AT&T Shares Rise More Than 2% As Company Beats Earnings Expectations

Shares of AT&T rose late Tuesday after the telecommunications company reported earnings above Wall Street expectations and sales in line with forecast. AT&T said it earned $3.9 billion, or 63 cents a share, in the second quarter, compared with $3.4 billion, or 55 cents a share, in the year-ago quarter. Adjusted for one-time items, the company earned 79 cents a share, compared with 72 cents a share a year ago. Sales fell to $39.8 billion, from $40.5 billion in the year-ago quarter, "primarily due to declines in legacy wireline services and consumer mobility," the company said in a statement. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected adjusted per-share earnings of 73 cents a share on sales of $39.8 billion. The shares ended the regular session down less than 0.1%.