Shares of AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) plunges around 5% in pre trading session on Thursday after it announced first-quarter results that showed continuous 5G and fiber client additions as well as profitable growth driven by rising wireless service and internet revenues.
CEO of AT&T, John Stankey stated that their teams are proud to connect more people to more possibilities via 5G and fiber. They are successful because of a tried-and-true strategy based on simple, customer-centric experiences. As a result, they are gaining high-value consumers who, once chosen, stick with AT&T. The work they are doing now is laying the groundwork for long-term, sustainable development, and they remain confident in their full-year projection.
AT&T Inc. missed analysts’ free cash flow projections in the first quarter but said it is still on track to reach its full-year target. The stock dropped in early trade.
The period’s free cash flow was $1 billion, according to a statement issued by the Dallas-based phone company on Thursday. That was far less than the $3.02 billion projected by Wall Street, according to a Bloomberg survey, and just about 6% of the $16 billion the business forecasts for the year.
The gap fuels speculation that AT&T is dealing with high phone inventory expenses, network building expenditures, and fewer payments from its dwindling DirecTV joint venture. The firm anticipates stronger levels of free cash flow in the second half of the year.
At the same time, AT&T surpassed analysts’ mobile-phone subscriber forecasts, indicating that the No. 3 US cellular provider is continuing to build on its robust two-year growth streak, alleviating some fears that the sector is slowing.
In premarket trading on Thursday, AT&T shares dipped approximately 2.5% to $19.20. This year, the stock is up 7%, roughly in line with its competitor T-Mobile US Inc. and ahead of Verizon Communications Inc.’s 2% decrease.
In the first quarter, the firm attracted 424,000 regular monthly phone users, beating the 400,556 projected by experts. AT&T earned 60 cents per share on $30.1 billion in revenue, excluding certain adjustments. Analysts projected 59 cents on $30.3 billion in sales.
While the business lost 23,000 broadband users (excluding DSL losses), it added 272,000 new fiber subscribers, up from 289,000 the previous year. AT&T stated that it is still on target to provide fiber to 30 million households and businesses by the end of 2025.
