Apple Thoughts - News & Reviews on all things Apple

"AT&T has released fourth quarter and 2008 results and it's not all roses for the telecommunications giant. Wireline telephone subscribers were down significantly, and AT&T has spent a bundle (US $453 million) upgrading the 3G network to serve the iPhone and their other smartphone offerings. The bright spot for AT&T is the iPhone itself, which contributed to very positive gains in subscribers and revenue."

One figure they cite that doesn't surprise me a bit is that those customers that drop AT&T aren't usually iPhone users, not surprising since it's the only game in town. If you love your iPhone, you are stuck (jail-broken iPhones aside of course).

"Citi analyst Richard Gardner repeated the firm's "buy" recommendation for Apple stock, but reduced his estimate through 2011 to "reflect a more conservative view of consumer spending."

The report cites some softening of iPhone shipments in the last quarter of 2008 as one reason, and they lowered the 12-month target price to $132 USD from $153 USD. He further stated that they see opportunity in weakness so they are keeping Apple at a "buy" recommendation. AAPL closed down approximately $0.95 USD today on the news, that is if I am reading the Google finance site correctly.