AT&T added a record number of subscribers in the quarter

Last week, telecommunications service provider AT&T Inc. (T) reported first-quarter results. The company noted a record number of new subscribers and reported a growing number of 5G customers. In the first quarter, AT&T’s revenue (excluding WarnerMedia and other businesses being sold) increased by 2.5% to $29.7 billion. Adjusted operating profit remained unchanged at $5.8 billion.

Recall that AT&T recently merged its WarnerMedia business with Discovery, because of which a separate Warner Bros. company formed. Discovery. Thus, AT&T has now become an organization with a clearer structure and will focus more on wireless and broadband operations. Summing up the quarter, AT&T management noted that it was the “best first quarter” in terms of the number of new subscribers using pay-as-you-go: over the past three months, over 690,000 such customers have connected to the network.

Customers who pay for services, in fact, are the most profitable for the company, therefore optimism about the sharp growth of the subscriber base is understandable. However, in addition, AT&T attracted another 113,000 prepaid phone subscribers in the past quarter. The company copes well with customer retention, because the outflow of postpaid users is a small 0.79%. AT&T also increased its broadband access business during the quarter: this segment added 289,000 subscribers, while the average revenue per user increased by 5.9%.

Management called its fiber-optic broadband business “consistently high” in the past quarter. AT&T also calls its current phase the entry into a new era and notes that it has splendid opportunities for growth, thanks to the growing customer base of 5G and fiber.