Anthony Lee
4 min read
What happened?
Shares of telecommunications giant Verizon (NYSE:VZ) fell 3.5% in the afternoon session after the company reported third-quarter revenue below estimates, overshadowing strong postpaid phone additions and a $2 billion agreement with Amazon.
According to the company’s press release, Verizon reported third-quarter revenue of $34.31 billion, up 1.5% from a year earlier and below the $34.77 billion consensus. Adjusted earnings were $1.31 a share, up from $1.21 a year earlier and above the $1.27 consensus.
The revenue shortfall came from equipment. Wireless equipment revenue fell 9% because customers are keeping phones longer and Verizon has cut device subsidies. Service revenue moved the other way. Mobility and broadband service revenue rose 2.9% to $23.5 billion, and the company expects that line to grow about 4% in the fourth quarter. Adjusted EBITDA rose 8% to $13.8 billion, the highest quarter the company has reported, and the margin widened to 40.2% from 37.8%. Free cash flow was $7.8 billion, up 12%. V
erizon raised full-year guidance for a third straight quarter. Postpaid phone additions are now 1.1 million to 1.2 million, up from the upper half of a prior 750,000 to 1 million range. Adjusted earnings are now $5.04 to $5.06, and free-cash-flow growth is expected to approach 12%, up from 9% to 10%.
The company also signed an agreement worth more than $2 billion with Amazon Web Services to supply high-capacity fiber for AI data centers. Chief Executive Dan Schulman said Verizon is in talks with other hyperscalers, neocloud providers, and large enterprises for similar connectivity. The shares traded on the equipment-driven revenue miss.
After the initial drop, the shares shed some of the losses and rose to $43.18, down 3.2% from the previous close.
The stock market overreacts to news, and big price drops can present good opportunities to buy high-quality stocks. Is now the time to buy Verizon? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
What is the market telling us
Verizon’s shares are not very volatile and have only had 4 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful, although it might not be something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.
The previous big move we wrote about was 17 days ago when the stock dropped 6% on the news that SpaceX agreed to acquire private equity firm Grain Management’s nationwide 800 MHz spectrum portfolio, stoking investor concerns over emerging satellite-to-cellular competition. Grain Management said in a press release that the transaction encompasses 100% of its nationwide 800 MHz holdings, supplying up to 14 MHz of paired low-band airwaves pending Federal Communications Commission clearance. Writing on X, SpaceX Chief Executive Elon Musk called the agreement a very big deal that secures the spectrum required to achieve complete phone coverage across the United States without requiring specialized handsets.In research covered by TipRanks, TD Cowen analyst John Blackledge characterized the transaction as a warning to legacy carriers that intensifies pressure to negotiate roaming partnerships.In comments carried by Reuters, William Blair analysts also noted that established operators remain vocal skeptics of whether orbital networks can match terrestrial quality.Verizon trades on stable postpaid subscriber additions, average revenue per account growth, and the cash generation needed to service substantial debt and protect its dividend yield. Even though 14 MHz of low-band spectrum lacks the throughput to replace urban cell grids, the prospect of a nationwide direct-to-device alternative limits the multiple investors will pay for legacy cellular franchises.
