Why Frontier Communications Is Wednesday’s Big Earnings Winner

By Chris Lange Updated Jan 31, 12:13AM EST · Published Feb 27, 10:15AM EST

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Why Frontier Communications Is Wednesday’s Big Earnings Winner — © Thinkstock

When Frontier Communications Corp. (NASDAQ: FTR) released its most recent quarterly results after the markets closed on Tuesday, the firm said that it had a net loss of $0.06 per share and $2.12 billion in revenue. That compares with consensus estimates of a net loss of $0.04 per share and $2.09 billion in revenue, as well as the −$0.59 per share and $2.22 billion reported in the fourth quarter of last year.

Within consolidated revenue, Consumer revenue was $1.09 billion, Commercial revenue was $942 million and subsidy and other regulatory revenue was $94 million in the most recent period.

In the Consumer business segment, average revenue per customer totaled $88.37, an increase both sequentially and relative to the fourth quarter of 2017.

As for the Commercial segment, total commercial customers decreased to 411,000, compared with 422,000 during the third quarter of 2018. Also, Commercial wholesale revenue declined sequentially, driven by wireless backhaul and voice revenue.

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Looking ahead to the 2019 full year, the company expects to see adjusted EBITDA in the range of $3.45 billion to $3.55 billion, with operating free cash flow of $575 million to $675 million. Consensus estimates call for a net loss of $0.36 per share and $8.17 billion in revenue for the year.

Dan McCarthy, president and CEO, commented:

I am very pleased that fourth quarter results reflect our improving execution as well as initial benefits from our transformation program. A robust result in Consumer, together with strong expense management, drove a sequential increase in fourth quarter Adjusted EBITDA. We continued to expand the scope of initiatives underway in our transformation program in the fourth quarter, and multiple teams are now scaling a range of solutions that were developed through transformation initiatives. I look forward to continued progress and expansion of the program over the course of 2019 and 2020 as we advance toward our targeted $500 million EBITDA benefit.

Shares of Frontier were last seen up about 33% at $3.35, in a 52-week range of $1.81 to $11.64. The stock has a consensus price target of $3.57.

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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.