The following press release came out after close of business on Friday, and is attributable to AT&T:
AT&T Inc.* (NYSE: T) announced today that the company’s third-quarter 2019 results will be released before 7 a.m. ET on Monday, October 28, 2019. At 8:30 a.m. ET on the same day, AT&T will host a conference call to discuss the results. The company’s earnings release, Investor Briefing and related materials will be available at AT&T Investor Relations.
This change from the previously announced date allows the company to present earnings closer to WarnerMedia Day, scheduled for Tuesday, October 29 at 6 p.m. ET. At WarnerMedia Day, the company will present its new direct-to-consumer streaming service HBO Max, which is expected to launch in spring of 2020.
A live webcast of the call will also be available at AT&T Investor Relations, and the webcast replay will be available shortly after the call concludes.
So, two things.
Obviously there is a lot of anticipation for this quarter’s earnings. One particularly grumbly investor continues to spread fear, uncertainty and doubt about AT&T’s purchase of DIRECTV. The same investor advocates offloading DIRECTV, perhaps to rival DISH. All I can say there is folks, read my article from 7 years ago. It’s more true than ever.
DIRECTV is typically strong in the 3rd quarter due to NFL Sunday Ticket and I personally expect a lot of good news in that conference call. I also think that AT&T will see a bump in earnings due to the successful launch of iPhone 11. I may have hated on it, not once but twice, but the rest of the world didn’t. And I had to eat my words a week later anyway and admit, I’m getting one. Expect more good news along the lines of improved FirstNet earnings, good retention on wired internet, and some debt reduction on the horizon.
The other thing…
…is that they very sneakily promoted the fact that just a day later they will be officially revealing HBO Max. I mean, sort of. They already revealed a lot about it a couple months back but I think we will see even more. We may see what the service looks like, know more about pricing, and understand how it fits in with the existing HBO NOW service. I’m holding out hope that we’ll also see a bundling opportunity for DIRECTV subscribers as well.
Everything’s coming up roses
That’s my prediction for AT&T anyway. I don’t know anything and I don’t even own AT&T stock that I know of (and I would disclose if I did.) But I am a big fan of the company and so naturally I’m optimistic.
