Wearable Electronics Drive Verizon Subscriber Sign-Upgrades
April 24 2018 - 9:25AM
Dow Jones News
By Austen Hufford
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) said growth in new types of
internet-connected devices, primarily wearable electronics, drove
subscriber sign-ups in its latest quarter, even as the number of
phone and tablet subscribers declined.
The company also continued to post strong revenue growth,
showing how it continues to defend its top line even as the
wireless market matures.
Verizon reported a net increase of 260,000 retail postpaid
connections in its first quarter, driven by an addition of 359,000
subscriptions related to miscellaneous connected devices. That
growth was partially offset by net phone losses of 24,000 and
tablet losses of 75,000. Last year Apple Inc. released the cellular
version of its latest watch.
Verizon reported about 116.2 million total wireless connections,
up from 113.9 million in the same quarter the previous year, but
down from 116.3 million in the fourth quarter.
The company also continued to see declines in Fios television
customer count. It lost 22,000 Fios video customers in the quarter,
more than the 13,000 customers it lost in the same quarter last
year.
Revenue from the wireless business, Verizon's largest, grew 4.9%
to $21.9 billion.
Verizon shares rose 3.3% in premarket trading Tuesday, as the
company beat Wall Street's expectations on revenue and adjusted
per-share profit.
Revenue at the wireline segment, which includes its Fios
service, fell 1.6% to $7.56 billion.
In all, Verizon posted a profit of $4.55 billion, or $1.11 a
share, compared with a profit of $3.45 billion, or 84 cents a
share, a year ago. Profit in the quarter was boosted by the new
U.S. tax law.
Excluding certain items, the company posted an adjusted earnings
per share of $1.17, above the $1.10 expected by analysts polled by
Thomson Reuters.
Total revenue grew 6.6% to $31.77 billion, above the $31.25
billion that analysts expected.
Write to Austen Hufford at austen.hufford@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 24, 2018 09:10 ET (13:10 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2018 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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