Why I Own France Telecom Stock

France Telcom is a classic income stock. Its double-digit dividend yield is powered by stable cash flows in a maturing industry.

But things are changing. The company recently slashed its promised dividend payouts in order to invest more in high-growth markets. Share prices took a serious hit, which paradoxically works out all right for long-term investors. The dividend may be smaller, but it's still generous, and lower entry prices means locking in a higher yield. This is particularly interesting when you reinvest your dividend checks along the way.

So even after all the hacking and slashing, France Telecom's yield is orders of magnitude richer than American contemporaries AT&T and Verizon . It's fully comparable to the high-yield payouts of rural American telecoms such as CenturyLinkand Windstream, but with the added bonus of growth plans in emerging markets. The French stock strikes a unique balance between generous yields, large-scale operations, and vibrant growth plans.

In this video, Fool contributor Anders Bylund explains why he owns France Telecom, and why he's not overly worried about the reduced dividends.

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The article Why I Own France Telecom Stock originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Anders Bylund owns shares of France Telecom, but he holds no other position in any company mentioned. Check out Anders' bio and holdings or follow him on Twitter and Google+. The Motley Fool owns shares of France Telecom. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days.

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