AT&T’s stock is sinking under the weight of future litigation over toxic lead cables – The telco’s stock hit a 30-year-low

AT&T stock closed at its lowest price in 30 years on July 17 following a series of downgrades in the aftermath of a Wall Street Journal investigation into toxic lead cables.

Shares of US telecommunications giants like AT&T have been falling since the July 9 report revealed that abandoned lead-sheathed cables that have been contaminating soil and water sources in the US. Analysts have been raising red flags about telco stocks, anticipating legal and reputational damage from the WSJ report to grow and persist.