AT&T reported mixed results for Q3 and indicated better days to come following its acquisition of media giant Time Warner this year.
The telecommunications company’s Q3 adjusted earnings came in at 90 cents per share, which is below average analyst expectations of earnings of 94 cents per share. It projects its full-year adjusted EPS at the high end of the $3.50 range.
Total operating income grew +25.2% in Q3 from the year-ago period. The growth was “primarily due to the Time Warner acquisition,” as suggested by the company.
As for revenues, they were $45.7 billion for the quarter, beating average expectations of $45.63 million, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Mirroring a general decline in Americans’ preference for traditional pay-TV, AT&T experienced a 346,000 net loss in traditional video customers. The company gained 49,000 subscribers in Q3 for its online video streaming DirecTV Now – a platform that the company is (quite naturally) looking to focus more on. AT&T’s WarnerMedia division – which includes HBO, Warner Bros, Turner Broadcasting, TNT, TBS and CNN - is also planning to launch a new streaming TV service by next year.
AT&T sure looks to have its hopes high on video streaming – a space already seeing ‘drama’tic growth as well as competition amongst players including Netflix and Amazon Prime Video.