It's disappointing to see that the dividend was not covered by profits, but cash is more important from a dividend sustainability perspective, and AT&T fortunately did generate enough cash to fund its dividend. Still, if the company repeatedly paid a dividend greater than its profits, we'd be concerned. Extraordinarily few companies are capable of persistently paying a dividend that is greater than their profits.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/dont-buy-t-inc-nyse-124905703.html