AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) is looking forward to its day in court so it can complete its merger with Time Warner (TWX) this year, the company’s president says.
CEO Randall Stephenson’s comments came as the company reported quarterly earnings and revenue that beat Wall Street expectations. AT&T stock was up more than 3 percent on Thursday.
Stephenson says tax reform will be a major positive for the company.
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“The impact of tax reform and regulatory rationalization will be substantial and positive for the U.S. economy and AT&T,” Stephenson says in a statement. “On the Time Warner front, we look forward to presenting our case in court and closing the deal.”
The Justice Department has challenged AT&T’s proposed $85 billion merger with Time Warner. In the AT&T earnings call, Stephenson reiterated AT&T’s position that the union is a vertical merger of non-competing companies. AT&T has its chance to defend the deal in court on March 19. President Donald Trump has publicly condemned the merger, saying that it could lead to higher prices for customers.
Looking ahead to 2018, AT&T guided for earnings of $3.50, well above consensus estimates of $3.05.
AT&T reported quarterly earnings per share of 78 cents on revenue of $41.68 billion. Both numbers topped consensus analyst estimates of 65 cents and $41.19 billion, respectively.
In addition, AT&T reported 2.7 net U.S. wireless subscriber additions, well above analyst expectations of 2.2 million additions. Postpaid churn rate of 0.89 percent was a record low for the fourth quarter and beat consensus expectations of 1.15 percent.
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In the earnings call, Stephenson said the recent net neutrality ruling was a positive for AT&T as well. The ruling allows AT&T more flexibility in controlling internet speeds and pricing, but the company has said it has no plans to change the way its internet services are delivered to customers.
AT&T’s 18 percent EPS growth in the fourth quarter is the first time it has improved earnings by more than 10 percent in six quarters. KeyBanc analyst Brandon Nispel says AT&T may have a difficult time maintaining that type of growth.
“We believe the path to return to mid-to-high single-digit EPS growth will be more difficult for AT&T than it will be for Verizon ( VZ) given exposure to traditional pay-TV cord-cutting trends and continued expected loss of postpaid phone subscribers,” Nispel says.
KeyBanc has a “sector weight” rating and $38 fair value for AT&T stock.
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AT&T Inc. (T) CEO to Trump: See You In Court originally appeared on usnews.com
