AT&T leans on bundled plans to beat estimates for subscriber additions

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(Reuters) -AT&T beat Wall Street estimates for wireless subscriber additions in the first quarter on Wednesday, driven by steady demand for its plans that bundled high-speed fiber services and 5G mobile offerings.

The U.S. wireless carrier’s focus on bundling to fend off intense competition in a saturating market and aggressive trade-in offers helped it gain 324,000 net monthly bill-paying wireless phone subscribers in the quarter.

That compared with FactSet estimates of 258,300 additions.

After flagging elevated rate of subscribers leaving the service in January, AT&T ramped its deals with promotions for the latest iPhones to include trade-ins of old models in any condition.

Total revenue rose 2% to $30.6 billion in the first quarter, compared with analysts’ estimate of $30.35 billion, according to LSEG data.

More than 40% of AT&T customers that use fiber also opted for its wireless plans, the company said.

The company has attracted subscribers with the January launch of the AT&T Guarantee, a policy of offering bill credits for any disruption on its network.

The results mark the first quarter that excludes the results of its 70% stake in DirecTV, which it is selling for $7.6 billion.

The company reaffirmed its free cash flow and adjusted profit guidance for the year and said that it plans to commence share repurchases in the second quarter.

Rival Verizon on Tuesday posted higher subscriber losses in the first quarter hurt by a fallout of recent price hikes and intense promotions in the market. T-Mobile is scheduled to report on Thursday after markets close.

(Reporting by Harshita Mary Varghese in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)