Verizon slumps after postpaid phone subscribers fall by more than anticipated
Shares of Verizon sank 4% in premarket trading after its first-quarter results showed a drop of 289,000 postpaid phone subscribers. Analysts had been anticipating a decline of 185,471.
For the quarter, Verizon reported total operating revenue of $33.5 billion, up 1.5% year over year, slightly better than the FactSet analyst consensus of $33.2 billion.
Earnings per share came in at $1.19, beating consensus estimates of $1.15. Net income for the quarter was $5 billion.
Management also reaffirmed their full-year guidance, but with a big caveat: the outlook “does not reflect any assumptions regarding the potential impacts of the evolving tariff environment.”
Last month the company cautioned that weaker sales could ding Q1 2025 numbers, and they were right.
Total postpaid phone net additions (new monthly subscriptions, less lost customers) were down 289,000, compared to a loss of 114,000 for the same period in 2024.
Verizon expects to close on its $20 billion purchase of Frontier at the end of the year, adding 2.2 million new fiber subscribers.
