AT&T shares up nearly 3 percent after earnings beat

Jul 25, 2017 | Bad Credit Loans, Bank Lending, Business Lending, Business Loans, Capital, Economics, Finance, Non-Bank Loans, Working Capital

AT&T reported earnings that beat analysts’ expectations Tuesday after the bell.

Here’s how the company did compared to what Wall Street expected:

  • EPS: 79 cents vs. 73 cents, according to Thomson Reuters
  • Revenue: $39.84 billion vs. $39.79 billion, according to Thomson Reuters
  • Wireless net adds: 2.8 million vs. 1.08 million, according to StreetAccount

Revenue was slightly down from the year-ago quarter, at $39.8 billion compared with $40.5 billion. EPS was up this year to 79 cents from 72 cents in the year-earlier quarter.

AT&T’s stock was up nearly 3 percent after the announcement.

“Once again our team delivered expanded consolidated margins and, as a result, grew adjusted earnings per share by nearly 10% as we executed well against our business priorities,” CEO Randall Stephenson said in a statement.

Postpaid churn rates, or the percentage of subscribers that cancels their service, was 1.01 percent for the quarter. The total was lower, therefore better, than Wall Street’s expectation of 1.19 percent, according to StreetAccount.

AT&T lost 199,000 subscribers, but the loss was offset by gains in its DirecTV Now online streaming service. The total number of video subscribers was essentially flat from last year, the company said.

AT&T maintained its full-year guidance. Wall Street expects EPS of $2.89 and revenue of $161.06 billion.

Last month, AT&T expanded the amount of local television stations it offers on DirecTV Now, an online streaming service it launched in November. The move comes amid “cord cutting,” or households shunning traditional cable packages and opting instead of digital services like Netflix.

AT&T is still awaiting regulatory approval on its merger deal with Time Warner. On Monday, Democrats unveiled a new economic platform called “A Better Deal” that champions greater scrutiny of corporate mergers and could target the AT&T and Time Warner plan.

In a statement, Stephenson said he continues to expect the deal to close by the end of the year.

AT&T’s stock has fallen about 15 percent this year. The company hit a 52-week intraday low of $35.81 last week.