Verizon Q3 Adj. Profit Declines; Reaffirms 2022 Guidance

Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) reported third quarter adjusted EPS of $1.32, a decline of 7.0% from prior year. Adjusted EBITDA was $12.2 billion, down 0.4%. On average, 21 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report profit per share of $1.29, for the quarter. Analysts’ estimates typically exclude special items.

Net income was $5.0 billion, a decrease of 23.3 percent from prior year. Earnings per share was $1.17 compared to $1.55. The company noted that its third-quarter EPS included a pre-tax loss from special items of approximately $881 million.

Total revenue was $34.2 billion, up 4.0% from last year. Analysts on average had estimated $33.78 billion in revenue. Total wireless service revenue was $18.8 billion, a 10.0 percent increase year over year. The company noted that the wireless service revenue growth and higher wireless equipment revenue more than offset wireline declines and the net impact of merger and acquisition activity in 2021.

For Wireless: total retail postpaid churn was 1.17 percent, and retail postpaid phone churn was 0.92 percent. Postpaid phone net additions were 8,000.

Total Verizon Consumer revenue was $25.8 billion, an increase of 10.8 percent year over year. Consumer wireless retail postpaid churn was 1.10 percent, and wireless retail postpaid phone churn was 0.88 percent, for the quarter. Consumer recorded 189,000 wireless retail postpaid phone net losses, due to elevated churn partially as a result of recent pricing actions. Consumer postpaid phone gross additions increased 1.3 percent year over year.

For full-year 2022, the company continues to expect: reported wireless service revenue growth of 8.5 to 9.5 percent; reported service and other revenue growth of minus 1 percent to flat; adjusted EBITDA growth of minus 1.5 percent to flat; and adjusted EPS of $5.10 to $5.25.

The company’s unsecured debt as of the end of third-quarter decreased by $1.1 billion sequentially to $131.4 billion.

Shares of Verizon are down 2% in pre-market trade on Friday.

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