AT&T Earnings: Comes Out Ahead of Expectations

AT&T T announced its results for the most recent quarter on July 21, 2011. Let's take a closer look at the numbers and see what steps you can take.

Earnings and Revenue:
Wall Street watched as AT&T topped expectations with its latest EPS and revenue figures. The company reported EPS of 60 cents/share versus the 59 cents/share estimate and revenues of $31.5 billion versus the $31.33 billion estimate. EPS rose 11.8% while revenue climbed 2.2% from the same period last year.

Year over year revenue increases in the past five quarters have averaged 1.7%, third quarter of the last fiscal year saw the biggest increase, when revenue rose 2.4% from the year earlier quarter. AT&T's revenue has increased the past four quarters on a year-over-year basis.

Income:
For the year, AT&T reported net income of $2.33 per share. The company trumped analyst projections of $2.25 by 3.6%. According to the reported number, the company's income fell 10% from last year's levels.

Official Comment:
"We delivered another strong quarter capping a solid first half of the year," said Randall Stephenson, AT&T chairman and chief executive officer. "Mobile broadband growth continues to be robust, and we are seeing encouraging signs in wireline revenues. This adds to our confidence as we look ahead. Mobile broadband with IP infrastructure and cloud services are transforming our industry and are creating unprecedented opportunity. AT&T is strongly positioned to lead in this new era. Our planned acquisition of T-Mobile USA will accelerate development of next-generation capabilities, and it will lay the groundwork for continued high-tech innovation for years to come."

Industry:
The diversified communications systems company's industry is currently enjoying price/earnings growth of 1.2%. The company's EPS lags behind the industry average by 90.9%.

What to Do Next:
Now that you've gotten a round up of AT&T's latest numbers, you can make a better-informed decision about whether to buy, sell or hold those shares. Whatever you do, be sure to visit us before the company's next earnings release for a full preview.

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