Verizon’s total revenue was $33.3 billion, slightly below the expected $33.43 billion
Verizon stock dipped today following mixed third-quarter results, which showed the telco missing revenue estimates due to a 9% decline in wireless equipment sales.
Verizon’s total revenue was $33.3 billion, slightly below the expected $33.43 billion. But, the company reported higher-than-expected subscriber additions, claiming 239,000 additional net monthly wireless phone subscribers and 363,000 fixed wireless access (FWA) customers in the last quarter.
The telco said the latest FWA additions helped it hit its goal of 4 million to 5 million users 15 months ahead of schedule, and further noted plans to double these numbers, hitting somewhere between 8 million and 9 million FWA subscribers by 2028. “Total FWA revenue, which is included in wireless service revenue, was $562 million for the quarter,” commented Verizon Chief Financial Officer Tony Skiadas. “That was up $215 million versus the prior year period. FWA is on pace to generate more than $2 billion in revenue for us this year.”
C-band spectrum continues to be a key focus for Verizon, with the telco expecting to add 80% to 90% of its sites on C-band by the end of next year.
In September, Verizon revealed it would spend $20 billion to acquire Frontier, picking up the latter’s customer base and fiber assets. At the time, Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg said of the move: “It’s straight into our strategy. We build the network once. We want to address as many profitable connections on top of one build of the network. So of course, adding this is just adding more customers.” The deal is expected to close in about 18 months, and the full impact it will have Verizon’s business outlook stock performance remains a question mark.