AT&T (T) has reported weaker-than-expected fourth-quarter financial results and issued soft forward guidance, causing its stock to decline 4%.
The Texas-based telecommunications company announced earnings per share (EPS) of $0.54 U.S., which missed consensus forecasts of $0.56 U.S.
Revenue for the final quarter of 2023 came in at $32 billion U.S., which was slightly above Wall Street expectations of $31.46 billion U.S.
Revenue in AT&T’s wireless phone unit rose 3.9% year-over-year. However, sales in its wireline (landline phone) segment fell 10.3% from a year ago.
One bright spot for the company during Q4 was its number of new customers, which totaled 526,000 and beat analyst expectations of 487,500.
However, AT&T forecast EPS of $2.15 U.S. to $2.25 U.S. for the current first quarter of 2024, which was below Wall Street estimates of $2.46 U.S.
Before today (Jan. 24), AT&T’s stock had declined 10% over the last 12 months to trade at $17.19 U.S. per share. The stock is down 26% in the past five years.