AT&T Q1 Earnings Beat Views

reported better-than-expected earnings for the first quarter. The Dallas, Texas-based company reported a quarterly profit of $3.2 billion, or $0.61 per share, versus a year-ago profit of $3.65 billion, or $0.70 per share. Excluding items, the company's earnings slipped to $0.63 per share from $0.71 per share. Its revenue rose 0.3 percent to $32.58 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.62 per share on revenue of $32.84 billion. The company added 441,000 postpaid wireless subscribers in the quarter, versus 854,000 in the fourth quarter and 625,000 in the year-ago period. Total wireless revenue rose 1.8 percent to $18.2 billion, while wireless equipment revenue climbed 36.1 percent year-over-year to $3.4 billion. Wireless service revenue slipped 3.7 percent to $14.8 billion. Total wireline revenue declined 3.1 percent year-over-year to $14.1 billion in the first quarter. The company's operating expenses increased to $27.1 billion in the latest quarter, compared to $26.2 billion in the year-ago quarter. Its operating income slipped to $5.5 billion from $6.3 billion. Cash from operating activities was $6.7 billion in the quarter. Its churn rate narrowed to 1.02 percent in the latest quarter, compared to 1.07 percent, in the year-ago quarter. The average estimate among 32 Estimize users was for earnings of $0.64 per share and revenue of $32.91 billion. "The first quarter was a significant step in a transformative year for AT&T" said Randall Stephenson, AT&T chairman and CEO. "The repositioning of our wireless customer base to no-device-subsidy plans drove industry-leading postpaid churn. IP technologies continue to transform our wireline operations, expand our broadband base and drive strong demand for strategic business services." AT&T shares gained 1.34 percent to $33.30 in the after-hours trading session.