Verizon (VZ) Drops 4% After 'Mixed' Results

Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) reported Q3 EPS of $1.32 to beat the analyst estimate of $1.29. Revenue for the quarter came in at $34.2 billion, again higher than the consensus estimate of $33.78 billion.

Verizon shares are down 4.4% in pre-open trading Friday.

Wireless revenue also came in ahead of the consensus. Verizon reported it added 388,000 wireless postpaid subscribers, higher than the 347,898 consensus.

"We took a number of actions in the third quarter that helped drive improved operational and financial performance, but we know there's still more work to be done," said Verizon Chairman and CEO Hans Vestberg.

Verizon also reiterated its full-year EPS forecast to a range of $5.10 to $5.25. The company still sees wireless service revenue growth of between 8.5% and 9.5%. It also said it started a new cost-cutting program that should result in annual savings between $2-3 billion by 2025.

Goldman Sachs analyst Brett Feldman said the results were “mixed”.

“We expect a muted reaction in the stock to reflect mixed results. We expect a negative reaction in cable stocks to reflect VZ’s material beat to fixed wireless net adds, which could imply downside risk to cable broadband net adds. We could also see a negative reaction in media stocks to reflect greater FiOS video subscriber losses (-95k vs. GSe -80k) which may signal an accelerated pace of industry-wide cord-cutting,” Feldman told clients.

By Senad Karaahmetovic

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