Telecom & Wireless

Verizon Earnings Beat Estimates on Strong Mobile Growth

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) reported fourth-quarter and full-year 2013 results before markets opened Tuesday morning. The telecom giant posted adjusted diluted quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.66 on revenues of $31.1 billion. In the same period a year ago, Verizon reported EPS of $0.45 on revenues of $30.0 billion. The quarter’s results also compare to the consensus estimates for EPS of $0.65 and revenues of $31.0 billion.

For the full year, the company reported adjusted EPS of $4.00 on revenues of $120.55 billion. A year ago the company reported EPS of $2.31 on $115.85 billion in revenue. Consensus estimates called for EPS of $2.83 and $120.53 billion in revenue.

Verizon expects to close on the acquisition of the stake in Verizon Wireless owned by Vodafone on Feb. 21, which would be immediately accretive to earnings by about 10%.

The company’s CEO said:

Verizon delivered a total return of 18.6 percent to our shareholders in 2013, while attracting more customers than our competitors and improving our financial performance. This included more than 20 percent year-over-year increases in operating cash flow and EPS. In 2014, we look forward to acquiring sole ownership of Verizon Wireless, the best asset in the global wireless industry, and leveraging all our assets to deliver innovative products to customers and more value to shareholders.

Verizon Wireless generated $21.1 billion in fourth-quarter revenues, up 5.7% year-over-year. Postpaid average revenue per account (ARPA) rose 7.1% to $157.21. Wireless operating margin came in at 29.5%. The number of retail postpaid customers grew by 1.7 million in the quarter, bringing Verizon’s total number of retail connections to 102.8 million, up 4.7% compared with the final quarter of 2012.

In the wireline business, revenues increased 6.4% to $3.8 billion in the quarter, with most of the growth coming from the company’s FiOS service. Verizon added 126,000 new customers to its FiOS Internet service and 92,000 to its FiOS video service. FiOS Internet service is up 11.9% compared with the fourth quarter of 2012, and FiOS video service is 11.3% higher.

Verizon did not offer any revenue or earnings guidance, but the consensus estimates for the current quarter call for EPS of $0.86 on revenues of $30.80 billion. For the full year, estimated EPS totals $3.51 on revenues of $125.25 billion.

Shares were up about 0.9% at $48.79 in premarket trading Tuesday, in a 52-week range of $42.34 to $54.31. Prior to this report, Thomson/Reuters had a consensus price target of around $54.04 on the company’s shares.

Competitors AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T), Sprint Corp. (NYSE: S) and T-Mobile US Inc. (NYSE: TMUS) were also up in premarket trading.

Get Ready To Retire (Sponsored)

Start by taking a quick retirement quiz from SmartAsset that will match you with up to 3 financial advisors that serve your area and beyond in 5 minutes, or less.

Each advisor has been vetted by SmartAsset and is held to a fiduciary standard to act in your best interests.

Here’s how it works:
1. Answer SmartAsset advisor match quiz
2. Review your pre-screened matches at your leisure. Check out the advisors’ profiles.
3. Speak with advisors at no cost to you. Have an introductory call on the phone or introduction in person and choose whom to work with in the future

Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.

AI Portfolio

Discover Our Top AI Stocks

Our expert who first called NVIDIA in 2009 is predicting 2025 will see a historic AI breakthrough.

You can follow him investing $500,000 of his own money on our top AI stocks for free.