AT&T Inc ( T ) shares have been volatile this week after the company reported fiscal second-quarter 2024 results with operating revenues of $29.8 billion.

The telecom slightly missed the $29.9 billion analyst estimate, and an adjusted EPS of $0.57, in line with expectations.

Despite the revenue miss, the stock has risen by 2% over the trailing five sessions, driven by several positive factors.

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The Dallas-based company added 997,000 wireless customers, significantly beating expectations with 419,000 postpaid phone net additions. This demonstrates growth in a key segment, suggesting effective customer acquisition strategies and competitive pricing, which appeal to budget-conscious consumers.

AT&T’s postpaid churn rate improved to 0.85% from 0.95% last year, indicating higher customer retention and satisfaction. Lower churn rates are positive as they reduce the cost of acquiring new customers and stabilize revenue streams.

Adjusted EBITDA also increased to $11.3 billion from $11.1 billion the previous year, reflecting better operational efficiency. Free cash flow also improved to $4.6 billion from $4.2 billion, potentially providing the company with more flexibility to return value to shareholders through buybacks and dividends.

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How To Buy T Stock

By now you're likely curious about how to participate in the market for AT&T ( T ) – be it to purchase shares, or even attempt to bet against the company.

Buying shares is typically done through a brokerage account. You can find a list of possible trading platforms here. Many will allow you to buy ‘fractional shares,' which allows you to own portions of stock without buying an entire share. For example, some stock, like Berkshire Hathaway, or Amazon.com, can cost thousands of dollars to own just one share. However, if you only want to invest a fraction of that, brokerages will allow you to do so.

In the the case of AT&T ( T ), which is trading at $19.09 as of publishing time, $100 would buy you 5.24 shares of stock.

If you're looking to bet against a company, the process is more complex. You'll need access to an options trading platform, or a broker who will allow you to ‘go short' a share of stock by lending you the shares to sell. The process of shorting a stock can be found at this resource. Otherwise, if your broker allows you to trade options, you can either buy a put option, or sell a call option at a strike price above where shares are currently trading – either way it allows you to profit off of the share price decline.

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