Telecom & Wireless
Do AT&T Stock Investors Have Something to Look Forward To?
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AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) released its fourth-quarter financial results before the markets opened on Wednesday. The telecom giant said that it had $0.89 in earnings per share (EPS) and $46.8 billion in revenue, while consensus estimates had called for $0.87 in EPS and revenue of $46.96 billion. In the same period of last year, AT&T said it had EPS of $0.86 and $47.99 billion in revenue.
During the most recent quarter, growth in domestic wireless services and strategic and managed business services revenues partially offset declines in revenues from domestic video, legacy wireline services and WarnerMedia.
Looking ahead to the 2020 full year, the company expects to see EPS in the range of $3.60 to $3.70 and revenue growth of 1% to 2%. Consensus estimates call for $3.60 in EPS and $182.09 billion in revenue for the coming year.
Instinet analyst Jeffrey Kvaal published a research note this morning on AT&T’s fourth-quarter earnings, reiterating a Buy rating and a $44 price target. The firm considers fourth-quarter results uninspired:
Mobility was generally in line, Entertainment was soft, and WarnerMedia suffered from HBO Max preparation. This summed to a slight revenue miss, though EPS of $0.89 did beat by $0.02. AT&T reiterated its FY20 and three-year guidance targets.
Randall Stephenson, AT&T’s board chair and CEO, commented in the earning release:
We delivered what we promised in 2019 and we begin this year with strong momentum in wireless, with HBO Max set to launch in May and our share retirement plan well underway. Our 2020 outlook positions us to deliver meaningful progress on our 3-year financial and capital allocation plans as we continue to invest in growth opportunities and create value for our owners, as we did last year.
Shares of AT&T traded down 1.5% early Wednesday, at $38.06 in a 52-week range of $28.92 to $39.70. The consensus analyst price target is $39.31.
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