AT&T reports fourth quarter earnings, things looking less rosy
By Chris Ziegler 
posted Jan 28th 2009 2:02PM
posted Jan 28th 2009 2:02PM
Verizon managed to pull off an impressive 15 percent growth in revenue in the fourth quarter of the year thanks in large part to its wireless unit, but its closest rival -- AT&T -- didn't manage to come across the same good fortune. Contrasting to its strong Q3, reported earnings per share fell 10 cents in Q4 versus the year prior, making for a nearly 20 percent drop; on the upside, full-year EPS still rose from $1.97 to $2.16 on the strength of 2008's first three quarters. The last three months of the year saw some 1.9 million iPhone 3G activations, 40 percent of which were new to the carrier -- not bad -- and data revenues consider to shoot through the roof, rising another 51.2 percent. Might as well invest the revenue you do have into beefing up that data network now that you've got everyone hooked on it, eh, guys?
Pretty impressive nonetheless in this economic period we are in right now.
Also, 1.9M iPhones sold in just 3 months is a good sign.
1.9 million handsets? Not many compared to the Chinese market which is where the action is. US oversold
Chris, It may be a good time to compare apples to apples
AT&T - 2.1 million net wireless adds
51% Increase in wireless data revenue
Verizon Wireless - 1.4 million net wireless adds
44% increase in wireless data revenue
You still haven't compared Apples to Apples. Verizon reports Post Paid adds in their report, while the 2.1Mil you reported for At&t includes pre paid. If you read through the report, you will see that it states "Retail postpaid net adds topped 1.3 million"
Therefore, what you posted should read:
AT&T - 1.3 million net wireless adds
Verizon Wireless - 1.4 million net wireless adds
Going to compare Apples to Apples, get it right.