{"id":27538,"date":"2017-04-26T05:43:47","date_gmt":"2017-04-26T05:43:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/?p=27538"},"modified":"2017-04-26T05:43:47","modified_gmt":"2017-04-26T05:43:47","slug":"att-revenue-misses-estimates-as-customers-keep-phones-longer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/business\/att-revenue-misses-estimates-as-customers-keep-phones-longer.html","title":{"rendered":"AT&T revenue misses estimates as customers keep phones longer"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tAT&T revenue misses estimates as customers keep phones longer<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong>
\n<\/h2>\n

\n\tAT&T Inc's (T.N) quarterly revenue missed estimates due to lower equipment sales as customers held onto phones longer and rival wireless carriers offered new promotions on unlimited data plans, the No. 2 U.S. wireless carrier said on Tuesday.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tIt said it lost 191,000 postpaid subscribers, who pay bills monthly, in the United States on a net basis in the first quarter ended March 31.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tAT&T and industry leader Verizon Communications Inc (VZ.N) are battling Sprint Corp (S.N) and T-Mobile US Inc (TMUS.O) for market share in a mature U.S. wireless market where most U.S. consumers already have cellphones. Verizon on Thursday reported its first-ever quarterly loss of subscribers.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tUnlimited data plans are among the latest industry incentives. In February, Verizon joined other carriers in offering an unlimited data plan for the first time in over five years.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tT-Mobile US Inc (TMUS.O) and Sprint Corp (S.N) also offered new unlimited promotions, and AT&T cut the price on its own plan.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\t"Obviously, this has made an already competitive market even more so, and our response to the unlimited data plans was probably a little slow," Chief Executive Randall Stephenson said on the company's post-earnings conference call. He said the Dallas-based company had lost market share in the quarter.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tAT&T and Verizon have also been buying up assets that they need for a next-generation, or 5G network, with faster downloads and applications that would enable self-driving cars.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tVerizon has made an offer for Straight Path Communications Inc (STRP.A), a source told Reuters, topping an earlier bid from AT&T in a move that started a bidding war for a company holding spectrum used in 5G technology.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tOn the call, AT&T reiterated that it had five business days to match or exceed the bid and that it would make a decision in that timeframe.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tAT&T is trying to diversify by buying Time Warner Inc (TWX.N) in a $85.4 billion deal that would give it control of cable channels like HBO and CNN as well as film studio Warner Bros. AT&T has said the deal would close by the end of the year.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tAT&T also acquired DirecTV for $48.5 billion in 2015, making it the largest U.S. pay-TV operator. In November, it introduced a streaming service called DirecTV Now for consumers looking for a cheaper alternative to bigger cable bundles. For the quarter, AT&T said that new DirecTV Now customers helped offset declines in linear television subscribers, which fell by 233,000.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tAT&T's total operating revenue fell nearly 3 percent to $39.37 billion, mainly due to record-low sales of wireless handset sales.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tNet income attributable to AT&T was $3.47 billion, or 56 cents a share, down from $3.80 billion, or 61 cents a share, in the year-ago period.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tExcluding items, earnings per share matched analysts' consensus estimate of 74 cents according to Thomson Reuters I\/B\/E\/S. Revenue was expected at $40.53 billion.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tAT&T also said it would no longer give a full-year revenue forecast due to the unpredictability of wireless handset sales.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tsource:-http:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/us-at-t-results-idUSKBN17R2Q6<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t <\/div><\/div>\n\t\t