AT&T reported a huge quarter Thursday morning, once again propelled by the success of Apple’s iPhone. The nation’s second largest wireless carrier activated a record 5.2 million iPhone units during Q3 2010 — a huge leap from its previous record of 3.2 million in a single quarter. 24% of those iPhone activations were new customers.
More highlights from the quarter include:
- Record 2.6 million net subscriber additions (30% increase year-over-year)
- 745,000 net postpaid subscriber additions
- 321,000 net prepaid subscriber additions
- 92.8 million total wireless subscribers
- Record-low churn of 1.32% (down 0.10% year-over-year)
- Consolidated revenue up 2.8% year-over-year to 31.6 billion
- Operating income was up $100 million year-over-year but operating expenses were up $700 million
The real takeaway from AT&T’s impressive Q3 is unfortunately a negative one, even in the short term: the iPhone makes up a massive amount of AT&T’s business. Should the carrier lose iPhone exclusivity next year, which looks increasingly likely, the results could be disastrous.
