AT&T has reported third-quarter revenues of $30.9 billion, net income of $3.2 billion, and diluted earnings per share of 54 cents. Analysts said wireless gains from Apple's iPhone offset wireline losses. AT&T is the exclusive carrier for the iPhone in the U.S.
"Wireless continues to be the driver for the company," said Todd Rosenbluth, an equity analyst with Standard & Poor's. "Despite the increased competition in the prepaid market, AT&T is adding to its market-share lead. We are encouraged by its revenue per user growth from data services on the iPhone and other devices such as the BlackBerry. They are continuing to generate a lot of cash, which can support dividends and other corporate efforts. All of that is positive."
The 54 cents per share earnings were the same as in AT&T's second quarter and one cent less than in the year-ago quarter. AT&T added two million wireless subscribers, which the company said was the highest third-quarter net gain ever. It now has 81.6 million wireless subscribers, an increase of 6.7 million over the past year.
The iPhone Thrives
The activation of 3.2 million iPhones was part of an overall growth of 4.3 million 3G wireless devices. Both the iPhone and overall activation gains were the largest quarterly totals in company history. Data revenue grew 33.6 percent to $3.6 billion.
The strength in the upper end of the wireless category impressed Morgan Stanley, according to a research note written by several analysts. "High-end wireless shows strength with robust iPhone activations, with almost 40 percent new to AT&T, up from 35 percent in the second quarter of 2009," the note reads. "Considering the overall maturity of the industry, this could imply incremental pressure at other carriers vying for the high-end segment subscribers."
On the wireline side, AT&T's U-verse TV fiber-based initiative enjoyed a net gain of 240,000 subscribers, 8,000 more than in the year-ago quarter. The service now reaches 1.8 million subscribers and, the company said, enjoys "continued high broadband and voice attach rates."
Wireline Pressure
Rosenbluth said the wireline side of the business continues to be under pressure, and the issue may be more important for AT&T than for a more domestically focused carrier. "A unique characteristic about AT&T is its strength with multinational companies," he said. "That's a good thing when the multinationals are growing and hiring. The absence of that helps to offset some of the great things we are seeing with the wireless and U-verse products."
Many carriers, AT&T among them, scaled down in light of the poor economy. Rosenbluth said the company is beginning to spend as a recovery begins.
"They've reiterated their guidance for the full year and [capital expenditure] is up again in the fourth quarter," he said. "If you look back six months ago, there was uncertain demand from consumers and corporate customers. It made sense to focus cash on getting their credit matrix to a level they were more comfortable with. Now there is a light at the end of the tunnel for the economy and we are seeing things pick up."
