Last week, my colleague Brian White wondered if AT&T will maintain its exclusive contract for Apple's iPhone. Brian's especially relevant question came exactly one week before AT&T (NYSE: T) is set to step into the earnings spotlight -- this Wednesday.
MarketWatch contends that this exclusivity is the reason AT&T will post "solid first-quarter results." It is MarketWatch's belief that the exclusivity may actually hurt AT&T because of how heavily subsidized upfront sales are for consumers.
The heavy subsidies may be worth the potential cut in earnings for AT&T, as the wave of neo-tech hipsters desiring the latest in phone technology has boosted AT&T's subscriber growth and wireless revenue.
My question is this, will solid earnings -- or earnings that simply match expectations -- be enough to push AT&T higher? The stock faces substantial resistance in the form of its 10-month moving average, and its 20-week moving average is also in a resistive position. These results will need to be stellar to help AT&T magically obliterate all of this overhead resistance. On the other hand, matching expectations could help the stock break out of its current consolidation along the $26 level.
This earnings report is one to watch, as there are many variables playing in from the outside -- and this may be a case where the almighty iPhone hurts more than it helps.
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