(Reuters) -AT&T Inc on Thursday posted a 2.5% rise in core wireless revenue for the first quarter, as the telecom giant benefited from the expansion of its fiber internet and 5G services.
The Dallas, Texas-based firm – whose WarnerMedia unit completed its merger with Discovery Inc earlier this month to form the new media firm Warner Bros. Discovery – added 691,000 monthly phone subscribers during the quarter.
AT&T is refocusing on its original business of providing internet and phone services after unwinding a years-long effort to become a media and entertainment company.
Shares of AT&T rose 1.5% to $19.73 in premarket trading.
The company’s revenue for the core wireless business rose to $29.7 billion in the first quarter from $29 billion a year earlier.
Total revenue, however, was down more than 13%, reflecting the impact of its divested satellite TV business and weakness in its business wireline unit.
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Total global subscribers for premium TV channel HBO and streaming service HBO Max, which are part of WarnerMedia, rose by 3 million from the previous quarter.
Net income attributable to common stock fell to $4.8 billion, or 65 cents per share, from $7.5 billion, or $1.02 per share a year earlier.
(Reporting by Sonia Cheema and Eva Mathews in Bengaluru and Sheila Dang in Dallas; Editing by Anil D’Silva and Bernadette Baum)