Why Verizon's Dividend Is Better Than AT&T's

AT&T (NYSE:T) and Verizon (NYSE:VZ) are two classic dividend income plays. However, not all dividend yields are created equal - differences in growth rates, competitive advantages, balance sheet health and more can significantly alter the riskiness of a dividend and a stock's total return potential. While T and VZ might have looked fairly similar several years ago, they have started to diverge in a pretty significant way. Read on to learn why VZ is a core holding in our Top 20 Dividend Stocks portfolio but T does not make the cut.

T and VZ are appropriate for income-seeking dividend investors, but long-term dividend growth investors should steer clear - think of these stocks more like bonds. However, with T and VZ heading in different strategic directions, their future total returns could ultimately be very different than they were over the past decade. We believe VZ's wireless assets pose less risk and more long-term growth opportunity than T's foray into bundled cable.

Source: Seeking Alpha

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