AT&T subscriber additions, earnings per share beat expectations

AT&T Inc reported quarterly revenue rose by 3.6 percent, boosted by the popularity of a new handset pricing model that charges customers for devices separately from their wireless plans.

The No. 2 U.S. mobile provider earned $3.65 billion, or 70 cents a share, in the first quarter, compared with $3.70 billion, or 67 cents a share, in the year-ago quarter. Excluding items, earnings of 71 cents a share beat Wall Street expectations by 1 cent, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Revenue rose to $32.48 billion, compared with Wall Street expectations of $32.47 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

AT&T added 625,000 postpaid net wireless subscribers in the quarter, beating expectations of 173,000, according to Jefferies Equity Research.

(Reporting By Marina Lopes; Editing by Steve Orlofsky and Nick Zieminski)