Half of analysts are bullish on AT&T's stock, which is roughly the same as what it is for Verizon's.
AT&T's stock has surged over 36% in 2024 while the company steadily delivers its wireless and fiber growth strategy. The company's higher-paying, lower-churn customers drive EBITDA growth compared to peers. Exiting DirecTV and focusing on core businesses will help AT&T achieve debt reduction goals and potentially increase dividends in 2025.
AT&T (T) shares advanced Wednesday as the telecom giant posted strong subscriber numbers.
Despite a sales miss, the telecom's third-quarter report included some data that investors could get excited about.
AT&T Inc (NYSE:T, ETR:SOBA) shares moved higher as the telecommunications giant's third quarter earnings impressed, driven by growth in mobility service and broadband revenue. Adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.60 beat estimates of $0.59.
On the surface, AT&T Inc. reported a mixed quarter, with a slight miss on revenue and a marginal beat on earnings. The quarter, however, showed some operational progress being made, and this is likely to support the share price in the near term. Long-term investors, however, should not get carried away by the current optimism around the stock as more progress is needed.
U.S. stocks traded lower midway through trading, with the Nasdaq Composite falling more than 1% on Wednesday.
AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T ) Q3 2024 Earnings Conference Call October 23, 2024 8:30 AM ET Company Participants Brett Feldman - SVP, Finance & IR John Stankey - CEO Pascal Desroches - CFO Conference Call Participants Simon Flannery - Morgan Stanley John Hodulik - UBS Peter Supino - Wolf Research David Barden - Bank of America Michael Rollins - Citi James Schneider - Goldman Sachs Sebastiano Petti - JPMorgan Kannan Venkateshwar - Barclays Operator Thank you for standing by. Welcome to AT&T's Third Quarter 2024 Earnings Call.
AT&T Inc.'s Q3 revenue missed expectations, but strong cash flow and subscriber growth, especially in fiber and postpaid, were positive highlights. Operating expenses were lower than expected, leading to an EPS beat at $0.60 per share, surpassing our $0.57-$0.59 estimate. Despite a revenue shortfall, free cash flow was robust, covering dividends comfortably, with a payout ratio of just 41.2%.
While the top- and bottom-line numbers for AT&T (T) give a sense of how the business performed in the quarter ended September 2024, it could be worth looking at how some of its key metrics compare to Wall Street estimates and year-ago values.
Another day, another packed slate of corporate reports.
Backed by strong subscriber growth with 5G and fiber focus, AT&T beats third-quarter 2024 earnings estimates.