AT&T Shares Rose 6% as Q3 Earnings Top Estimates, Adds 964K Total Subscribers

AT&T shares rose 6% as Q3 earnings top estimates, adds 964K total subscribers.For the period ending September30, AT&T (T) said it earned an adjusted $0.68 per share on $30B in revenue, topping estimates of $0.61 per share and $29.86B in sales. The company added 708,000 total postpaid phone subscribers during the period, bringing its total to 2.2M through Q3. Wireless service revenue grew 5.6% year-over-year, the highest in over a decade.

The company also added 338,000 Fiber subscribers, what the company said was its second-best quarter for subscriber growth in its history.

Breaking it down further, AT&T (T) said mobility revenue for the period was up 6% year-over-year to $20.3B, including equipment revenue of $4.9B, thanks to "increased sales and mix of higher-priced smartphones."

Wireline revenues fell 4.5% year-over-year to $5.7B, as demand for legacy voice and data services continued to fall and the company simplified its product portfolio. Also included in the results was $100M in revenue from intellectual property sales.

For the full-year, AT&T (T) now expects adjusted earnings to be $2.50 or more, up from a previous guidance of $2.42-$2.46 per share, but below the $2.55 per share consensus.

The John Stankey-led AT&T (T) also said it was on track to achieve more than $4B of its $6B cost-savings run-rate target by the end of the year and said cash flow from operating activities was $10.1B, leading it to be confident in its ability to generate free cash flow of $14B for the full-year.

On Wednesday, it was reported that AT&T (T) was in early talks to establish a joint venture with an infrastructure partner that would invest billions in expanding its fiber-optic network,with the venture valued between $10B and $15B.