AT&T Stock Falls as Subscriber Growth Is Sluggish

• AT&T (T) shares fell more than 10% on April 20, 2023, after the firm published disappointing subscriber and revenue data.
• Since the sale of DirecTV in 2021, the firm has concentrated on increasing mobile phone customers.
• Shares of rivals Verizon (VZ) and T-Mobile (TMUS) fell as well.

AT&T (T) shares plunged 10.41% in a single day, the most since July 2002, after the telecom giant announced lackluster subscriber growth and revenue that fell short of expectations.

The business gained 424,000 postpaid phone agreements in its 2023 first quarter financial report, signifying the number of clients who pay their bills at the end of each month. While this exceeded expert expectations, it fell short of the 691,000 postpaid phone customers announced in the first quarter of last year.

Since selling DirectTV in 2021, the Dallas-based telecoms business has prioritized mobile phone customer development.

AT&T reported net income of $4.18 billion, or 57 cents per share, in the first quarter, compared to $4.76 billion, or 65 cents per share, the previous year. Revenues were $30.14 billion, up from $29.71 billion the previous year. The results fell short of analyst expectations, with AT&T expected to generate a net income of $4.3 billion on operational sales of $30.3 billion.

AT&T rivals Verizon (VZ) and T-Mobile (TMUS) also saw their shares fall. Both corporations are scheduled to report profits the following week.