AT&T beats forecast on strong iPhone

AT&T Inc. Thursday posted a smaller-than-expected drop in quarterly profit as strong sales of Apple Inc's iPhone helped boost wireless subscriber growth. The news sent AT&T shares up 2.5% in premarket trading, even as some analysts worried that the company's dependence on the iPhone for much of its growth raised concerns about what would happen if it lost its exclusive rights to sell the phone in the US. AT&T added 1.4 million net subscribers in the second quarter including 1.2 million retail monthly bill-paying customers.