The One Thing You Must Know About AT&T

I know it sounds ludicrous, but investors often overlook the people in charge of protecting their investments. The idea of gauging a company's leadership plays second-fiddle to other categories of analysis. However, at Fool.com we believe careful study of effective leadership is one of the most important areas of evaluating long-term winning investments.

We like CEOs who actually work for shareholders like us. After all, we're the true owners of the business. When you're deciding whether to invest in a company, failing to vet its CEO is a big mistake. In fact, if you've overlooked the study of a company's leadership, then that's the one important area you should know about before finalizing your investment in the company.

After reviewing thousands of companies over dozens of years, we've found several crucial characteristics of quality management. Today, we'll size up the recent performance of AT&T's (NYSE: T) leadership.

How much skin do they have in the game?
Are AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson's interests aligned with shareholders? Here's how the AT&T CEO's ownership compares to that of other companies in the industry.

Source: Capital IQ, a division of Standard & Poor's.

Stephenson actually owns $13 million worth of AT&T, or 0.01% of shares outstanding. We Fools prefer CEOs who have higher ownership stakes in their businesses, since that better aligns their interests with shareholders'. However, while we think high insider ownership is a good sign, low insider ownership isn't necessarily a bad one. CEOs may be relatively new, or may have a low percent of shares outstanding, but a high total value of ownership.

How well are they using your money?
Return on equity can help investors determine how adeptly management gets the job done. This metric combines how well management is expanding profitability, managing assets, and using financial leverage, all in one ratio. While return on equity isn't foolproof -- managers can manipulate it with excessive leverage, for example -- it does an excellent job of suggesting how effective managers are, and how well they can generate high returns on investors' capital.

Here's a look at AT&T's recent return on equity:

Despite difficult economic conditions, AT&T managed to grow return on equity beyond its five-year average. Consistently increasing return on equity suggests that management is either adept at cutting costs and managing assets, or is moving the company into new high-return areas. In AT&T's case, the company has managed to boost profits by increasingly moving into the wireless arena. For example, in the last 12 months, operating profits before taxes in its wireless business are 68% higher than those of the wireline business. The future of AT&T, and its ability to generate outsized returns, will depend on the wireless unit's ability to execute.

How productive are their workers?
Revenue per employee provides another way to gauge a CEO's effectiveness. If this metric is declining, the company might have a bloated organizational structure, or too many extra employees toiling away at new initiatives that just aren't working out. Either possibility would hint that management isn't effectively running the organization.

Source: Capital IQ, a division of Standard & Poor's.

As you can see, AT&T's revenue per employee has moved above its five-year average. Rising revenue per employee can suggest that management's getting better at controlling costs, or encouraging more productivity from its workers. To better see whether AT&T's management is excelling in this area, let's compare the company to its peer group once again:

Source: Capital IQ, a division of Standard & Poor's. Dollar figures in thousands.

AT&T's revenue per employee isn't just rising -- it's better than its combined peer group. However, keep in mind that AT&T has completed a series of mergers and acquisitions that have transformed the company into its current wireless machine. Like Verizon, telecoms moving into wireless show greater revenue per employee. That being said, AT&T's recent history has shown improvements that should be encouraging to shareholders.

These are just a few of the factors we look for in a company's management. If you can find leaders who continually give shareholders high returns on their capital, and align their interests with yours, you've got a better chance to enjoy market-beating returns for the long haul.