AT&T Inc beat analysts' estimates for fourth-quarter profit and revenue as solid growth in its streaming platform HBO Max more than made up for a dip in subscriber additions in its wireless business, Trend reports with reference to Reuters.
The company's shares rose about 2% in premarket trading as revenue at Warner Media, which houses premium TV channel HBO and streaming service HBO Max, rose 15.4% to $9.9 billion in the quarter.
HBO and HBO Max together added 4.4 million subscribers during the quarter, drawing viewers with releases such as "Dune", "The Matrix" and the newest season of TV show "Succession".
In its wireless business, however, AT&T added fewer-than-expected subscribers who pay a monthly bill.
The company signed up 884,000 net new phone subscribers who pay a monthly bill during the fourth quarter, falling short of FactSet estimates of 906,500 new subscribers.
Rival carrier Verizon on Tuesday reported a better-than-expected 558,000 subscriber additions in its latest quarter.
AT&T's total consolidated revenue came in at $41.0 billion in the quarter ended Dec. 31, beating analysts' estimates of $40.44 billion, according to Refinitiv Data.
Excluding items, AT&T earned 78 cents per share in the quarter, above analysts' average estimate of 75 cents per share.
Including WarnerMedia and Xandr, AT&T now expects 2022 revenue growth in the low-single-digits percentage range.
The company said it expects annual adjusted earnings to be between $3.10 and $3.15 per share in 2022, falling short of analysts' average estimate of $3.21.
AT&T is facing fierce competition from rivals Verizon and T-Mobile US amid nationwide deployment of their 5G technology. The company also forecast 2022 capital expenditure in the $20 billion range.