Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. were off 0.3% in premarket trading Tuesday despite fourth-quarter results that exceeded analyst expectations.
The company reported net income of $4.72 billion, or $1.11 a share, down from $5.22 billion, or $1.23 a share, in the year-earlier quarter. On an adjusted basis, Verizon VZ,
Verizon saw fourth-quarter operating revenue slip slightly to $34.69 billion from $34.78 billion. The FactSet consensus called for $34.45 billion. Verizon recorded $23.91 billion in consumer revenue, $8.05 billion in business revenue, and $2.30 billion in media revenue.
The company experienced wireless service revenue growth but saw lower wireless equipment revenue and declines in its legacy wireline products.
The media segment saw its first quarter of year-over-year revenue growth since the 2017 Yahoo acquisition, Verizon said, “fueled by strong advertising trends.”
The company recorded retail postpaid phone churn of 0.76% on the consumer side of the business.
For 2021, Verizon expects “service and other” revenue growth of at least 2%, as well as total wireless service revenue growth of at least 3%. The company also anticipates adjusted EPS of $5.00 to $5.15. Analysts were expecting full-year adjusted EPS of $4.93.
Verizon models capital spending of $17.5 billion to $18.5 billion, “including the further expansion of 5G Ultra Wideband in new and existing markets, the densification of the wireless network to manage future traffic demands, and the continued deployment of the company’s fiber infrastructure.”
Shares of Verizon have gained 0.8% over the past three months as the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA,
