Back to press releasesNEWARK, N.J. – March 15, 2004 – IDT Corporation (NYSE: IDT, IDT.C), a multinational carrier, telephone and technology company, is pleased to announce that the Company was ranked the highest among Communications/Fixed-Line companies in the 2004 Wall Street Journal Shareholder Scoreboard of America’s largest companies. The results were published in the Wall Street Journal and were made available online on March 9, 2004.
The Shareholder Scoreboard ranks the 1000 largest companies in the Dow Jones U.S. Total Market index. The Shareholder Scoreboard reported that IDT ranked number 1 in shareholder returns among its peers in the Fixed-Line Communications Industry for 1-year returns, 3-year average returns and 5-year average returns. IDT’s 3-year average return of 25.2% compares to the industry average of a 7.9% loss. IDT is the only Fixed-Line Communications company to show a positive 3-year average return. The Company’s 5-year average return was 21.1%, compared with the industry average of a 7.2% loss.
“Seeing IDT at the top of the list is great, especially when you see names like Verizon, BellSouth, SBC Communication and AT&T below you,” said Howard Jonas, IDT’s Founder and Chairman. “Unlike other companies, we developed new technologies rather than just relying on the old, we kept the entrepreneurial spirit alive and we’re quick to adapt to the changing marketplace.”
“This recognition by the Wall Street Journal is proof that IDT’s philosophy of managing for the long term, rather than focusing on short term stock price gains, gives a company staying power,” said Jim Courter, IDT’s CEO. “Hiring the right people, rewarding innovation, and investing strategically, is not just the formula for IDT’s success, it’s the blueprint for the communications company of the future.”
The rankings were measured by the total value of each company’s publicly traded common stock and can be found online at www.wsj.com/reports. The rankings did not take into consideration the more liquid IDT Class B shares (NYSE: IDT), which outperformed the Common Stock during the latest period.
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