Mobile Value Shifting to Internet, Text, Trefis Says

The mobile phone business is the largest contributor of value to the stocks of three major carriers with interests in landline and wireless services. About 43 percent of AT&T's equity value is attributable to mobile revenue, Verizon 34 percent of Verizon's equity value and 89 percent of Sprint's value, according to Trefis.

The shift from mobile voice to mobile data has implications for where the value of each stock comes from and how the mobile carriers will compete in the future, as well. For example, 55 percent of Sprint’s value comes from its mobile voice plans and phones business, while another 34 percent of value comes from Sprint’s mobile Internet business. The value of the Internet segment will grow.

Trefis estimates that AT&T’s text messaging and Internet revenue per mobile subscriber for 2009 increased by 21 percent to $14.5 per subscriber, for example.

AT&T (T), Verizon (VZ) and Sprint (S) Stocks: Mobile Internet and Texting Crucial