DirecTV's Stock Gains After Better-than-expected Profit, ARPU Results

DirecTV's stock gained 1% in premarket trade Thursday, after the satellite TV service beat fourth-quarter profit expectations amid strong growth in average monthly revenue per subscriber (ARPU). For the quarter ended Dec. 31, earnings came in at $778 million, or $1.53 a share, compared with $810 million, or $1.53 a share, in the year-earlier period, above the FactSet consensus analyst estimate of $1.39 a share. Revenue rose 4% to $8.922 billion, with ARPU climbing to $117.30 from $111.74, compared with analyst projections of $8.915 billion and $116.95, respectively. The stock has edged up 0.1% over the past three months through Wednesday, while the S&P 500 has gained 2.5%.