AT&T, Inc., a leading figure in the telecommunications sector, announced on Monday that its net profit for the fourth quarter nearly doubled compared to the previous year. This substantial increase was largely driven by robust additions in AT&T Fiber and postpaid phone subscriptions. Additionally, the company's adjusted earnings per share and quarterly revenues surpassed analysts' forecasts, reaffirming its earnings guidance for the full year 2025.
As of pre-market trading on the NYSE, AT&T's shares are valued at $23.25, marking an increase of $0.53 or 2.34 percent.
"AT&T’s impressive performance this quarter results from more than four years of diligent work and consistent execution by our teams, positioning us effectively for a new growth era," stated John Stankey, CEO of AT&T.
In the fourth quarter, net income attributed to common stock escalated to $4.03 billion or $0.56 per share, compared to $2.14 billion or $0.30 per share during the same period the previous year.
When excluding certain items, the company's adjusted earnings for the quarter stood at $0.54 per share, mirroring the performance from the prior-year quarter.
AT&T's operating revenues for the quarter experienced a slight increase of 0.9 percent, reaching $32.30 billion compared to $32.02 billion in the corresponding quarter last year. This increase primarily stemmed from higher revenues in Mobility services, equipment, and Consumer Wireline, offset by declines in Business Wireline and operations in Mexico.
Analysts had, on average, predicted AT&T would report earnings of $0.51 per share on revenues totaling $31.94 billion for the quarter, typically excluding special items.
The telecommunications company reported 482,000 net additions in postpaid phones, boasting an industry-leading postpaid phone churn rate of 0.85 percent. Moreover, AT&T registered 307,000 net additions for AT&T Fiber, marking 20 consecutive quarters with at least 200,000 net additions.
Revenue for the communications segment rose by 1.1 percent to $31.14 billion, propelled by advances in Mobility and Consumer Wireline, nearly negated by a 10 percent drop in Business Wireline revenues.
The Latin America segment encountered a 4.2 percent year-over-year decrease in operating revenues, amounting to $1.04 billion. This decline was mainly due to unfavorable foreign exchange impacts, partially counterbalanced by heightened equipment sales and subscriber growth.
Looking forward to fiscal year 2025, AT&T maintains its projection for adjusted earnings to range between $1.97 to $2.07 per share, with consolidated service revenue growth expected in the low-single-digit range.
In contrast, market expectations place earnings at $2.18 per share with revenue growth of 1.25 percent, totaling $123.61 billion for the year.
Moreover, AT&T anticipates completing the sale of its entire 70% stake in DIRECTV to TPG by mid-2025.
"We concluded 2024 with strong momentum. Customers and shareholders can anticipate receiving even greater value in 2025 as we expand the largest fiber network in the country, modernize our wireless network, grow our business, and initiate share repurchases in the latter half of the year," added Stankey.
