2 Dirt Cheap Stocks to Buy With $1,000 Right Now

Uber reported nearly $37.7 billion in revenue for the first nine months of 2025, up 18% year-over-year, and net income of $9.8 billion versus $3.0 billion a year earlier (a figure boosted by a $4.3 billion tax benefit), leaving a trailing P/E of about 10 and a forward P/E near 20; the company is positioned to benefit disproportionately if autonomous-driving platforms scale. AT&T, refocused on core communications after divestitures, has invested in Lumen’s mass-market fiber ($5.75 billion) and Echostar spectrum ($23 billion) while carrying $139.5 billion of debt against $127 billion book value; revenue was $92 billion in the first nine months (up 2%), free cash flow $12.4 billion, net income surged to $18.1 billion from $6.7 billion (one-time items contributing), and it maintains a $1.11 annual dividend (≈4.7% yield) with a forward P/E around 11. These fundamentals present value and income opportunities but are tempered by one-time accounting boosts and significant leverage at AT&T and execution risk around autonomous driving for Uber.

Analysis

Market Structure: Uber (UBER) is the primary potential winner as a neutral platform for third‑party autonomous vehicle (AV) fleets — this deepens its scale and could lift take‑rates and margins if AV adoption accelerates (meaningful revenue upside within 2–5 years). AT&T (T) benefits from spectrum and fiber acquisitions that should stabilise service ARPU but its $139.5B debt vs $127B book value keeps credit sensitive investors cautious; telecom pricing power is steady but growth is low (mid‑single digits). AV hardware/software suppliers (NVDA, tier‑1 OEM partners) get secondary upside; incumbent driver labor and small local ride apps are structural losers.

Risk Assessment: Key tail risks: a major AV accident or regulatory moratorium (low probability, very high impact) could wipe out multi‑year AV monetization; Uber’s recent EPS was skewed by a $4.3B tax benefit — normalize earnings before valuing shares. For AT&T, a sharp rate shock or unexpected covenant/ratings downgrade within 12–24 months could force capex cuts or dividend pressure despite current FCF coverage. Catalysts: AV fleet contracts, FCC spectrum clearances, AT&T quarterly FCF/EBITDA cadence (next 4 quarters) will materially re‑rate both names.

Trade Implications: Direct: establish a tactical long in UBER (optimistic AV optionality + current multiple) and a conservative income position in T. Relative: long UBER vs short DASH (DASH is more US‑delivery concentrated and higher multiple) to capture platform/scale divergence. Options: prefer 6–12 month call spreads on UBER to express optionality and covered calls on T to enhance yield while capping upside. Rotate into NVDA/semiconductor suppliers selectively as AV deployments firm.

Contrarian Angles: Consensus understates Uber’s platform value as the default aggregator for third‑party AV fleets — market may be underpricing long‑dated optionality (2–5 year timeline). Conversely, AT&T’s dividend appears safe near term given $12.4B YTD FCF, so dividend‑driven panic selling may be overdone; downside is refinancing risk if EBITDA weakens. Watch historical telecom restructurings (Verizon/AOL parallels) where asset sales and spectrum monetization reversed narratives — similar upside exists if AT&T executes divestitures or JV deals.

Key Decisions for Investors

• Establish a 2–3% long position in UBER (size of portfolio) at current levels (~$85), target +40% in 12 months (~$120) if AV partnership/news materializes; set tactical stop‑loss at -18% (~$70) and scale up only on clear AV fleet contract announcements.
• Initiate a 3–4% long income position in AT&T (T) at ~$23 to collect the ~4.7% yield; sell 1–2 short 6‑month covered calls at a $25 strike to enhance yield, and buy a 12‑month $20 protective put (~limit downside to ~‑13%) if total position >3% of portfolio.
• Implement a relative trade: go long UBER and short DASH equal dollar (1–2% net each) to exploit platform vs pure‑delivery exposure; unwind/rebalance if the spread tightens/widens >20% or after next two quarterly earnings.
• Use options to express asymmetric UBER upside: buy a 12‑month call spread (long 90/short 140) to cap premium outlay while keeping upside exposure; size at 0.5–1% portfolio risk and close if implied volatility drops >30% or after AV regulatory negative headlines.
• Monitor 3 concrete triggers over next 6–12 months before adding size: (1) any AV fleet contract/partnership announcement (UBER), (2) AT&T quarterly net debt/EBITDA and debt maturities schedule disclosures, (3) FCC/spectrum commercialization timelines — add incrementally when two of three are confirmed.