AT&T’s fiscal fourth-quarter earnings fell short of Wall Street’s expectations, but the company saw higher revenue than forecasted and added more customers than anticipated. Here are the important highlights:
Earnings and Revenue
- Adjusted earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter were 54 cents, lower than analysts’ estimates of 56 cents and down from last year’s 61 cents.
- The reported revenue for the quarter was $32 billion, surpassing Wall Street’s expectations of $31.46 billion. It also showed a slight increase compared to last year’s revenue of $31.34 billion.
Division Performance
- AT&T’s wireless services division experienced a 3.9% increase in revenue compared to the previous year.
- On the other hand, business wireline sales declined by 10.3%. Many companies in this sector face a continuous decrease in revenue as more businesses abandon landlines.
- AT&T recorded goodwill impairments in Q4 2022 amounting to $24.8 billion, stating that secular declines were negatively impacting Business Wireline growth rates.
Customer Additions
- In terms of postpaid phone net adds, AT&T outperformed expectations with 526,000 new lines, beating the forecasted 487,500.
- Verizon Communications, a major competitor, also reported strong net adds of 449,000, surpassing expectations of 231,600.
Outlook for Fiscal 2024
- AT&T projects adjusted earnings per share for fiscal 2024 to be between $2.15 and $2.25, falling short of Wall Street’s estimated $2.46 per share.
Stock Performance
- Over the past year, AT&T stock has declined by 10%, while Verizon shares have gained 4.4% and T-Mobile U.S. stock has risen by 12%.
- T-Mobile is scheduled to release its fourth-quarter earnings on Jan. 25.