Verizon down 6% on warning of weaker Q1 sales
Verizon shares are down more than 6% today after CRO Frank Boulben spoke at the Deutsche Bank telecom conference and warned that intense competition is leading to a “challenging quarter.” Boulben said:
“We continue to have a disciplined approach. When we see less demand, we pull out of promotion. When we see demand picking up, like in March, we come back with a new promotion. So, it’s been a challenging quarter from a competitive intensity standpoint.”
In an 8-K filing, the company cautioned that postpaid phone net additions (new monthly subscriptions, less lost customers) for Q1 2025 would be affected by “3-5 basis points of churn incremental to the prior year period” due to recent pricing actions and flat to down postpaid phone gross additions.
In September, Verizon announced a $20 billion acquisition of Frontier, which will add 2.2 million fiber subscribers. The acquisition is expected to close at the end of the year.
