Adjusted earnings for the first quarter at Verizon’s Consumer (VZ) were barely ahead of expectations, while revenue was below. Verizon shares fell as its consumer wireless division continued to suffer.
Verizon’s adjusted profits per share for the March quarter were $1.20, excluding one-time charges linked to the company’s purchase of Tracfone. Revenue was down 11% from the previous year. We saw a 1.9% drop in sales to $32.9 billion.
Verizon had $33.6 billion in revenue and $1.35 per share in earnings a year ago. The consensus estimate for Verizon’s quarterly profit was $1.19 per share on revenue of $33.6 billion.
Investors Worried About Verizon’s Consumer Business
Analyst predictions predicted a loss of 120,000 postpaid customers for Verizon, while the company reported losing 127,000. The consumer division saw a drop of 263,000 postpaid phone customers.
Verizon lost 36,000 postpaid phone customers a year ago. AT&T (T) beat predictions with a first-quarter 2023 postpaid user gain of 424,000.
A small increase from the previous quarter, the telecom provider added 393,000 fixed wireless broadband clients.
Verizon shares dropped $0.7 today, bringing the price to $36.83. Verizon stock was down 5% in 2023 heading into their earnings announcement. As a result of AT&T (T)’s poor performance, shares of competitor Verizon (VZ) dropped 3.65% on Friday.
Shares of Verizon fell by 24 percent in 2017. According to IBD Stock Checkup, VZ stock has a Relative Strength Rating of 24 out of 99.