What to Expect When Verizon Reports

By Chris Lange Updated Jan 11, 8:35PM EST · Published Jul 23, 12:05PM EDT

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What to Expect When Verizon Reports — © jetcityimage / iStock

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) is scheduled to release its second-quarter financial results before the markets open on Tuesday. The consensus estimates call for $1.14 per share in earnings and $31.75 billion in revenue. The same period of last year reportedly had $0.96 per share and $30.55 billion, respectively.

Recently, at Credit Suisse started Verizon shares with an Outperform rating and a $58 price target. The call noted that its wireless focus is starting to pay dividends for the company, and it implied upside of 13%, before taking Verizon’s 4.6% dividend yield into consideration.

Credit Suisse said of Verizon:

We believe wireless competition has stabilized and wireless revenue is returning to sustainable growth near-term, while Verizon has invested enough in pre-positioning for 5G that this important technology shift in the next few years should, at a minimum, not be a share loss event for Verizon. Furthermore, after two years of deterioration, Verizon’s already industry-leading returns should start to improve again via its major $10 billion cost savings plan, stable capex spending (5G is less expensive than feared and fixed wireless success-based post-trials), record low churn, the benefit of tax reform and abstinence from dilutive M&A. Interestingly, Verizon having remained focused on its core wireless business now meaningfully differentiates it from AT&T as an investment vehicle, and the shift to new, tech-focused CEO Mr. Vestberg suggests to us an even lesser likelihood of media/cable M&A going forward.

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In the past 52 weeks, Verizon has performed more or less in line with the broad markets, or up about 14%. In just 2018 alone though, the stock is down 4%.

A few other analysts weighed in on Verizon ahead of the earnings report:

Goldman Sachs has a Buy rating and a $56 price target.
Deutsche Bank has a Buy rating with a $49 price target.
Jefferies has a Hold rating with a $52 target price.
JPMorgan has an Overweight rating and a $58 target.
William Blair has a Market Perform rating.

Shares of Verizon were last seen at $50.58, with a consensus analyst price target of $56.00 and a 52-week range of $42.80 to $54.77.

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About the Author Chris Lange →

Chris Lange is a writer for 24/7 Wall St., based in Houston. He has covered financial markets over the past decade with an emphasis on healthcare, tech, and IPOs. During this time, he has published thousands of articles with insightful analysis across these complex fields. Currently, Lange's focus is on military and geopolitical topics.

Lange's work has been quoted or mentioned in Forbes, The New York Times, Business Insider, USA Today, MSN, Yahoo, The Verge, Vice, The Intelligencer, Quartz, Nasdaq, The Motley Fool, Fox Business, International Business Times, The Street, Seeking Alpha, Barron’s, Benzinga, and many other major publications.

A graduate of Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, Lange majored in business with a particular focus on investments. He has previous experience in the banking industry and startups.