AT&T's Q2 earnings report misses expectations despite rise in revenue

AT&T announced that its earnings declined 7.2 percent, while its revenue was up 1.6 percent from a year ago. The announcement came as part of the company's second quarter earnings report, which it released yesterday, a day after Verizon posted strong profits in the second quarter.

The telecommunications giant posted a profit of $3.55 billion, or 68 cents a share, compared to $3.82 billion, or 71 cents a share, in the year-ago period. On an adjusted basis, the company earned 62 cents a share, missing analysts’ expectations by a penny. The revenue figure, which stood at $32.6 billion, also missed Wall Street’s consensus estimate of $33.22 billion.

The company said it added more than 1 million postpaid subscribers -- those who sign a long-term contract or pay toward the end of the month. This is the largest for the company in the last five years, bringing the total to nearly 117 million.

Out of these newly added postpaid subscribers, around 707,000 were smartphone customers, while 366,000 were tablet customers. Total wireless net additions were 634,000 amid the loss of 405,000 prepaid customers.

Speaking about the broadband and television side of the business, the company said it added 488,000 net new U-verse Internet customers and 190,000 net new U-Verse TV customers in the last quarter.

The company also announced that its proposed acquisition of DirecTV is steadily progressing. AT&T's CFO John Stephens said in a conference call that the deal had received approval from regulators in Brazil and several U.S. states.

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Twitter diversity report looks no different than other Silicon Valley tech giants

Diversity reports are the new hot topic in Silicon Valley as Twitter is next in line for everyone to comb over. Unsurprisingly, the microblogging platform on Wednesday joined a growing list of tech companies dominated by white males, just as we've seen from Facebook, Google, LinkedIn and Yahoo in recent months.

The report indicates that 70 percent of Twitter's overall workforce are male and 90 percent of its tech-oriented employees are also men. Non-tech roles - things like marketing, public relations, human resources, etc. - are gender split 50/50 while 79 percent of leadership roles are held by, you guessed it, men.

The ethnic breakdown, meanwhile, reveals Twitter employs mostly whites and Asians at 59 and 29 percent of the overall workforce, respectively. That same ratio is pretty much mirrored across both tech and non-tech jobs. Leadership roles are held primarily by whites at 72 percent followed by Asians at 24 percent. Other races make up just four percent of all leadership positions.

Janet Van Huysse, Twitter's vice president of diversity and inclusion, said they are keenly aware that Twitter is part of an industry that is marked by dramatic imbalances in diversity and they are no exception.

By becoming more transparent with employee data, open in dialog throughout the company and rigorous in recruiting, hiring and promotion practices, Van Huysse added, they are making diversity an important business issue for themselves.

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AT&T's Q2 earnings report misses expectations despite rise in revenue

AT&T announced that its earnings declined 7.2 percent, while its revenue was up 1.6 percent from a year ago. The announcement came as part of the company's second quarter earnings report, which it released yesterday, a day after Verizon posted strong profits in the second quarter.

The telecommunications giant posted a profit of $3.55 billion, or 68 cents a share, compared to $3.82 billion, or 71 cents a share, in the year-ago period. On an adjusted basis, the company earned 62 cents a share, missing analysts’ expectations by a penny. The revenue figure, which stood at $32.6 billion, also missed Wall Street’s consensus estimate of $33.22 billion.

The company said it added more than 1 million postpaid subscribers -- those who sign a long-term contract or pay toward the end of the month. This is the largest for the company in the last five years, bringing the total to nearly 117 million.

Out of these newly added postpaid subscribers, around 707,000 were smartphone customers, while 366,000 were tablet customers. Total wireless net additions were 634,000 amid the loss of 405,000 prepaid customers.

Speaking about the broadband and television side of the business, the company said it added 488,000 net new U-verse Internet customers and 190,000 net new U-Verse TV customers in the last quarter.

The company also announced that its proposed acquisition of DirecTV is steadily progressing. AT&T's CFO John Stephens said in a conference call that the deal had received approval from regulators in Brazil and several U.S. states.

Next Sony to settle PlayStation Network class action suit for $15 million in goods and servicesPrev Samsung to host annual developers conference at Moscone West this November

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Twitter diversity report looks no different than other Silicon Valley tech giants

Diversity reports are the new hot topic in Silicon Valley as Twitter is next in line for everyone to comb over. Unsurprisingly, the microblogging platform on Wednesday joined a growing list of tech companies dominated by white males, just as we've seen from Facebook, Google, LinkedIn and Yahoo in recent months.

The report indicates that 70 percent of Twitter's overall workforce are male and 90 percent of its tech-oriented employees are also men. Non-tech roles - things like marketing, public relations, human resources, etc. - are gender split 50/50 while 79 percent of leadership roles are held by, you guessed it, men.

The ethnic breakdown, meanwhile, reveals Twitter employs mostly whites and Asians at 59 and 29 percent of the overall workforce, respectively. That same ratio is pretty much mirrored across both tech and non-tech jobs. Leadership roles are held primarily by whites at 72 percent followed by Asians at 24 percent. Other races make up just four percent of all leadership positions.

Janet Van Huysse, Twitter's vice president of diversity and inclusion, said they are keenly aware that Twitter is part of an industry that is marked by dramatic imbalances in diversity and they are no exception.

By becoming more transparent with employee data, open in dialog throughout the company and rigorous in recruiting, hiring and promotion practices, Van Huysse added, they are making diversity an important business issue for themselves.

Next Valve updates the Steam Controller with an analog stickPrev The NES30 controller is a throwback that looks and feels like a true classic

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Report claims Apple has ordered 70-80 million next-gen iPhones

In the lead up to the launch of the new iPhone, Apple has reportedly placed its largest order yet for next-generation models: 70-80 million units by December 30th of this year. In contrast, Apple ordered 50-60 million units for the launch of the iPhone 5s and 5c.

There are several reasons as to why Apple has made such a large order of new iPhones. One is that they're expecting record demand for the upcoming phones, which are expected to be available as 4.7- and 5.5-inch models. The larger displays will close the hardware gap between the iPhone and other flagship smartphones, meaning demand will likely increase compared to previous launches.

The increase in orders could also be attributed to Apple's recent partnership with China Mobile, the largest wireless carrier in the world. The launch of the upcoming iPhone could be the first where Chinese buyers can order the smartphone at the same time as other nations, increasing global demand.

Either way, the launch of the next-generation iPhone is going to be a big one. Aside from larger displays, the new iPhones are widely expected to include tougher synthetic-sapphire glass, a better camera, and the usual selection of performance improvements.

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