AT&T Q3 results show growth in fibre and HBO Max

Telecom AT&T has released its results for Q3 of this year, which show continuing customer growth in wireless fibre and HBO Max

Telecommunications company AT&T has announced the results from the third quarter of 2021, which show continuing customer growth in the use of wireless fibre and HBO Max.

John Starkey, CEO of AT&T, said: “We continue to execute well in growing customer relationships, and we’re on track to meet our guidance for the year,” said John Stankey, AT&T CEO. We had our best postpaid phone net add quarter in more than 10 years, our fibre broadband net adds increased sequentially, and HBO Max global subscribers neared 70mn. We also a have clear line of sight on reaching the halfway mark by the end of the year of our US$6bn cost-savings goal.”

AT&T’s Q3 highlights 

 

The report is divided into categories including communications and consumer wireline. Below is a breakdown of these categories which highlights the areas that AT&T’s report covered. 

Communications 

Mobility:

  • 928,000 postpaid phone net adds
  • 1,218,000 postpaid net adds
  • 249,000 prepaid phone net adds
  • Postpaid phone churn of 0.72%
  • Revenues up 7.0%; service revenues up 4.6%; equipment revenues up 15.0%
  • Operating income of $6.0 billion, up 4.6% year over year; EBITDA3 up 3.6%
  • Operating income margin of 31.1%; EBITDA service margin4 55.0%

Consumer Wireline:

  • 289,000 AT&T Fiber net adds; penetration about 37%
  • Revenues up 3.4%; broadband revenues up 7.6% with ARPU growth of 5.2%

WarnerMedia

  • Total global HBO Max and HBO subscribers5 of 69.4mn, up 12.5mn year over year; domestic subscribers6 of 45.2mn, up 7.1mn in the past year
  • Domestic HBO Max and HBO subscriber ARPU7 of US$11.82
  • Total revenues up 14.2% to $8.4bn
  • Direct-to-Consumer subscription revenues up about 25%

 

According to the report, mobility revenues were up 7.0% year over year to US$19.1bn due to higher service and equipment revenues. Service revenues were US$14.5bn, up 4.6% year over year due to subscriber gains and the lapping of pandemic impacts on international roaming revenues. Equipment revenues were US$4.6 bn, up 15.0% year over year, driven by higher smartphone sales including the quarterly shift in product launch timing versus the prior year.

Operating expenses were $13.2bn, up 8.0% year over year due to higher equipment costs, including 3G network shutdown costs of nearly $200mn, higher costs due to the iPhone launch returning to the third quarter and HBO Max bundling, partially offset by lower costs for sales and support. Operating income was US$6.0bn, up 4.6% year over year. The operating income margin was 31.1%, compared to 31.8% in the year-ago quarter.

In terms of Consumer Wireline, Revenues were US$3.1bn, up 3.4% year over year due to gains in broadband more than offsetting declines in legacy voice and data services and other services. Broadband revenues increased 7.6%, which reflects fiber subscriber growth and higher ARPU resulting from increases in fibre customers and pricing. Operating expenses were US$3.0bn, up 3.8% year over year largely driven by higher technology and depreciation, partially offset by lower amortisation of deferred customer acquisition costs, AT&T said. 

Operating income was US$183mn, down 3.2% year over year, with operating income margin of 5.8%, compared to 6.2% in the year-ago quarter. EBITDA was US$1.0bn, up 3.8% year over year with EBITDA margin of 30.5%, compared to 30.4% in the year-ago quarter.

Total broadband and DSL subscriber net adds were 6,000, reflecting growth in fiber subscribers offsetting losses in slower-speed services. AT&T Fiber net adds were 289,000. AT&T Fiber is marketed to more than 15mn customer locations.

AT&T’s full report can be found here. 

 

Share

Featured Articles

AI & SD-WAN Exchange set to be key 2024 trends, expert says

Dr Thomas King, CTO of DE-CIX, one of the largest internet exchange operators, shares his technology predictions for 2024, including the future of AI

Apple to make iPhone and Android messaging easier with RCS

The tech giant says that iPhones will support the RCS messaging standard in 2024 for a smoother texting experience, having previously resisted the change

Verizon: Insight into the world’s largest telco

Coming in joint 21st on the 2023 Forbes Global 2000, which ranks the world’s largest companies, we take a deep dive into Verizon Communications

Cloud & 5G LIVE: Exploring the future of cloud computing

5G & IOT

Nokia Technology Strategy 2030: Networks must use AI

Connectivity

AI to revolutionise telcos, says Cloudera's Anthony Behan

Telecommunications