Investing.com - Shares of AT&T (NYSE:T) edged lower in premarket trade on Wednesday, after the telecommunications and media giant posted lower-than-expected fourth-quarter revenue.
Revenue totaled $47.99 billion, below forecasts of $48.5 billion.
AT&T reported earnings per share of 86 cents, in line with estimates, and also reaffirmed its previous outlook for 2019, which includes expectations of free cash flow in the $26 billion range, up from $22.4 billion in 2018.
The company won a net 3.8 million new customers at its core North American wireless business in the quarter, with 2.8 million in the U.S. and 1.0 million in Mexico.
“Our top priority for 2018 and 2019 is reducing our debt and I couldn’t be more pleased with how we closed the year,” said Randall Stephenson, AT&T chairman and CEO.
“This momentum will carry us into 2019 allowing us to continue reducing our debt while investing in the business and continuing our strong record for paying dividends,” he added.
AT&T had borrowed heavily to pay for the acquisition of Time Warner that it announced in 2017. Its debt load when the merger completed was $180 billion, or three times earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA). The company said it expects that to fall to $150 billon, or 2.5 times EBITDA, by the end of this year.
AT&T's stock shed 0.8% in premarket trade to $30.45.
AT&T follows other major Services sector earnings this month
On Tuesday, Verizon reported fourth-quarter EPS of $1.12 on revenue of $34.28B, compared to forecasts of EPS of $1.09 on revenue of $34.45B.
Comcast earnings beat analysts' expectations on January 23, with fourth-quarter EPS of $0.64 on revenue of $27.85B. Investing.com analysts expected EPS of $0.62 on revenue of $27.57B
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