AT&T Posts In-Line Third Quarter

AT&T (T Quote) posted third-quarter earnings Tuesday that were in line with Wall Street estimates, and the big phone company found a flaw in last year's books.

For the quarter ended Sept. 30, the New York telephone giant posted income from continuing operations of $458 million, or 58 cents a diluted share, down from the comparable year-ago totals of $525 million, or 67 cents a share. For the latest period, net income was $418 million, or 53 cents a share.

Revenue fell 8% from a year ago to $8.6 billion, as consumer long-distance revenue continued to tumble but was in part offset by gains in AT&T Consumer Services' bundled local and long-distance offering, as well as growth in several key markets of AT&T Business Services. All told, business services revenue fell 6% and consumer revenue 16% from a year ago. ...