By George Glover

AT&T beat Wall Street's first-quarter revenue targets on Wednesday, as more customers than expected switched to its cellphone plans amid worries about the health of the U.S. economy.

The wireless carrier reported adjusted earnings of 51 cents a share, as revenue rose 2% from a year ago to $30.6 billion. Analysts were expecting earnings of 51 cents a share on revenue of $30.4 billion, according to a FactSet poll.

Shares rose 0.6% to $27.12 in early trading. The benchmark S&P 500 was up 3.9%.

AT&T said it had added 324,000 postpaid net phone subscribers over the quarter, beating the 303,000 net adds analysts were forecasting. It could be that it's luring customers away from Verizon Communications, which reported more postpaid subscriber losses than analysts were expecting Tuesday, amid worries that President Donald Trump's tariffs could weigh on the economy and drive up inflation. AT&T is often associated with more budget-friendly plans compared with its rival.

AT&T also said it would be getting a head start on its share-repurchase program. It had previously planned to buy back up to $20 billion in stock, starting over the second half of 2025. Having hit a key debt-reduction target early, it's now planning to start the repurchase program sometime this quarter.

The telecommunications company stood by guidance it had issued in March, which forecasts full-year earnings of between $1.97 and $2.07 a share. It still expects to complete the sale of its 70% stake in the satellite television service DirecTV in mid-2025.

AT&T is the second of the big three U.S. wireless carriers to post its first-quarter results. Verizon beat analysts' profit and revenue targets but lost more postpaid phone customers than expected on Tuesday, leading to its shares ending the session a touch higher. T-Mobile US earnings are due late Thursday.

As of Tuesday's close, AT&T shares were up 18% this year. The S&P 500 is down 10.1% in 2025.

Write to George Glover at george.glover@dowjones.com

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April 23, 2025 10:13 ET (14:13 GMT)

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