AT&T quarterly sales fall short as carrier posts results early

NEW YORK — AT&T Inc, after announcing Saturday it is buying media giant Time Warner for $85.4 billion, posted third-quarter sales that missed analysts’ estimates as it contends with a maturing wireless market, putting the focus on its latest big acquisition to help drive growth. Sales rose 4.6 per cent to $40.8 billion, Dallas-based AT&T said in a statement Saturday night. Analysts projected $41.2 billion, the average of estimates compiled by Bloomberg. The company added 212,000 monthly wireless customers, edging out the average 210,000 prediction. AT&T had been scheduled to report results on Tuesday but instead released them less than an hour after announcing its acquisition of Time Warner. Profit excluding some items of 74 cents a share was in line with estimates. —