AT&T Q2 Adj. EPS Meets Estimates; Backs FY24 Outlook

(RTTNews) - Telecom giant AT&T, Inc. (T) reported Wednesday a net profit for the second quarter that declined 20 percent from last year, primarily hurt by higher depreciation and amortization charges. Adjusted earnings per share met analysts' expectations, while quarterly revenues missed it by a whisker. The company also reiterated its adjusted earnings guidance for the full year 2024.

In pre-market activity on the NYSE, AT&T shares are trading at $18.92, down $0.71 or 3.90 percent.

"Our solid performance this quarter demonstrates the durable benefits of our investment-led strategy," said John Stankey, AT&T CEO.

For the second quarter, net income attributable to common stock declined 20 percent to $3.55 billion or $0.49 per share from $4.44 billion or $0.61 per share in the prior-year quarter.

Excluding other items, adjusted earnings for the quarter was $0.57 per share, compared to $0.63 per share in the year-ago quarter.

AT&T's operating revenues for the quarter edged down 0.4 percent to $29.80 billion from $29.92 billion in the same quarter last year, primarily reflecting lower Business Wireline service revenues and declines in Mobility equipment revenues driven by lower sales volumes, partly offset by higher Mobility service, Consumer Wireline and Mexico revenues.

On average, analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of $0.57 per share on revenues of $29.92 billion for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Operating revenues for the communications segment edged down 0.9 percent to $28.58 billion from last year, due to a decline in Business Wireline revenues, which was nearly offset by increases in Mobility and Consumer Wireline revenues.

Operating revenues for the Latin America segment were up 14.1 percent year-over-year to $1.10 billion, primarily due to higher equipment sales, subscriber growth, and favorable impacts of foreign exchange rates.

Operating income for the quarter was $5.8 billion, up from $6.4 billion last year. Adjusted operating income was $6.3 billion, compared to $6.4 billion in the year-ago quarter.

Total operating expenses grew to $24.0 billion from $23.5 billion in the year-ago quarter, primarily due to Open RAN network modernization efforts and higher depreciation related to continued fiber and 5G investment

Looking ahead to fiscal 2024, the company continues to project adjusted earnings in a range of $2.15 to $2.25 per share on wireless service revenue growth of 3 percent and broadband revenue growth of 7 percent.

The Street is looking for earnings of $2.22 per share on revenue growth of 0.4 percent to $122.89 billion for the year.

Looking further ahead to fiscal 2025, the company said it expects to deliver adjusted earnings per share growth.

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