AT&T has reported modest revenue growth in the first quarter of 2025, with total revenues rising by 2 percent to $30.6 billion. This increase was primarily driven by strong performance in its Mobility and Consumer Wireline segments.
Mobility service revenues rose by 4.1 percent to $16.7 billion, supported by 324,000 postpaid phone net additions and a low postpaid phone churn rate of 0.83 percent. These results reflect healthy demand and sustained customer retention in the wireless segment.
AT&T Fiber also demonstrated continued momentum, adding 261,000 new subscribers and marking its 21st consecutive quarter with over 200,000 net adds. This translated to a 19 percent year-over-year increase in consumer fiber broadband revenues, reaching $2.1 billion.
The Communications segment, which represents the core of AT&T’s operations, saw revenues rise 2.4 percent to $29.6 billion. Within this segment, Mobility posted a 4.7 percent increase to $21.57 billion, fueled by a 4.1 percent rise in service revenues from higher ARPU and subscriber growth, along with a 6.9 percent boost in equipment revenue from greater wireless device sales.
Business Wireline revenues fell 9.1 percent to $4.468 billion, primarily due to a 17.4 percent drop in legacy services, partially mitigated by a 4.5 percent increase in fiber and advanced connectivity services. Consumer Wireline revenues grew 5.1 percent to $3.522 billion, driven mainly by fiber expansion, though partially offset by ongoing declines in legacy voice and data services.
Latin America segment reported 8.7 percent decline in revenues to $971 million, impacted by foreign exchange movements, which were only partly balanced by gains in equipment sales, subscribers, and ARPU.
“We are growing the right way as customers continue to choose AT&T Fiber and 5G wireless for connectivity they can rely on, guaranteed or we’ll make it right,” John Stankey, AT&T Chairman and CEO, said in the earnings report.
On the cost side, operating expenses increased to $24.9 billion from $24.2 billion a year earlier. This rise was largely attributed to higher equipment costs tied to stronger wireless sales and elevated restructuring expenses.
Additionally, depreciation costs rose due to AT&T’s ongoing investments in fiber and network upgrades. However, these increases were countered somewhat by savings from transformation initiatives and reductions in network-related costs, including lower vendor rates and improved settlements.
Despite higher expenses, operating income held steady at $5.8 billion, while net income rose to $4.7 billion from $3.8 billion in the previous year, indicating improved bottom-line efficiency.
AT&T’s capital expenditures (Capex) for the first-quarter totaled $4.3 billion, up from $3.8 billion a year ago, highlighting the company’s continued investment in network enhancements. However, total capital investment, including vendor financing, declined slightly to $4.5 billion from $4.6 billion. Vendor financing payments were significantly lower at $0.2 billion compared to $0.8 billion in the prior year, suggesting a shift toward more direct capital spending.
TelecomLead.com News Desk