AT&T Beats Analyst Estimates on EPS

AT&T (NYSE: T ) reported earnings on April 24. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended March 31 (Q1), AT&T met expectations on revenue and beat expectations on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue grew slightly and GAAP earnings per share improved.

Margins grew across the board.

Revenue details
AT&T reported revenue of $31.82 billion. The 22 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ predicted revenue of $31.83 billion on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 1.8% higher than the prior-year quarter's $31.25 billion.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

EPS details
EPS came in at $0.60. The 28 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ anticipated $0.57 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.60 for Q1 were 5.3% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.57 per share.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

Margin details
For the quarter, gross margin was 59.4%, 230 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 19.2%, 60 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 11.3%, 40 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $31.94 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.62.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $128.64 billion. The average EPS estimate is $2.35.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a three-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 5,383 members out of 5,831 rating the stock outperform, and 448 members rating it underperform. Among 1,230 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 1,161 give AT&T a green thumbs-up, and 69 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on AT&T is outperform, with an average price target of $31.42.

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Seth Jayson had no position in any company mentioned here at the time of publication. You can view his stock holdings here. He is co-advisor of Motley Fool Hidden Gems, which provides new small-cap ideas every month, backed by a real-money portfolio. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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