AT&T Comfortable With DirecTV Deal Conditions, CFO Says

AT&T isn't concerned about FCC conditions on its buy of DirecTV articulated by FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler Tuesday (see 1507220076), AT&T Chief Financial Officer John Stephens said Thursday during a call with analysts on Q2 earnings. “We feel very confident that we can make an adequate return on any investment we make as part of this deal,” he said. “Our threshold for investment and determining what’s best for our shareholders has not changed.” AT&T still expects to achieve $2.5 billion in cost synergies from the deal, he said. AT&T plans to webcast an analyst day shortly after the deal closes “to discuss our strategy in much more detail,” Stephens said. AT&T added 2.1 million net wireless subscribers in the quarter, including 410,000 postpaid and 331,000 prepaid subscribers and 1 million connected cars. Postpaid churn was 1.01 percent, a record low for the carrier. On the wireline side, U-verse consumer revenue of $4.1 billion was up 19 percent year over year. AT&T reported adjusted earnings per share of 69 cents in Q2, up from 62 cents a year ago. Consolidated revenue was $33.0 billion, up 1.4 percent versus the year-earlier period. “Our wireless strategy” of moving customers away from subsidized handsets “is working,” Stephens said. “This is a pivotal time for us,” CEO Randall Stephenson said in a news release. “We look forward to closing DIRECTV and building on this momentum by delivering a new TV everywhere experience integrated with mobile and high-speed Internet service.”