AT&T (NYSE:T) announced on Wednesday that it earned $3.64 billion during the third quarter, up from $3.62 billion in the same period last year. EPS came in at 63 cents, topping the 60 cents that analysts had predicted, Reuters noted.

The telecommunications giant reported quarterly earnings of $31.46 billion, down slightly from $31.48 billion last year, and missing the $31.59 billion that Wall Street had forecast.

AT&T added just 151,000 new subscribers during the quarter, far below the 358,000 new subscribers that analysts had anticipated.

Shares of AT&T slipped fractionally in Wednesday morning trading.

Company officials attributed the slower-than-expected subscriber growth to a shortage of Apple‘s (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone 5, which debuted last month. AT&T activated 4.7 million iPhones during the quarter, but most of the iPhone 5’s went to existing customers. Reports say that Apple’s Asian manufacturing partners have encountered difficulties mass producing the new phone, which is thinner and lighter than its predecessors, resulting in shipping delays and low inventories.

Company officials increased their forecast for free cash flow from $16 billion to $18 billion for the year.

Verizon Wireless, the joint venture between Verizon (NYSE:VZ) and Vodaphone (NYSE:VOD) announced last week that it added 1.8 million new subscribers during the third quarter.

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