Company's investment-led approach and connectivity momentum fuels Mobility service and broadband revenue growth   DALLAS, April 24, 2024 /CNW/ -- AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) reported first-quarter results that highlighted consistent 5G and fiber customer additions and showcased profitable growth driven by increased Mobility service and broadband revenues.        First-Quarter Consolidated Results Revenues of $30.0 billion Diluted EPS of $0.47; adjusted EPS* of $0.55 Operating income of $5.8 billion; adjusted operating income* of $6.0 billion Net income of $3.8 billion; adjusted EBITDA* of $11.0 billion Cash from operating activities of $7.5 billion, up $0.9 billion year over year Capital expenditures of $3.8 billion; capital investment* of $4.6 billion Free cash flow* of $3.1 billion, up $2.1 billion year over year First-Quarter Highlights 349,000 postpaid phone net adds with an expected industry-leading postpaid phone churn of 0.72% Mobility service revenues of $16.0 billion, up 3.3% year over year 252,000 AT&T Fiber net adds; 17th consecutive quarter of 200,000+ net adds Consumer broadband revenues of $2.7 billion, up 7.7% year over year 27.1 million consumer and business locations passed with fiber "Our results this quarter reflect continued strong growth in our Mobility and Consumer Wireline connectivity businesses, which represent about 80% of our total revenues," said John Stankey, AT&T CEO. "Customers are choosing AT&T and staying with us. We achieved a record-low first-quarter postpaid phone churn, grew consumer broadband subscribers for the third consecutive quarter, and expanded margins in Mobility and Consumer Wireline. We're also delivering on our commitment to grow and improve the quality and cadence of free cash flow, which increased by more than $2 billion year over year. This consistent, solid performance driven by our investment-led strategy gives us confidence to re-affirm our full-year consolidated financial guidance." 2024 OutlookFor the full year, AT&T reiterates guidance of: Wireless service revenue growth in the 3% range. Broadband revenue growth of 7%+. Adjusted EBITDA* growth in the 3% range. Capital investment* in the $21-$22 billion range. Free cash flow* in the $17-$18 billion range. Adjusted EPS* in the $2.15-$2.25 range. In 2025, the company expects to deliver Adjusted EPS* growth. Note: AT&T's first-quarter earnings conference call will be webcast at 8:30 a.m. ET on Wednesday, April 24, 2024. The webcast and related materials, including financial highlights, will be available at https://investors.att.com. Consolidated Financial Results Revenues for the first quarter totaled $30.0 billion versus $30.1 billion in the year-ago quarter, down 0.4%. This was due to declines in Mobility equipment revenues, driven mainly by lower sales volumes, and lower Business Wireline revenues. This was mostly offset by increased service revenues, driven by Mobility, Consumer Wireline, and Mexico. Revenue trends also include increases from favorable impacts of foreign exchange rates in Mexico. Operating expenses were $24.2 billion, essentially stable with $24.1 billion in the year-ago quarter. Operating expenses increased primarily due to higher depreciation related to our continued fiber and 5G investment, accelerated depreciation on wireless network equipment due to Open RAN transformation and associated restructuring charges. This was largely offset by lower Mobility equipment costs from lower sales volumes and benefits from continued transformation. Operating income was $5.8 billion versus $6.0 billion in the year-ago quarter. When adjusting for certain items, adjusted operating income* was $6.0 billion, essentially flat with the year-ago quarter. Equity in net income of affiliates was $0.3 billion, primarily from the DIRECTV investment. With adjustment for our proportionate share of intangible amortization, adjusted equity in net income from the DIRECTV investment* was $0.6 billion. Net income was $3.8 billion versus $4.5 billion in the year-ago quarter. Net income attributable to common stock was $3.4 billion versus $4.2 billion in the year-ago quarter. Earnings per diluted common share was $0.47 versus $0.57 in the year-ago quarter. Adjusting for $0.08, which includes restructuring and non-cash impairments, our proportionate share of intangible amortization from the DIRECTV equity method investment, and other items, adjusted earnings per diluted common share* was $0.55 compared to $0.60 in the year-ago quarter. Adjusted EBITDA was $11.0 billion versus $10.6 billion in the year-ago quarter. Cash from operating activities was $7.5 billion, up $0.9 billion year over year, due to operational growth and timing of working capital, including higher receivable sales, partially offset by higher mobile device payments. Capital expenditures were $3.8 billion in the quarter versus $4.3 billion in the year-ago quarter. Capital investment*, which includes $0.8 billion of cash payments for vendor financing, totaled $4.6 billion versus $6.4 billion in the year-ago quarter. Free cash flow* was $3.1 billion for the quarter versus $1.0 billion in the year-ago quarter. Total debt was $132.8 billion at the end of the first quarter, and net debt* was $128.7 billion. In the quarter, the company repaid $4.7 billion of long-term debt. The company continues to expect to achieve net debt-to-adjusted EBITDA* in the 2.5x range in the first half of 2025. Segment and Business Unit Results Communications Segment Dollars in millions First Quarter Percent Unaudited 2024 2023 Change Operating Revenues $                 28,857 $                 29,152 (1.0 %) Operating Income 6,745 6,743 --- % Operating Income Margin 23.4 % 23.1 % 30 BP Communications segment revenues were $28.9 billion, down 1.0% year over year, with operating income essentially flat year over year. Mobility Dollars in millions; Subscribers in thousands First Quarter Percent Unaudited 2024 2023 Change Operating Revenues $                 20,594 $                 20,582 0.1 %  Service 15,994 15,483 3.3 %  Equipment 4,600 5,099 (9.8 %) Operating Expenses 14,126 14,311 (1.3 %) Operating Income 6,468 6,271 3.1 % Operating Income Margin 31.4 % 30.5 % 90 BP EBITDA* $                   8,955 $                   8,369 7.0 % EBITDA Margin* 43.5 % 40.7 % 280 BP EBITDA Service Margin* 56.0 % 54.1 % 190 BP Total Wireless Net Adds (excl. Connected Devices)1 741 690 Postpaid 389 542 Postpaid phone 349 424 Postpaid other 40 118 Prepaid phone 1 40 Postpaid Churn 0.89 % 0.99 %  (10 BP) Postpaid Phone-Only Churn 0.72 % 0.81 %  (9 BP) Prepaid Churn 2.77 % 2.73 % 4 BP Postpaid Phone ARPU $55.57 $55.05 0.9 % Mobility grew service revenue 3.3% with record-low 1Q postpaid phone churn of 0.72% that contributed to postpaid phone net adds of 349,000 and year-over-year margin expansion. Mobility revenues were up 0.1% year over year, driven by service revenue growth of 3.3% from subscriber and postpaid ARPU growth, offset by lower equipment revenues due to lower sales volumes. Operating expenses were down 1.3% year over year due to lower equipment expenses resulting from lower device sales, partially offset by higher depreciation expense due to our Open RAN deployment and network transformation. Operating income was $6.5 billion, up 3.1% year over year. EBITDA* was $9.0 billion, up $586 million year over year, reflecting service revenue growth. This was the company's highest first-quarter Mobility EBITDA*.  Business Wireline Dollars in millions First Quarter Percent Unaudited 2024 2023 Change Operating Revenues $                   4,913 $                   5,331 (7.8 %) Operating Expenses 4,849 4,953 (2.1 %) Operating Income 64 378 (83.1 %) Operating Income Margin 1.3 % 7.1 %  (580 BP) EBITDA* $                   1,426 $                   1,708 (16.5 %) EBITDA Margin* 29.0 % 32.0 %  (300 BP) Business Wireline revenues and profitability declined year over year, driven by intensifying secular pressures on legacy voice and data services that were partially offset by growth in fiber and other advanced connectivity services. Business Wireline revenues were down 7.8% year over year, primarily due to lower demand for legacy voice and data services as well as product simplification, partially offset by growth in connectivity services, and non-recurring equipment revenues. Operating expenses were down 2.1% year over year, due to lower personnel costs, and lower marketing and customer support expenses, partially offset by higher equipment costs. Operating income was $64 million, down 83.1% year over year, and EBITDA* was $1.4 billion, down $282 million. Consumer Wireline Dollars in millions; Subscribers in thousands First Quarter Percent Unaudited 2024 2023 Change Operating Revenues $                   3,350 $                   3,239 3.4 % Broadband 2,722 2,527 7.7 % Operating Expenses 3,137 3,145 (0.3 %) Operating Income 213 94 --- % Operating Income Margin 6.4 % 2.9 % 350 BP EBITDA* $                   1,094 $                      955 14.6 % EBITDA Margin* 32.7 % 29.5 % 320 BP Broadband Net Adds (excluding DSL) 55 (23) Fiber 252 272 Non Fiber (197) (295) AT&T Internet Air 110 - Broadband ARPU $65.98 $61.31 7.6 % Fiber ARPU $68.61 $65.92 4.1 % Consumer Wireline achieved positive broadband net adds for the third consecutive quarter, driven by 252,000 AT&T Fiber net additions and the recent launch of AT&T Internet Air. Consumer Wireline revenues were up 3.4% year over year, driven by growth in broadband revenues attributable to fiber revenues, which grew 19.5%, partially offset by declines in legacy voice and data services and other services. Operating expenses were down 0.3% year over year, largely driven by lower customer support costs that were offset by increased network-related costs and depreciation. Operating income was $213 million versus $94 million in the prior-year quarter, and EBITDA* was $1.1 billion, up $139 million year over year. Latin America Segment – Mexico Dollars in millions; Subscribers in thousands First Quarter Percent Unaudited 2024 2023 Change Operating Revenues $                   1,063 $                      883 20.4 %  Service 690 591 16.8 %  Equipment 373 292 27.7 % Operating Expenses 1,060 913 16.1 % Operating Income/(Loss) 3 (30) --- % EBITDA* 180 145 24.1 % Total Wireless Net Adds 143 10 Postpaid 116 49 Prepaid 79 (58) Reseller (52) 19 Latin America segment revenues were up 20.4% year over year, primarily due to favorable impacts of foreign exchange rates, higher equipment sales and subscriber growth. Operating expenses were up 16.1% due to unfavorable impact of foreign exchange and higher equipment costs attributable to subscriber growth. Operating income was $3 million compared to ($30) million in the year-ago quarter. EBITDA* was $180 million, up $35 million year over year. * Further clarification and explanation of non-GAAP measures and reconciliations to their most comparable GAAP measures can be found in the "Non-GAAP Measures and Reconciliations to GAAP Measures" section of the release and at https://investors.att.com. 1 Effective with our first-quarter 2024 reporting, we have removed connected devices from our total Mobility subscribers, consistent with industry standards and our key performance metrics. Connected devices include data-centric devices such as session-based tablets, monitoring devices and primarily wholesale automobile systems. About AT&TWe help more than 100 million U.S. families, friends and neighbors, plus nearly 2.5 million businesses, connect to greater possibility. From the first phone call 140+ years ago to our 5G wireless and multi-gig internet offerings today, we @ATT innovate to improve lives. For more information about AT&T Inc. ((