AT&T earnings hit the mark

AT&T Corp. reported first quarter operating earnings of US$1.73 billion, or 53 cents a share, on sales of US$15.8 billion. The earnings were down from a year ago, but in line with Wall Street estimates.

Earnings tracking firm First Call Corp. predicted a profit of 53 cents a share.

AT&T's operating earnings exclude gains, charges and other ownership interests. Including those items, AT&T reported net earnings of US$1.74 billion, or 54 cents a share. The results were down from earnings of US$1.72 billion, or 61 cents a share, a year ago. The company said the earnings were lower because of the acquisition of cable company TCI and a higher shares outstanding count. Full story. -- Larry Dignan, ZDNet Inter@ctive Investor