By George Glover

AT&T posted better-than-expected earnings on Monday, as the number of customers that signed up for its plans over the final quarter of 2024 topped Wall Street estimates.

The stock rose 1.4% ahead of the open Monday, defying a broader market slump following the success of Chinese startup DeepSeek's new artificial intelligence model.

The telecommunications company reported an adjusted profit of 54 cents a share, flat from a year ago, on sales of $32.3 billion. Analysts had been expecting a profit of 50 cents a share on sales of $32 billion, according to FactSet data.

AT&T touted "solid momentum in gaining profitable 5G and fiber subscribers" in an earnings release. The company added 482,000 net post paid phone customers and 307,000 net fiber customers over the fourth quarter, with both figures coming in above what analysts surveyed by FactSet were expecting.

Mobile service revenue climbed 3.3% from a year ago to $16.6 billion, and consumer broadband revenue was up 7.8% from a year ago to $2.9 billion.

AT&T's full-year adjusted earnings of $2.26 a share topped the guidance of between $2.20 and $2.25 a share it had issued at an investor and analyst day in December.

It stood by its profit guidance of between $1.97 and $2.07 a share for the current year. Those figures exclude earnings from DirecTV, with AT&T expected to complete the sale of its 70% stake in the digital satellite service to private-equity investor TPG in mid-2025.

The results come after Verizon Communications posted a better-than-expected quarterly report on Friday. Fellow telecommunications company T-Mobile US is set to file its earnings before Wednesday's opening bell.

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January 27, 2025 06:44 ET (11:44 GMT)

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