AT&T;, MCI WorldCom Meetings This Week

AT&T; Corp. and MCI WorldCom Inc. this week will host their annual shareholder meetings as stronger companies than they were a year ago, but both face challenges to extending the gains of their surging stocks, analysts say. Over the past year, AT&T;, the No. 1 U.S. phone company, has announced about $120 billion in acquisitions that will allow it to reenter the local telephone market and become the largest cable television operator. AT&T; also shored up its international operations, improved revenue growth, cut costs and aggressively expanded its wireless business. Meanwhile, MCI WorldCom, the No. 2 U.S. long-distance company, strengthened its hold on Internet services, data and international segments.

AT&T;’s meeting Wednesday in Houston will mark Chairman C. Michael Armstrong’s second meeting with shareholders and allow him to outline plans for what may be his toughest job yet--digesting AT&T;’s varied new acquisitions and partnerships. The telecom giant is expected to spend the next year absorbing its acquisitions and wrestling with regulators over its burgeoning cable presence, analysts said.

MCI WorldCom, meanwhile, remains a Wall Street darling, with its stock up about 94% over the past year. But it lacks a wireless business more and more calls are being made on wireless phones rather than traditional phones. MCI WorldCom this year has walked away from two opportunities to buy wireless companies--AirTouch Communications Inc. and Nextel Communications Inc., but analysts said the company must have a wireless service in the future to compete. MCI WorldCom will hold its annual meeting Thursday in Clinton, Miss.