AT&T saw a jump in profits Tuesday with increasing smartphone use

GlobalPost

AT&T shares dipped on Tuesday, while quarterly profits rose on smartphone use.

Reuters reported that shares in the phone company were up 17 percent this year but dropped three percent today with news of diminished business services.

The Wall Street Journal said that revenue from business customers fell 1.5 percent in the second quarter to $9.1 billion.

The company blamed the downturn on the weak US economy.

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"We are still optimistic about our wireline business and believe particularly our business revenues are going to be positive going forward. It just may take us a little bit longer," AT&T CFO John Stephens told investors Tuesday, reported Sci-Tech Today.

Despite the dip, the company's profit climbed nearly nine percent to about $4 billion in the quarter.

Most of the gains were due to AT&T's wireless division which is now worth over $6 billion annually.

"All in all, it was a very positive quarter which puts us in a great position heading into the second half of the year," said Stephens, reported the Wall Street Journal.

AT&T is the second largest wireless carrier in the United States.

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