AT&T today said its consolidated revenues fell nearly 9 percent to $41 billion in the second quarter as the Covid-19 pandemic impacted revenues across all business segments.
AT&T said its capital expenditures were $4.5 billion during the second quarter of 2020, despite 5G network expansion.
AT&T lost 151,000 post-paid mobile phone subscribers in the quarter. AT&T suffered a $2 billion revenue decline from delayed movie releases and advertising shortfalls in the second quarter as the Covid-19 pandemic ravaged its business.
The media and telecommunications company, which launched streaming service HBO Max in May, reported 36 million subscribers for both HBO Max/HBO. AT&T had about 33 million HBO customers in the first quarter.
Declines at WarnerMedia included lower content and advertising revenues due to Covid-19. Revenues also declined in domestic video and legacy wireline services, and Latin America was impacted by foreign exchange pressure.
“Our solid execution and focus in a challenging environment delivered significant progress in the quarter, most notably the successful launch of HBO Max, resilient free cash flow and a strengthened balance sheet,” said John Stankey, AT&T chief executive officer.
AT&T’s operating expenses were $37.4 billion versus $37.5 billion in the year-ago quarter, essentially flat.
Verizon Communications, the main rival of AT&T, will report second quarter 2020 earnings on Friday, July 24.
AT&T reported operating income of $3.5 billion versus $7.5 billion in the year-ago quarter, due to the Vrio goodwill impairment, severance charges, Covid-19 costs and the net impact of lower revenues and operating expenses. AT&T said operating income margin was 8.6 percent versus 16.7 percent in the year-ago quarter.
