Telecommunications giant AT&T (New York Stock Exchange:T) fell in premarket trading after the company's fourth-quarter results disappointed investors. The company reported fourth-quarter adjusted earnings of $0.54 per share (compared to $0.61 per share in the year-ago period), missing consensus estimates of $0.56 per share.
AT&T's fourth-quarter sales rose 2.2% from a year earlier to $32 billion, beating analysts' expectations of $31.5 billion. The company had net postpaid wireless additions of 526,000 in the fourth quarter and average revenue per postpaid phone-only user (ARPU) of $56.23, an increase of 1.4% year-over-year.
Looking ahead, the company expects adjusted earnings in the range of $2.15 to $2.25 per share for fiscal 2024, below analyst estimates of $2.46 per share. This forecast includes accelerated depreciation of equipment the company procured from Nokia (knock) is moving to a new technology called Open Radio Access Network (ORAN). AT&T expects free cash flow to be in the range of $17 billion to $18 billion in fiscal 2024.
Is AT&T stock a buy or hold?
Analysts remain cautiously optimistic about T stock, with the consensus rating at Medium Buy with 7 buys, 3 holds, and 1 sell. Over the past year, AT&T stock is down over 3%, and the average T price target of $19.90 means it has 15.8% upside potential at current levels.
