Verizon Communications’ (VZ) stock is up 2% after the U.S. telecommunications firm reported better-than-expected financial results and stemmed losses among its wireless subscribers.
The New York City-based company reported first quarter 2024 earnings per share (EPS) of $1.15 U.S. compared to $1.12 U.S. that was expected amongst analysts.
Revenue for Verizon in Q1 totaled $33 billion U.S., which about matched Wall Street forecasts
of $33.2 billion U.S. for the January through March period.
Verizon credited the results to its flexible plans and streaming bundles that include discounted prices for services such as Netflix (NFLX) and Warner Bros Discovery’s (WBD) Max platform.
The company also reported that it lost 68,000 monthly bill-paying wireless phone subscribers during Q1, which was much less than an estimated loss of 100,000 subscribers.
A year earlier, Verizon lost 127,000 wireless subscribers during Q1 2023.
Verizon added that its customers are choosing its premium, customizable “myPlan” option, which has proven popular with American consumers.
Late last year, Verizon began offering discounted subscriptions to Netflix and Warner Bros Discovery’s Max streaming service with myPlan bundles.
However, Verizon’s free cash flow at the end of Q1 stood at $2.7 billion U.S., below the $3.6 billion U.S. that had been forecast by analysts.
The stock of Verizon has risen 9% in the last 12 months, including a 4% gain so far in 2024. The company’s shares currently trade at $40.49 U.S. each.
