Verizon’s First-Quarter Earnings Report for 2024

Verizon, the largest wireless carrier in the U.S., recently announced its first-quarter earnings report for 2024. Let’s dive into the details:

– Net Loss of Subscribers: In the consumer sector, Verizon reported a net loss of 158,000 wireless retail postpaid phone subscribers in the first quarter. While this may seem concerning, it actually beat Wall Street’s expectations and was an improvement from the 263,000 subscriber loss reported during the same quarter last year.

– Factors Contributing to Improvement: The positive change can be attributed to a significant increase in gross subscriber additions and lower churn rates. Gross adds rose by 5.3% in the consumer unit year-over-year, and the consumer wireless phone churn was at .83% in Q1.

– Pre-Paid Subscriber Losses: Consumer wireless pre-paid net subscriber losses reached 214,000 during the first quarter. Excluding SafeLink Wireless, Verizon’s brand for individuals with government-sponsored connectivity benefits, the number dropped to 131,000.

– Revenue Growth: Despite some subscriber losses, Verizon’s first-quarter consumer revenue saw a .8% increase compared to last year, reaching $25.1 billion. Consumer service revenue also went up by 3.4% to $16.1 billion.

– Business Segment Performance: On the business side, Verizon added 90,000 postpaid phone net subscribers with a churn rate of 1.13%. However, Verizon Business revenue slightly decreased by 1.6% year over year due to declines in wireless equipment and wireline revenue.

– Overall Performance: Combining both consumer and business segments, Verizon lost a net total of 68,000 postpaid phone subscribers during the quarter with a .89% postpaid phone churn rate. The total wireless service revenue amounted to $19.5 billion, marking a 3.3% year-over-year gain.

Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg expressed confidence in their team’s performance and set high expectations for a successful year ahead. Despite reporting earnings per share of $1.09 for Q1 (compared to $1.17 in Q1 of 2023), Wall Street has reacted negatively with Verizon’s shares trading at $39 as of Monday afternoon—down $1.49 or 3.67%.

In conclusion, while there were some setbacks in terms of subscriber losses and earnings per share compared to last year, Verizon remains committed to delivering top-notch services and aims for positive Consumer postpaid phone net adds throughout this year.