Investing.com - AT&T has posted better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings per share as the US telecom group was bolstered by a solid jump in monthly bill-paying subscribers, in a sign of demand for its higher-tier unlimited plans.
The firm reported 482,000 net monthly paying wireless phone subscribers during the period, above Bloomberg consensus estimates of 441,511.
Premium plans that include perks like greater hotspot data have underpinned AT&T (NYSE:T)'s drive to compete with rivals like T-Mobile and Verizon (NYSE:VZ), who have been rolling out bundled offerings that feature access to streaming services like Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) and Max.
Meanwhile, AT&T reiterated its long-term outlook, which was previously provided during its analyst and investor day late last year. Dallas, Texas-based AT&T has targeted a doubling in its fiber internet availability and expansion its 5G network by offering customers bundled discounts on both high-speed fiber data and wireless phone services.
In its 2025 fiscal year, adjusted core income is seen increasing by 3% or higher. Excluding its stake in DirecTV, which AT&T is selling to TPG Capital for $7.6 billion, free cash flow in 2025 is also anticipated to be more than $16 billion.
"Customers and shareholders can look forward to receiving even more value in 2025 as we expand the country's largest fiber network, modernize our wireless network, grow our business and begin share repurchases in the second half of the year,” said CEO John Stankey in a statement.
AT&T has said it is working to exit its legacy copper network operations across much of its wireline footprint by the end of 2029, and is planning to return over $40 billion to shareholders over the next three years through dividends and stock buybacks.
Adjusted earnings per share was $0.54 in the fourth quarter, topping analyst expectations of $0.50, according to Bloomberg consensus estimates. Revenue edged up by 0.9% versus a year-ago to $32.3 billion, supported by better-than-anticipated sales at its key mobility unit. Wall Street estimates had seen the figure at $32.03 billion.
For the 2024 fiscal year, AT&T logged adjusted earnings per share of $2.26 and revenue of $122.3 billion.
Shares in AT&T moved higher in premarket US trading on Monday.
(Reuters contributed reporting.)