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AT&T Earnings Email
Q4 2018 AT&T Earnings

 

Earlier this morning, you heard from John on companywide results for Q2. I’d like to drill down another layer for AT&T Communications.

Everyone knows the pandemic and its economic fallout continue to pressure our business. As a result, both our revenue and EBITDA were down last quarter. Still, we had our share of success. High on the list is today’s announcement that our 5G network now reaches nationwide. Congratulations to the teams on getting us to this milestone despite unprecedented challenges.

I’d like to tell you things are about to get easier. But COVID-19, economic uncertainty and industry headwinds aren’t going away. The way forward is to play our game, keeping after our 5 priorities. Despite the challenges in Q2, we generated positive strategic momentum in each one.

  • Accelerate performance in growth areas and drive focus through portfolio rationalizationThe Mobility engine continued to rev. Even in this tough environment, Mobility EBITDA was up year over year. So was equipment revenue, thanks to strong gross adds as retail stores were able to reopen. FirstNet connections surpassed 1.5 million. And it was a solid quarter for prepaid voice, with net adds up 135,000 and record low churn.

    While we reported postpaid phone net losses of 151,000, it’s important to recognize our conservative approach to potential cancellations resulting from the pandemic. We counted roughly 340,000 of our postpaid phone subscribers as disconnects, even though they were still on our network. If you back those out, the team would have produced another positive quarter with about 190,000 postpaid phone net adds.

    Fiber is key to our future, from broadband to entertainment. So it’s good to see fiber gains of 225,000, up from Q1. As expected, premium video sub losses continued. But sales of our new lead video product, software-delivered AT&T TV, were better than expected.

    AT&T Business not only helped other companies navigate choppy waters, they also turned in a resilient performance in business wireline with $2.6 billion in EBITDA. And we won J.D. Power 2020 U.S. Business Wireline Satisfaction awards for both Large Enterprise and Small/Medium Business. In both segments, AT&T ranked highest in all 6 factors. This recognition demonstrates our focus on continuously improving service by listening – to our employees and our customers.

    Speaking of awards – and for the 6th quarter in a row – we clocked in as the Fastest Wireless Network in the Nation1 and the Fastest Wireless Network for iPhones for Q2 2020, according to Ookla® Speedtest® results2.

    Our product and transformation teams also continued the hard work of paring down our offerings so we can concentrate on the growth areas. This included phasing out new U-Verse sales in Q2.

  • Transform our operating model and improving the customer experience In June, we announced structural changes to sharpen our focus on the customer and begin the transformation to a leaner, more agile company. Headlines include dedicating a new organization to Customer Advocacy, moving field techs into Consumer and Business and driving end-to-end visibility and accountability to benefit our customers. We also stood up a new Technology organization charged with retiring old systems and developing next-gen platforms to streamline operations.

  • Transform our cultureOur culture developed during an era when we could afford long, polite deliberation focused more on our processes than customers’ needs. Today, though, winning is all about speed, transparency – and putting customers first. Next month, you’ll hear about new pillars to revitalize our culture along these lines.

When I look back on last quarter, I’m amazed by your perseverance and teamwork. I’m also extremely grateful for those out serving customers while putting safety first. And I applaud those working productively from home to support the business. Your sacrifices have kept our world connected and our plans for the future on course. Many, many thanks to you all.

 

Jeff McElfresh Signature
AT&T

 

 

 
1Fastest based on analysis by Ookla® of Speedtest Intelligence® data of average download speeds for Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4 2019, and median download speeds for Q1 and Q2 2020. Ookla trademarks used under license and reprinted with permission.

 

2Fastest based on analysis by Ookla® of Speedtest Intelligence® data median download speeds on Apple Manufactured phones for Q2 2020. Ookla trademarks used under license and reprinted with permission.
 

View more information on AT&T’s 2nd quarter results

 

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