AT&T claimed leadership in US post-paid phone net additions, stating it bested its rivals during Q4 and brought in more subscribers in 2021 than in the previous ten years combined.

The operator reported net additions of 884,000 for Q4 compared with 844,000 reported by T-Mobile US in preliminary earnings and 558,000 for Verizon.

AT&T CEO John Stankey credited the user growth to a renewed focus on core businesses. In a statement, he forecast ongoing customer growth and added the operator will continue to cut costs.

On its earnings call, Stankey conceded there may be further changes for its DirecTV business, which was spun out in 2021, but added AT&T management would not be distracted by the unit due to it having its own leadership.

AT&T reported divestitures impacted earnings, with Q4 revenue of $41 billion down 10.4 per cent year-on-year. Net income of $5 billion overturned a $13.9 billion loss.

Full year net profit of $19.9 billion reversed a $5.4 billion loss in 2020, though revenue declined 1.6 per cent to $168.9 billion.