AT&T Tops Q4 Consensus Backed by Wireless, Fiber, HBO Max

AT&T Tops Q4 Consensus Backed by Wireless, Fiber, HBO Max
Stock photo of data charts on paper. (Lukas/Pexels)
Benzinga
1/26/2022
Updated:
1/26/2022
AT&T Inc. reported fourth-quarter operating revenues of $40.96 billion, down 10.4 percent year-over-year, beating the consensus of $40.43 billion. WarnerMedia revenue growth partially offset the Business Wireline revenue decline.

The results reflect continuing customer growth in wireless, fiber, and HBO Max.

Adjusted EPS of $0.78 beat the consensus of $0.76.

In the Mobility segment, AT&T clocked 884 thousand postpaid phone net adds, 1.3 million postpaid net adds, and 24 thousand prepaid phone net adds.

In Mobility, it saw a Postpaid phone churn of 1.02 percent, which increased from 0.94 percent last year. The Consumer Wireline segment had 271 thousand AT&T Fiber net adds.

In the WarnerMedia segment, total revenues jumped 15.4 percent Y/Y to $9.9 billion. Total global HBO Max and HBO subscribers grew by 13.1 million Y/Y to 73.8 million, and Domestic HBO Max and HBO subscribers increased 5.3 million Y/Y to 46.8 million, with a Domestic ARPU of $11.15.

AT&T’s adjusted EBITDA of $11.3 billion was down 12.3 percent Y/Y.

The company generated $11.3 billion in operating cash flow, up $1.2 billion Y/Y, and a free cash flow of $8.7 billion. The company spent $3.8 billion on Capex.

Operating Income

Operating income was $5.3 billion versus $(10.7) billion in the year-ago quarter.
Mobility segment operating income was up 5.2 percent Y/Y to $5.4 billion with a margin of 25.3 percent. Business Wireline segment operating margin was 15.2 percent.

Outlook

AT&T sees FY22 revenue growth in the low-single digits range. AT&T sees an adjusted EPS of $3.10 – $3.15, below the consensus of $3.21. It sees FCF in the $23 billion range.
By Anusuya Lahiri
© 2021 The Epoch Times. The Epoch Times does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.