AT&T’s third quarter earnings came in today and the results are pretty impressive. The carrier reported a 4% growth in total revenue and much of that can be pinpointed to the enormous iPhone sales occurring in the past few months.  

You can check out some of the highlights below. Looks like the poor economy isn’t effecting everyone just yet!

$0.55 reported earnings per diluted share versus $0.50 in the year-earlier quarter

$0.67 adjusted earnings per diluted share — which includes $0.10 of pressure generated by strong performance from the Apple iPhone 3G initiative and $0.02 from hurricane-related expenses — compared with $0.71 in the third quarter of 2007

2.4 million iPhone 3G devices activated in the quarter, approximately 40 percent of them to wireless customers who were new to AT&T; iPhone 3G delivering high-value subscribers with significantly higher ARPU and lower churn than postpaid subscriber average

2.0 million net gain in total wireless subscribers to reach 74.9 million in service

1.7 million net gain in retail postpaid wireless subscribers, up nearly 40 percent versus year-earlier third quarter; largest total for any quarter in AT&T’s history

50.5 percent growth in wireless data revenues from Internet access, messaging, e-mail and related services; total wireless revenues up 15.4 percent

Strong ramp in AT&T U-verse TV subscribers, with a net subscriber gain of 232,000 to reach 781,000 in service; solidly on track to exceed 1 million subscribers in service by the end of 2008

16.2 percent increase in wireline IP data revenues driven by expansion in AT&T U-verseSM services and growth in business products such as Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), managed Internet services and hosting

Major turnaround and return to growth in wholesale revenues, reflecting solid demand from wireless carriers, Internet service providers and other customers 

[via AT&T]