AT&T Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc., two of the biggest wireless carriers in the US, said they won’t absorb any forthcoming price hikes on mobile handsets if and when President Donald Trump’s global tariffs kick in — and that means customers could pay more for new cell phones.
Speaking on a call with analysts after presenting first-quarter financial results, AT&T Chief Executive Officer John Stankey said Wednesday the company’s strategy would be “taking that cost as we’ve traditionally done and largely moving it through to the end user.” Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg said on Tuesday that his company “will not cover any enormous increase on tariffs on handsets. That’s ultimately going to hit the consumer in the market.”
Both executives emphasized that it’s still too early to tell how exactly their companies will be impacted by Trump’s tariffs, which will affect almost everything imported to the US. Telecom companies typically have limited exposure to such trade barriers because they largely do business in the country and operate on utility-like models — the bulk of their revenue comes from subscription services. But consumers often buy their devices through their wireless carrier, which traditionally helps to finance the cost over the course of several years and links the purchase to a set mobile plan.
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