The SEC is dragging AT&T to court for illegally duping analysts into lowering expectations [telecom]

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AT&T's CFO instructed the IR department to 'work the analysts'

By Jay Peters

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is suing AT&T for providing nonpublic information to 20 different analyst firms so they would lower revenue estimates ahead of earnings, according to a press release. That let AT&T "beat" expectations for the quarter when the information-sharing took place, turning what could have been some nasty headlines in the financial press into a win instead.