AT&T plunges 10% as Q1 free cash flow misses estimates despite mobile strength
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AT&T (NYSE:T) shares plunged more than 10% in mid-day trading on Thursday after the Dallas-based telecom giant reported mixed first-quarter results and weaker-than-expected free cash flow and said it was seeing a "small" drop in upgrade rates. 
For the period ending March 31, AT&T (T) earned an adjusted 60 cents per share on $30.14B in revenue, compared to estimates of 59 cents per share and $30.22B in revenue. Included in that was $20.6B from its mobility unit, as it added 424,00 postpaid phone subscribers during the period.
The mobility unit had its best-ever first-quarter profitability, as EBITDA rose 8% year-over-year, the company added.
AT&T's (T) churn rates during the quarter continued to remain low, at 0.81% for postpaid subscribers and 2.73% for prepaid.
The company also added 272,000 subscribers to its AT&T Fiber internet service, bringing its total to 7.5M subscribers.
Led by CEO John Stankey, AT&T (T) added that it generated roughly $1B in free cash flow during the period - well below estimates of roughly $3B - though it is on track to reach at least $6B in cost savings as it works to optimize its operations.
Despite the weaker-than-expected free cash flow during the period, AT&T (T) said it expects to generate at least $16B in free cash flow for the full-year and it is confident in its guidance. 
Competitors Verizon (VZ) and T-Mobile (TMUS) also fell in pre-market trading following the results.
AT&T (T) will hold a conference call at 8:30 a.m. to discuss the results.
Ahead of the results, SA contributor Daniel Jones suggested investors should pay attention to headline news items and AT&T's (T) growth initiatives.