All three big US mobile operators were hit by higher expenses from various sources during their second fiscal quarter, with the results depressing share prices in two cases, but there were significant differences in performance. AT&T was just ahead of Verizon to declare and has suffered most of the three from the inflationary pressure affecting the whole economy, conceding that expenses were $1bn higher than had been expected, even after already having factored in a substantial rise in costs. That included higher than expected costs of technology, advertising costs, and wholesale as contracts were reset, as well as an increase in customer debt. “We’re clearly operating in different times,” said AT&T CEO John Stankey. When various divestments had been excluded,…