AT&T Beats Wireless Subscriber Growth Estimates

AT&T outstripped Wall Street’s expectations for second-quarter wireless subscriber growth and had fewer customers canceling, the company reported on Wednesday. 

The country’s No. 3 wireless carrier added 419,000 monthly bill-paying wireless phone subscribers — the highest spending wireless subscribers — compared with expectations of 284,800 additions, according to five analysts polled by FactSet, per Reuters. 

“Our significant investment in 5G and fiber and consistent execution is driving durable growth across the large majority of our business,” CEO John Stankey said in AT&T’s Q2 2024 earnings call. “We believe the success of in our fiber business is driving growth in mobility, and vice versa as consumers increasing prefer to purchase mobility and broadband together as a converged service.”

Postpaid phone churn — the number of customers discontinuing a company’s service — came in at 0.70%, down 9 basis points year over year.

The telecom operator said slower phone upgrades by cost-conscious consumers in the U.S. was a drag on its revenue. Verizon said something similar in its earnings report earlier this week, in which it stated that consumers are holding onto their mobile phones longer and likely waiting for new models with the latest tech.

AT&T’s mobility equipment revenue was down 8% in the second quarter, as total revenue of $29.8 billion missed estimates of $29.92 billion, Reuters reported, citing LSEG data. 

Stankey said the company, which added 239,000 landline broadband customers who get fiber-optic network-based services, is “leading the way in converged connectivity,” according to Investors Business Daily. “Today, nearly four of every 10 AT&T fiber households also choose AT&T wireless service,” Stankey stated. “As the nation’s largest consumer fiber builder, we see this as an opportunity to continue to grow subscribers and revenues, while deepening customer relationships.”

The better-than-expected subscriber growth was a good shot in the arm for AT&T after the U.S. Federal Communications Commission said in a report on Monday that the nationwide outage in February blocked more than 92 million voice calls and prevented over 25,000 attempts to reach 911.