raising companies.

Investors are willingly paying almost 18 times expected earnings for the companies in Standard & Poor's 500-stock index. That price-to-earnings multiple exceeds the index's five-year average of 15.6 and its 10-year average of 14.1, according to data from FactSet.

But that pales in comparison to the Dividend Aristocrats – 50 companies in the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index that have hiked their dividends every year for at least 25 consecutive years. At the moment, these stocks are trading at nearly 21 times forward earnings estimates. So, what’s an income-minded value investor to do?

Fortunately, a few Dividend Aristocrats are offering up their impressive track records of persistent and consistent distribution hikes at affordable prices. Here are five Aristocrats – spanning several industries – that are relatively cheap in a pricey market.

Data is as of Oct. 3, 2017, unless otherwise indicated. Click on symbol links in each slide for current share prices and more.

Companies are listed in alphabetic order. Analysts’ ratings provided by Zacks Investment Research. The list of 50 Dividend Aristocrats is maintained by S&P Dow Jones Indices.

• Symbol: AFL
• Share price: $82.23
• Dividend yield: 2.1%
• Consecutive annual dividend increases: 34
• Forward price-to-earnings ratio: 12
• Analysts’ opinion: 2 strong buy, 1 buy, 6 hold, 1 underperform, 2 sell

Insurer Aflac, which does business in Japan and the U.S., is better known for its Aflac Duck advertising campaigns than for its dividend. And yet, the stock not only sports a higher yield than the S&P 500 as a whole, but it's far cheaper too. Shares trade at 12 times forward earnings estimates from analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters. Again, the S&P 500 currently fetches roughly 18 times predicted earnings, and the Dividend Aristocrats trade at 21 times profit forecasts.

Aflac should receive help in the form of rising interest rates, as insurers earn interest on the premiums they collect before they are paid out in claims.

Shareholders also should benefit from the company’s stock repurchase program. Aflac currently is buying back up to 56 million of its own shares in 2017. That equates to $4.6 billion at today's stock price.

• Symbol: T
• Share price: $39.48
• Dividend yield: 5%
• Consecutive annual dividend increases: 33
• Forward P/E: 13
• Analysts’ opinion: 5 strong buy, 1 buy, 12 hold, 0 underperform, 0 sell

The telecommunications services sector is well-known for dividends, and AT&T offers one of the best all-around yields in the space.

The company has paid uninterrupted dividends since 1984 and has raised its payout annually for more than three decades. Moreover, AT&T’s dividend routinely makes it one of the highest-yielding common stocks on the market – well above the 2% yield of the S&P 500. But unlike telecoms like Windstream (WIN) and Frontier Communications (FTR) that have had to cut their payouts over the past few years, AT&T’s dividend is well-backed by the company’s high cash flow.

Although phone service remains AT&T’s core business, the company is moving aggressively into pay-TV and content production with acquisitions such as DirecTV and a pending deal to buy Time Warner – an entertainment giant whose lineup includes CNN, HBO and the Warner Bros. movie studio. Analysts aren’t certain the deal will go through because of antitrust issues. But even without Time Warner, AT&T still should grow profits by 3.5% in 2017 and nearly 2% in 2018.

Add in the healthy dividend, and this Dividend Aristocrat’s forward P/E of 13 looks like a pretty good deal in a pricey market.

• Symbol: JNJ
• Share price: $132.10
• Dividend yield: 2.5%
• Consecutive annual dividend increases: 55
• Forward P/E: 17
• Analysts’ opinion: 5 strong buy, 1 buy, 8 hold, 0 underperform, 2 sell

Few Dow stocks are as well-known as Johnson & Johnson. It operates in several areas of the health care industry, including pharmaceutical products and medical devices. But the company is best known for its over-the-counter consumer brands, including Listerine mouthwash, Tylenol pain reliever and Johnson’s baby shampoo. This sprawling portfolio has helped fuel a long string of dividend increases that spans more than five decades.

JNJ also happens to be one of the few giant Dividend Aristocrats trading at an attractive price. The stock goes for 17 times expected earnings – cheaper than the S&P 500 and roughly in line with its own five-year average. Better still, earnings per share are forecast to increase 7% this year and another 8% next year.

Another feather in J&J's cap? Health care is a defensive sector and should hold up better if the market rolls over.

• Symbol: MDT
• Share price: $78.11
• Dividend yield: 2.4%
• Consecutive annual dividend increases: 40
• Forward P/E: 15
• Analysts’ opinion: 10 strong buy, 1 buy, 7 hold, 0 underperform, 0 sell

Take a look around a doctor's office or emergency room, and you're likely to see some of Medtronic's products. The medical device maker is among the largest in the world, providing everything from insulin pumps for diabetics to stents used by cardiologists.

Like J&J, Medtronic is in a defensive sector that should hold up better in a general market decline. It also has a history of taking care of its shareholders – the company has steadily increased its dividend every year over the past four decades.

MDT looks like a healthy choice for value investors. The stock goes for 15 times forward earnings, which is well below what investors are paying for the S&P 500's estimated profits. Medtronic has growth prospects, too, with analysts forecasting average annual profit expansion of almost 7% for the next five years.

• Symbol: WMT
• Share price: $79.22
• Dividend yield: 2.6%
• Consecutive annual dividend increases: 44
• Forward P/E: 17
• Analysts’ opinion: 10 strong buy, 0 buy, 10 hold, 0 underperform, 2 sell
• Walmart, the world's largest retailer and another Dow component, isn't conceding the race to Amazon.com (AMZN), even as the online juggernaut claims an ever-larger piece of the retail pie.

Walmart went on the offensive in 2016 by spending more than $3 billion to acquire Jet.com, an up-and-coming online retailer. It has since added Moosejaw, Bonobos and ShoeBuy to its e-tailer portfolio.

Although Amazon is expected to turn Whole Foods' stores into distribution centers for its AmazonFresh delivery service, there's no reason Walmart can't use its own stores in a similar way. Analysts at Cowen note that about 90% of the U.S. population lives within 10 miles of a Walmart store. In fact, the company recently made another acquisition focused on delivery, buying up startup Parcel to help Walmart launch same-day delivery in New York City.

So don't throw dirt on Walmart just yet.

Meanwhile, WMT hits all the right fundamental notes. The stock’s forward P/E is lower than that of the broader market, and its 44-year streak of payout increases is more than enough to justify its inclusion in the Dividend Aristocrats.

When the price of a dividend stock climbs, its yield falls. As a result, a rising stock market, such as we've had of late, can make it harder for income investors to find attractive dividend payers. Indeed, the current dividend yield on Standard & Poor's 500-stock index is just 2.1%, down from 2.3% a year ago. For retirees dependent on investment income, a 2.1% yield won't even keep up with inflation in 2017, according to Kiplinger's latest forecast.

True, investors can buy stocks with unusually high yields, but such names typically come with greater risks. A too-good-to-be-true yield can be a red flag about a company's financial health and an indicator that the dividend isn't sustainable. That's why dependable, high-quality stocks with above-average dividend yields are such important components of a retirement portfolio. Here are four great dividend stocks that are paying double the yield of the blue-chip S&P 500 index.

(All prices and other data are as of January 9, 2017. Figures are based on the average of analysts’ forecasts for calendar 2017, as compiled by Zacks Investment Research, unless otherwise noted. Stocks are listed alphabetically.)

• Symbol: T
• Share price: $40.80
• Dividend yield: 4.7%

The telecommunications services sector is well-known for dividends, thanks in large part to AT&T. The company has paid uninterrupted dividends since 1984 and has raised its payout annually for more than three decades. AT&T’s yield is the highest in Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index, which has a yield of 2.1%

Although phone service remains AT&T’s core business, the company is moving aggressively into pay-TV and content production with acquisitions such as DirecTV and a pending deal to buy Time Warner (TWX), an entertainment giant whose lineup includes CNN, HBO and the Warner Brothers movie studio. Analysts aren’t counting on the deal going through -- at least not without some modifications -- due to antitrust issues. But even without it, AT&T’s profits should still rise by about 5% in 2017, and the company’s strong free cash flow (cash profits, minus the capital expenditures needed to maintain the business) should support its next dividend hike.

• Symbol: F
• Share price: $12.63
• Dividend yield: 4.8%

U.S. auto sales set a record in 2016, but the prospect of leaner times ahead has weighed on shares of Ford. The stock slumped 8% in 2016, including dividends. Yet the market is treating Ford, with a price-earnings ratio of just 8, compared with 17 for the S&P 500, as if profits will fall off a cliff. That shouldn’t be the case. Although car sales are forecast to decline in 2017, they are still expected to remain close to record levels.

• Symbol: GM
• Share price: $36.01
• Dividend yield: 4.2%

As with Ford, the case for investing in General Motors comes down to generous dividends and a bargain-priced stock. Only about three-dozen stocks in the S&P 500 possess yields above 4%, GM being one of them. And GM distributed just 25% of its profits as dividends in the third quarter of 2016, compared with an average of just over 40% for S&P 500 companies, indicating ample room to cover its payout and hike it in the future. Analysts see earnings per share dipping from $6 in 2016 to $5.83 in 2017. But with a P/E ratio of 6, GM’s stock already reflects the expected earnings decline—and maybe then some.

• Symbol: VZ
• Share price: $52.68
• Dividend yield: 4.3%

Dow component Verizon has paid uninterrupted dividends since its name changed from Bell Atlantic in 2000. It can also claim 10 straight years of dividend growth. But the company has more to offer than an income stream.

Verizon is repositioning itself for a world in which mobile content is ubiquitous and digital ads are moneymakers. It purchased AOL for its digital-advertising technology in 2015 and currently has an agreement to buy Yahoo (YHOO). That deal may not go through, partly because of Yahoo’s recent disclosure of a massive data theft impacting more than 1 billion accounts. But Verizon is raking in cash from its mobile business, Fios TV service and other sources. Earnings per share should climb 3.6% in 2017. Throw in a 4.3% dividend yield and you could scoop up total returns close to 8% over the next year if the stock keeps pace with profit growth, as expected.

High-quality dividend stocks never go out of style for long-term investors, and there is no shortage of stocks with high yields and bright prospects for 2017, from telecommunications companies embracing the digital future to pharmaceutical companies riding the success of new drugs.

That's not to say that these stocks won’t fall if the market slumps this year. No stock is without risk. But between their near-term profit potential and sizable dividends, these 10 dividend-paying stocks are poised to deliver better-than-average total returns in the coming months.

(All prices and other data are as of January 9, 2017. Figures are based on the average of analysts’ forecasts for calendar 2017, as compiled by Zacks Investment Research, unless otherwise noted. Stocks are listed alphabetically.)

• Symbol: ABBV
• Share price: $63.79
• Dividend yield: 3.6%

The pharmaceutical sector is a great place to look for generous dividend payers and few stocks sport yields as high as AbbVie’s. The patent expired in December on AbbVie’s Humira, the top-selling anti-inflammatory drug on the market. Even so, investors are optimistic about the company’s new products, such as Imbruvica, a treatment for blood cancer. AbbVie’s shares returned 20%, including dividends, over the past 52 weeks, while the pharmaceutical sector overall was in the red.

Analysts expect robust profit growth for AbbVie in 2017, with earnings per share expected to rise 13% over estimated 2016 earnings on a sales gain of 10%, to $28 billion. That’s well ahead of analysts’ forecast for 9% earnings growth for the broader market, and 8% for the pharmaceutical industry. AbbVie has logged 44 straight years of dividend growth.

• Symbol: T
• Share price: $40.80
• Dividend yield: 4.7%

The telecommunications services sector is well-known for dividends, thanks in large part to AT&T. The company has paid uninterrupted dividends since 1984 and has raised its payout annually for more than three decades. AT&T’s yield is the highest in Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index, which has a yield of 2.1%

Although phone service remains AT&T’s core business, the company is moving aggressively into pay-TV and content production with acquisitions such as DirecTV and a pending deal to buy Time Warner (TWX)—an entertainment giant whose lineup includes CNN, HBO and the Warner Brothers movie studio. Analysts aren’t counting on the deal going through -- at least not without some modifications -- due to antitrust issues. But even without it, AT&T’s profits should still rise by about 5% in 2017, and the company’s strong free cash flow (cash profits, minus the capital expenditures needed to maintain the business) should support its next dividend hike.

• Symbol: CVX
• Share price: $115.84
• Dividend yield: 3.7%

The same forces that propelled Chevron’s stock to a gain of 36% in 2016 should only get stronger in the coming year. After a long slump, oil prices stabilized last year. And now that the OPEC oil cartel has agreed to cut production, prices are expected to rise even more. That's good news for Chevron, a component of the Dow Jones industrial average. The integrated oil company should see profits rise in its drilling and transportation operations, and despite the higher crude prices, in its refining business, too. Analysts forecast revenue to increase from $113 billion in 2016 to $153 billion in 2017. As a result, they expect the company's earnings per share to finally lift off, soaring 276% in 2017 over 2016 levels—far ahead of the tepid 2.5% rise expected for the industry overall.

• Symbol: F
• Share price: $12.63
• Dividend yield: 4.8%

U.S. auto sales set a record in 2016, but the prospect of leaner times ahead has weighed on shares of Ford. The stock slumped 8% in 2016, including dividends. Yet the market is treating Ford, with a price-earnings ratio of just 8, compared with 17 for the S&P 500, as if profits will fall off a cliff. That shouldn’t be the case. Although car sales are forecast to decline in 2017, they are still expected to remain close to record levels.

• Symbol: GM
• Share price: $36.01
• Dividend yield: 4.2%

As with Ford, the case for investing in General Motors comes down to generous dividends and a bargain-priced stock. Only about three-dozen stocks in the S&P 500 possess yields above 4%, GM being one of them. And GM distributed just 25% of its profits as dividends in the third quarter of 2016, compared with an average of just over 40% for S&P 500 companies, indicating ample room to cover its payout and hike it in the future. Analysts see earnings per share dipping from $6 in 2016 to $5.83 in 2017. But with a P/E ratio of 6, GM’s stock already reflects the expected earnings decline—and maybe then some.

• Symbol: IP
• Share price: $53.62
• Dividend yield: 3.3%

As one of the world’s largest suppliers of paper and packaging materials, International Paper may not sound like an exciting business. But it possesses some attractive features. The company dominates the market for containerboard, giving it exposure to rising demand for packaging used by online retailers. For example, the company supplies half of the shipping boxes used by Amazon.com. Analysts expect earnings per share to climb 23% in 2017 over estimated 2016 levels. The firm pays a healthy dividend, too, and it is income you should be able to count on, considering International Paper has paid uninterrupted dividends since 1993.

• Symbol: MRK
• Share price: $61.10
• Dividend yield: 3.0%

A health care stalwart and component of the Dow Jones industrial average, drug maker Merck hasn’t missed a quarterly dividend payment in more than three decades. A recent four-year streak of dividend increases looks likely to continue and Merck’s growth prospects look compelling. Years of acquisitions, along with research and development, have resulted in a slew of successful drugs now on the market. Cancer medicine Keytruda is an ongoing hit, for example, and Merck has more potential winners in the works, with 24 drugs in the latter stages of development. In the 12-month period that ended September 30, 2016, the company generated $9 billion in free cash flow. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters see a 10% increase for Merck's stock in the next 12 months or so.

• Symbol: PFE
• Share price: $33.47
• Dividend yield: 3.6%

Like Merck, Pfizer is a Dow component and a relatively high-yielding stock. Investors worry that the company isn’t producing enough new products to overcome the loss of revenues from drugs that lose patent protection. But Pfizer has invested heavily in research and development, and it made some big acquisitions that should start to produce a new wave of products. Pfizer’s lineup of drugs in development looks promising, with 94 products in the works. Recent successes include breast cancer treatment Ibrance, blood thinner Eliquis and the pneumococcal pneumonia vaccine Prevnar 13.

The company has paid quarterly dividends consistently for decades and has a seven-year history of dividend growth. Earnings per share are expected to rise 8% in 2017, and the dividend looks well-covered. Pfizer paid $7.2 billion in dividends last year and another hike is expected in 2017. The firm's free cash flow is stable, ranging between $10.6billion and $19.3 billion since the last recession ended in 2009.

TAKE THE QUIZ: How Well Do You Know Dividends?

• Symbol: VZ
• Share price: $52.68
• Dividend yield: 4.3%

Dow component Verizon has paid uninterrupted dividends since its name changed from Bell Atlantic in 2000. It can also claim 10 straight years of dividend growth. But the company has more to offer than an income stream.

Verizon is repositioning itself for a world in which mobile content is ubiquitous and digital ads are moneymakers. It purchased AOL for its digital-advertising technology in 2015 and currently has an agreement to buy Yahoo (YHOO). That deal may not go through, partly because of Yahoo’s recent disclosure of a massive data theft impacting more than 1 billion accounts. But Verizon is raking in cash from its mobile business, Fios TV service and other sources. Earnings per share should climb 3.6% in 2017. Throw in a 4.3% dividend yield and you could scoop up total returns close to 8% over the next year if the stock keeps pace with profit growth, as expected.

• Symbol: WFC
• Share price: $54.24
• Dividend yield: 2.8%

It's going to take some time for Wells Fargo to rebuild its reputation. The revelation that thousands of employees opened millions of accounts without customers' knowledge cost the CEO his job and continues to hurt business. But like all such scandals, this too, shall pass. Wells Fargo remains a "great bank," in the words of Warren Buffett. He should know. Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-B), the company he heads, is the bank’s largest stockholder. And Buffett hasn’t sold since the scandal broke. That should give investors confidence in Wells Fargo's prospects, but if that's not enough, 2017 is shaping up to be a good one for the entire financial sector. Interest rates are on the rise, which boosts banks' profitability. Financial deregulation -- a stated goal of the new administration -- could also pad the bank’s bottom line.

Because the wireless carriers are no longer subsidizing phone prices with most of their plans, buying a smartphone these days will cost you a pretty penny—especially if you want a top-of-the-line device. A full-price, 32GB iPhone 7 runs $649, for example, and a Samsung Galaxy S7 is at least $650, depending on the carrier. All of the major carriers let you split the cost into monthly payments over the course of two years or longer.

The good news? Forking over full price for a device means you’ll pay less for monthly service. And the carriers, both big and small, are competing for customers with enticing deals on their plans. We’ve highlighted wireless plans in several categories, based on the type you need. Prices do not include device payments, and data speed is the fastest 4G LTE, except where otherwise noted.

With the T-Mobile One plan, a family of four pays $160 a month (you must make automatic payments to qualify for that price). The plan provides unlimited calling, texting and data in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

Video streams in standard definition, but that shouldn’t bother most people who view video on a phone, says Maggie Reardon, author of the CNET.com column Ask Maggie. The plan also comes with unlimited texting and data at up to 2G speed in more than 140 destinations.

• SEE ALSO: New Smartphone Math: Pay for Your Phone, Save on Your Plan

With US Mobile, choose your prepaid plan’s quantity of voice minutes, text messages and data à la carte. Prices start at $9 monthly for 100 calling minutes, 100 text messages and 100 megabytes of data. For 750 minutes, 500 text messages and 1GB of data, you’d pay $28 a month. The service runs on T-Mobile’s network.

The Sprint Unlimited Freedom plan comes with unlimited calling, texting and data at a price of $60 for one line, $100 for two lines or $160 for four lines (you must make automatic payments for those prices).

Video streaming is limited to standard definition, and music streaming is restricted to 500 kilobits per second, but you can upgrade to higher-quality streaming for $20 per line. You can sign up free for unlimited talk, texting and 1GB of full-speed data in Canada, Mexico and some Latin American countries. Plus, get free texting and data at up to 2G speed in 149 destinations.

• SEE ALSO: QUIZ: Bargain or Trap?

If you’re a moderate data user—say, streaming a few hours of music and video monthly, sending e-mails daily, and surfing the Web and social media apps occasionally—consider the Cricket Wireless Basic prepaid plan. It features unlimited talking and texting and 2.5GB of data (slowed to a maximum 2G speed if you surpass the limit) for just $35 monthly if you make automatic payments. Cricket operates on the AT&T network.

Tello, which runs on the Sprint network, offers a couple of appealing options for those who don’t use their phones much. With the Pay As You Go plan, prepay $5 or more monthly. You’ll get phone calls for 3 cents a minute, text messages for a penny apiece, and data for 2 cents per megabyte. You can also make calls to other countries, including low rates of 1.2 cents per minute to China and 1.8 cents per minute to India.

Or, with Tello’s regular plans, choose individually from buckets of minutes, text messages and data. For 200 minutes of calling, unlimited text messages and 500 megabytes of data, for example, you’d pay $16 a month. Calls to Canada and Mexico are included.

• SEE ALSO: 10 Things That Will Soon Disappear Forever

Do you frequently visit Canada or Mexico? Consider the T-Mobile One or Simple Choice plans. With either one, you can use your plan as you would in the U.S. at no extra charge in those countries. Both plans include unlimited talking and texting; T-Mobile One allots unlimited 4G LTE data, and Simple Choice allots from 2GB to 10GB of data monthly per line. Calling and texting to and from the U.S., Canada and Mexico is also included.

Plus, in more than 140 destinations, you get free unlimited texting and data at up to 2G speed; calls are 20 cents per minute. (Bonus: Until 2017, customers get unlimited 4G LTE data in South America and 19 European countries.)

If you often have access to Wi-Fi when you use your cell phone—say, at home and at work—consider a plan that automatically relies first on Wi-Fi for calling, texting and connecting to the Web. When Wi-Fi isn’t available, your phone reverts to the cellular network for service. With Republic Wireless, which uses the T-Mobile network for backup with new plans (the Sprint network will soon be available to new customers, too), you can get unlimited talking and texting and 1GB of cellular data for $20 a month or 2GB of cellular data for $30 monthly. Plans with no cellular data as well as with larger amounts of data are also available.

Unfortunately for Apple fans, you can’t use the iPhone with Republic Wireless. But the carrier does offer the Samsung Galaxy S7 and some other Android devices.

• SEE ALSO: 7 Smart Moves to Avoid Identity Theft

If you travel frequently, live in a remote area or have a family plan with your loved ones scattered around the country, superior coverage may be your priority. Verizon Wireless has the best coverage nationally, according to RootMetrics, which tests network performance.

Verizon topped every category in RootMetrics’ most recent report, including reliability, speed, and calling, texting and data service. In each category, AT&T came in second, Sprint third and T-Mobile fourth. To check coverage for each carrier in your area, search for your location on the RootMetrics map.

• SEE ALSO: Best Deals in Online Banking, 2016

A is for August — and AT&T and AbbVie and Apple, three stocks that pay dividends in August.

Many companies dole out dividends in March, June, September and December. If all your payments land in that timetable, your income stream can dry up for long stretches.

To keep the cash flowing right through vacation, we sorted through payment dates to identify when companies pay out. We focused on firms with steady businesses, sturdy balance sheets and a commitment to uphold their payouts. Check out our August offerings. (Prices and data are as of June 30.)

SEE ALSO: Great Stocks to Get Dividends Every Month

AT&T

Symbol: T

Price: $43

Yield: 4.4%

Annual dividend rate: $1.92

Price-earnings ratio: 15

Also pays in: February, May, November

AT&T’s purchase of DirecTV last year is boosting results. Analysts see the telecom giant’s revenues rising 12%, to $165 billion this year, with profits climbing 5%, to $17.6 billion. Growth of such magnitude isn’t likely to last, but AT&T should still be a solid earner, thanks to new TV services it plans to roll out. To help retain customers, the firm is also offering package deals with unlimited mobile data for subscribers who buy TV service, too. The knock on AT&T is that the stock, selling for about 15 times estimated year-ahead earnings, is pricey relative to its earnings growth. But compared with the paltry yield on Treasuries, the stock’s 4.4% yield looks appealing. AT&T’s dividend should keep rising, though modestly. Analysts see AT&T lifting the payout by 2% next year.

AbbVie

Symbol: ABBV

Price: $66

Yield: 3.4%

Annual dividend rate: $2.28

Price-earnings ratio: 13

Also pays in: February, May, November

AbbVie produces Humira, one of the world’s best-selling drugs. Physicians are prescribing Humira for a growing array of illnesses, including rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn’s disease and psoriasis. Raking in more than $14 billion in annual sales, Humira accounts for more than half of AbbVie revenues and an even higher proportion of the firm’s profits, which are rising steadily.

Unfortunately, Humira’s starring role won’t last. Its U.S. patent expires at the end of 2016. But because Humira is a complex biotech drug, generic versions will likely take several years to gain traction in the marketplace and may not wind up being much less expensive than Humira. Meanwhile, AbbVie is expanding its roster of drugs to treat blood cancers and other diseases. Wall Street sees earnings growth of 12% this year and 18% in 2017.

Apple

Symbol: AAPL

Price: $104

Yield: 2.2%

Annual dividend rate: $2.28

Price-earnings ratio: 12

Also pays in: February, May, November

Skepticism about Apple runs so high that the stock’s price-earnings ratio of 12 is 35% less than the P/E of the average big utility.

Bears argue that Apple’s innovation machine has stalled and that its flagship product, the iPhone, won’t lure as many customers as expected in China and other key markets, where lower-priced smartphones are making inroads. Yet Apple’s competitive strengths remain formidable. Its “ecosystem” of hardware, software and services keeps many customers locked in and coming back for new products. Sales are likely to pick up with the expected September launch of the iPhone 7. Apple is also developing additional revenue streams, such as a new subscription model for app developers and paid search ads on its App Store site. With $233 billion in cash and securities on its balance sheet and access to low-cost debt, Apple’s finances provide plenty of firepower for more dividend hikes.

SEE ALSO: 6 Good Dividend Stocks That Yield 5% or More

A class-action lawsuit is a civil lawsuit brought on behalf of a group of people or business entities who have suffered common injuries as a result of the defendants’ conduct. 

There are many cases and issues that can be brought as class-action lawsuits. Often, class actions fall into one of the following categories: securities, product liability, personal injury, employment and consumer causes of action. 

When it comes to class-action lawsuits, it’s natural to wonder about the average settlement per person. Settlements can vary significantly based on numerous factors, making it essential to gain a deeper understanding of the dynamics at play. 

Here are six things to know to better understand how class actions suits work:

1. There’s strength in numbers

Consumer class-action lawsuits allow a person or a small group of people to sue a company on behalf of a larger group with similar claims. The cases, which often allege fraud or product defects, usually end in a settlement instead of going to trial.

For example, Google has settled a series of sweeping privacy lawsuits, resulting in nearly $600 million in settlement payout agreements to states and affected users.  Verizon's class-action suit settlement, the telecom company agreed to pay $100 million to post-paid customers who were charged a monthly administrative fee. Cases involving consumer privacy, such as the $725 million Facebook settlement connected to the Cambridge Analytica data privacy scandal, have become even more common.

2. Don’t expect a windfall

Settlements in recent years have averaged $46 million, a 17% increase over the 2022 inflation-adjusted average settlement value of $39 million and the second consecutive year that this value has increased, according to a review by NERA Economic Consulting. But individual class members rarely see a fat payday. For example, the Verizon settlement is $100 million (separate lawyers’ fees total $33.3 million). If all 25,000 post-paid customer and were charged a monthly administrative fee filed a claim, each one is set to receive will receive at least $15 and up to $100.

3. Get in on the action

Potential class members may be notified directly or by way of an ad or in-store posting after the court approves the case as a class-action lawsuit or after a preliminary settlement is reached. Think you might be a class member in a suit but haven’t been contacted? Web sites such as www.consumer-action.org provide snapshots of current cases and settlements. You will probably also find a link to a Web site that has been set up to provide updates and additional details. If the terms are still not clear, or you’re concerned that a notice might be fraudulent, contact the consumer protection division of your state attorney general’s office.

4. Know your options

In most cases, you will be included automatically in a class unless you opt out. Joining the class means you’re eligible for compensation, but you waive the right to file a separate lawsuit. If you think you can prove that you have been harmed more than other consumers, consult a lawyer before excluding yourself from the class.

5. Don’t hold your breath

There are several opportunities for people and organizations to object to or appeal a settlement, and the settlement must receive final approval from the court. Assuming there are no further appeals, class members generally receive payment about six to nine months after a settlement agreement is submitted to the court for preliminary approval, says Stuart Rossman, director of litigation at the National Consumer Law Center.

6. Take the money

If you think filing for a minuscule settlement isn’t worth your time, or you don’t think you suffered sufficient financial harm for a case, take the money anyway and donate it to charity. Otherwise, the money may go to another class member or be donated to a charity chosen by the plaintiffs and the company. The money you receive is usually considered taxable income, but if you donate it and you itemize, you may take a tax deduction.

Related content

• $725M Facebook Settlement Payout Date Delayed by Objectors' Appeal
• Use An iPhone? You May Be Hearing From A Class-Action Lawsuit Group
• Walmart Lawsuit: Get Up to $500 as Part of a $45 Million Settlement

What stock market sector provides good yield, relative stability and potential for modest growth? The old dividend standby: telecommunications.

Yields of telecom stocks have become even more attractive lately as speculation grows that the Federal Reserve will delay raising short-term interest rates because of the tepid global economy. The average large-company U.S. telecom stock yields 4.9%, compared with 2.2% for 10-year Treasury bonds and near zero for cash-type investments, such as money market funds.

Of course, nothing is free on Wall Street. In a note published October 1, Morgan Stanley said it was cautious about the telecom sector because of increased competition among wireless and broadband services, among other reasons. So if you want reliable income, stick with telecoms that can increase revenues or generate enough cash to sustain the dividend. Look overseas, too, where industry consolidation and expansion into emerging markets is driving growth for some companies, despite economic woes. These eight stocks, listed in alphabetical order, meet that criteria and have attractive yields, to boot.

All prices, yields and returns are as of October 23.

• Headquarters: DallasShare price: $33.66Market capitalization: $174.6 billionDividend yield: 5.4%One-year return: 0.6%

If you’ve shopped for a mobile phone lately, you may have opted for one of the wireless carriers’ new no-contract plans. With these offerings, you pay the full cost of your phone (usually in monthly installments) but are charged a lower monthly service fee. The plans have been growing in number and are eating into revenues of wireless providers such as AT&T (T). The phone giant is trying to make up for the lower-price service plans with volume. Excluding prepaid customers, the telecom added 785,000 wireless subscribers during the third quarter, more than double the number added during the same quarter a year earlier. The amount of churn (or customers who drop their service) also declined, from 1.07% to 0.99% year-over-year.

The transition to no-contract plans has not been completely smooth. During the third quarter, AT&T lowered its revenue projection for the year from 5% to as little as 3%, citing fewer-than-expected phone upgrades (customers are holding onto their phones when they sign up). But AT&T expects to profit from future upgrades. Meanwhile, if the proposed acquisition of satellite-TV provider DirecTV wins regulatory approval this year, AT&T could expand its reach. For example, the company would be able to add high-speed Internet services to another 15 million U.S. customer locations and offer bundled packages that include pay-TV to 115 million locations.

• Headquarters: MontrealShare price: $42.98Market capitalization: $33.4 billionDividend yield: 5.2%One-year return: 3.3%

BCE (BCE), Canada’s largest telecom company, continues to grow. In the second quarter, the number of Internet, TV and wireless subscribers increased by 3.7% from the same period in 2013. More customers could sign on as the company builds out its 4G LTE network and high-speed fiber-optic cables for Internet and TV. BCE is also on track to buy its remaining stake in regional phone company Bell Aliant for about $4 billion by the end of October. That should boost free cash flow (the amount of cash profits left after necessary capital expenditures>) and support payouts to shareholders. BCE raised its dividend 6% this year, and analysts at RBC Capital Markets see a similar boost in 2015.

Note: With non-U.S. stocks, you have to consider foreign withholding taxes on the dividend. To minimize the bite, you should usually keep foreign stocks in a taxable account. That way, you can claim a credit against the long-term capital gains and other investment taxes you’ll owe Uncle Sam for the same dividend, which can be as high as 23.8%. Canada, however, is an exception. It withholds nothing if you own the stock in a tax-advantaged account, such as an IRA. Otherwise, Canada withholds 15% for U.S. investors.

• Headquarters: Monroe, La.Share price: $39.94Market capitalization: $22.8 billionDividend yield: 5.4%One-year return: 26.1%

Shares of CenturyLink (CTL), which serves mostly rural areas in the U.S., have soared over the past year. Growing demand by businesses for CenturyLink’s data-storage and broadband services is one of the main reasons. Revenues in the company’s business segment expanded 2.6% during the second quarter year-over-year. The landline phone business continues to wane, but some of those losses are being offset by expansion into new services, such as fiber-optic TV. CenturyLink cut its dividend by 26% last year to free up cash for $2 billion worth of stock repurchases. A dividend cut is never welcome, but the current payout—an annual rate of $2.16 per share—appears to be sustainable, according to S&P Capital IQ.

• Headquarters: ParisShare price: $14.42Market capitalization: $37.9 billionDividend yield: 3.8%One-year return: 12.1%

Price wars have dragged down revenues of Orange (ORAN), one of France’s largest telecoms. But after nearly three years of cuts, analysts believe phone bills can’t go much lower. Orange has offset the decline somewhat by attracting new customers in France, as well as in such major markets as Poland, Spain, Africa and the Middle East. During the third quarter, the number of subscribers increased by 3% year-over-year. And in September, Orange made a bid to acquire Jazztel, a Spanish telecom. If the deal goes through, Orange would gain 1.5 million broadband customers in Spain and the opportunity to sell coveted “quadruple-play” packages of wireless, TV, Internet and landline phone services. The stock trades at just 10 times estimated 2015 earnings, making it a bargain. Says Morningstar analyst Allan Nichols: “It is one of the cheapest [telecoms] relative to the company’s fair value,” which he pegs at $18 per share. The French dividend withholding tax for U.S. investors is 15%.

• Headquarters: TorontoShare price: $38.10Market capitalization: $19.6 billionDividend yield: 4.3%One-year return: -12.4%

Another Canadian telecom, Rogers (RCI) has come under pressure recently as competitors such as BCE expand into the pay-TV business. Rogers may be rounding the corner, though. Average revenue per wireless subscriber (excluding prepaid customers) in the third quarter declined 0.7% from the same period a year earlier, compared with a year-over-year decrease of 1.4% in the second quarter. Revenue growth could turn positive by the fourth quarter, according to a report by RBC Capital Markets. Meanwhile, Rogers, Canada’s largest wireless carrier, uses less than 60% of its earnings to pay the dividend, which it boosted by 5% this year.

• Headquarters: Fornebu, NorwayShare price: $64.11Market capitalization: $32.1 billionDividend yield: 4.6%One-year return: -12.1%

Although the Norwegian government owns roughly half of the company, Telenor (TELNY) is a global enterprise. Based just outside Oslo, the telecom operates in more than a dozen countries, many of which are experiencing rapid growth in their wireless businesses. In Norway, which makes up nearly one-fourth of Telenor’s sales, average revenue per mobile subscriber rose 4% during the first half of the year compared with the same period in 2013. Telenor has also made a big push into developing Asian economies and now earns 45% of its revenues from countries such as India, Malaysia and Pakistan, where wireless adoption is still on the upswing. True, geopolitical troubles can make operating in some of those regions risky. “But it’s amazing how well the business is doing, regardless,” Nichols says. Telenor’s total second-quarter revenues climbed 4% from the second quarter of 2013. The company eliminated its payout in 2009 to help fund its expansion into India, but it resumed disbursements in 2010 and has since raised the dividend regularly, this year by 17%. Norway’s tax withholding on dividends for U.S. investors is 15%.

• Headquarters: New York CityShare price: $48.22Market capitalization: $200.2 billionDividend yield: 4.5%One-year return: -0.9%

There’s a lot to like about Verizon (VZ), despite intense competition. Verizon maintains the leading 4G LTE network in the U.S., in terms of capacity and coverage. The quality of its network has helped retain customers. During the third quarter, Verizon’s churn among wireless subscribers (excluding prepaid customers) was 1%, up only 0.03 percentage point from a year ago. Verizon hasn’t been able to avoid cutting prices, but overall revenues in the third quarter still increased 4.3% from the year-earlier period, thanks in part to growing demand for data and customers adding additional devices, such as tablets.

Revenues may grow at a slower rate in the immediate future as wireless carriers continue to duke it out over pricing, says a UBS research note. But Verizon uses only about half of its earnings to pay its dividend, which it raised by 3.8% in September. And after buying out Vodafone’s 45% stake in Verizon Wireless earlier this year, Verizon Communications is now the sole owner of the wireless unit and can claim all of its free cash flow. That should enable the company to keep increasing its dividend, which it has done for seven consecutive years.

• Headquarters: Newbury, EnglandShare price: $31.43Market capitalization: $83.3 billionDividend yield: 7.9%One-year return: -17.1%

Speaking of Vodafone (VOD), it walked away with a cool $130 billion when it completed the sale of its shares of Verizon Wireless to Verizon Communications in February. “It got a huge price,” Nichols says. The deal allowed the firm, which operates in nearly 30 countries and claims more than 430 million customers, to invest in new assets. This summer, for example, it completed the purchase of Spanish cable operator Ono for 7.2 billion euros (about $9.1 billion at the current exchange rate), giving Vodafone the opportunity to sell bundled Internet, phone, TV and wireless packages to 1.9 million new Spanish customers.

Competitive pricing and slow economic growth in Europe have helped keep a lid on revenues and pushed down the stock. But the company is expanding into faster-growing emerging markets. In India, for example, Vodafone now serves 22% of the mobile market. Meanwhile, patient investors get a big yield, and this year the company hiked the dividend by 8%. The United Kingdom does not impose a withholding tax on dividends.

Boost Mobile: Monthly Unlimited

Cost

Get unlimited calls, text messaging and 2.5 gigabytes of full-speed data (service will be slowed if you pass the speed cap) with a $55 monthly plan for smartphone users, $60 plan for BlackBerry users, or $50 plan for those with other devices.

Phones

Several Android phones, including the Samsung Galaxy S III ($400). The BlackBerry Curve 9310 is available for $60. Or choose from among several other phones with Web access, such as the Samsung Array ($50).

Network

Uses the Sprint network. 4G and 4G LTE data speeds are available in some areas if you have a compatible device.

Comments

With the Shrinking Payments option, you'll receive a $5 deduction from your monthly bill after six on-time payments. Your bill drops by $10 after 12 on-time payments and by $15 after 18 on-time payments.

Cricket Wireless

Cost

If you use a smart phone, choose among plans with unlimited calls, text messaging and data — you'll pay $50 a month for 2.5GB of full-speed data, $60 for 5GB or $70 for 10GB. Plans start at $35 a month for unlimited talking and texting using a basic phone.

Phones

Several versions of the iPhone (not available in all markets), including the 16GB iPhone 5 ($600); a range of Android devices, including the Samsung Galaxy III ($480); and basic phones, such as the Kyocera Kona ($30).

Network

Combines an independent network with other wireless-carrier networks. 4G LTE speeds are available in some areas if you have a compatible phone. Check the coverage map at mycricket.com.

Comments

AT&T has announced plans to acquire Cricket's parent company, Leap Wireless, so changes in network coverage, phones and plans may be on the horizon.

MetroPCS: Pay in Advance

Cost

Plans offer unlimited talking, text messaging and data. You'll pay $40 monthly for 500 megabytes of full-speed data, $50 for 2.5GB and $60 to have no speed caps.

Phones

A few Android phones, including the Samsung Galaxy S III ($400), and some basic phones, including the Huawei Pal ($30). Or bring your own phone and insert a $10 MetroPCS SIM card. Check metropcs.com to see if your phone is eligible.

Network

T-Mobile has acquired MetroPCS and is introducing its more expansive network, which includes 4G and 4G LTE speeds, to the carrier.

Comments

Create a family plan by adding lines to your account. Each user saves $5 per month — so two members using the 500MB plan, for example, would pay $35 per month each.

Straight Talk

Cost

$30 monthly for 1,000 voice minutes, 1,000 text messages and 30 megabytes of data; $45 a month for unlimited talking, texting and data; $60 for unlimited international calls, texting and data. Three-month, six-month and yearly plans are also available.

Phones

Several versions of the iPhone, including the 16GB iPhone 5 for $550 (or $400 refurbished); a selection of Android devices, including the Samsung Galaxy S III ($400); the BlackBerry Curve ($130); and basic phones such as the LG 900G ($20).You can bring your own CDMA or GSM phone — check whether a phone is compatible at straighttalkbyop.com.

Network

Shares networks with AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon. 4G and 4G LTE speeds are available in some areas if you have a compatible device.

Comments

Customers can get discounts on select products and services through the Trac 'N' Save program. One recent offer: $5 off a $50 order at Target.com.

T-Mobile:Simple Choice

Cost

All plans include unlimited talking and text messaging. You'll pay $50 a month for 500GB of full-speed data, $60 for 2.5GB or $70 for unlimited data with no speed caps. To create a family plan, prices start at $30 per month to add a second line on the 500MB plan and $10 for each additional line thereafter.

Phones

A wide selection of devices, including the 32GB iPhone 5 ($650), the Samsung Galaxy S III ($452) and the BlackBerry Q10 ($580). Or bring your own compatible GSM phone. You'll pay $10 for a SIM card whether you buy a phone from T-Mobile or bring one.

Network

You get access to T-Mobile's network, which includes 4G and 4G LTE coverage in some areas if you have a compatible device.

Comments

If you buy a T-Mobile phone and use the Equipment Installation Plan, you can make a down payment and spread the remainder of the price over 24 months — but you'll have to pay the balance if you cut off service before the term ends.

Virgin Mobile:Beyond Talk

Cost

Plans come with unlimited text messaging and data (data speed will be slowed any month you pass 2.5GB of usage). For $35 a month, you get 300 minutes of call time; for $45, you get 1,200 minutes; for $55, you get unlimited talk time.

Phones

A few versions of the iPhone, such as the 16GB iPhone 5s ($550); and a selection of Android devices, including Samsung Galaxy III 4G LTE ($350).

Network

Uses the Sprint network. 4G and 4G LTE coverage is available in some areas on compatible devices.

Comments

If you don't want a smart phone, check out the PayLo plans, which range from $20 to $40 per month and include limited Web access.