Verizon Communications Incs (VZ) fourth-quarter revenue, reported on Tuesday, fell short of Wall Street estimates, despite that new subscriber growth far exceeded market consensus.
Verizon shares closed lower for a fourth consecutive trading session in New York on Tuesday. It has also been the steepest daily loss since December 24th. The stock went down 3.25% ($1.79) to $53.28, after touching an intraday low at $52.93, or a price level not seen since December 26th ($52.40).
Shares of Verizon Communications Inc have retreated 5.23% so far in 2019 compared with a 5.31% gain for the benchmark index, S&P 500 (SPX).
In 2018, Verizon’s stock went up 6.22%, thus, it outperformed the S&P 500, which registered a 6.24% loss.
Verizons total operating revenue went up 1% year-on-year to $34.28 billion during the fourth quarter. In comparison, analysts on average had expected revenue of $34.44 billion.
Revenue for the Verizon Media Group (formerly Oath), which encompasses AOL and Yahoo, went down 5.8% year-on-year to $2.1 billion during the fourth quarter.
As many as 653 000 net “postpaid” phone subscribers (or customers with a recurring bill) were added during the past quarter, the company said. The figure compares with a median analyst forecast of 355 600 subscribers, data by research firm FactSet showed.
On the other hand, the wireless carrier said it had lost 46 000 Fios video subscribers during the latest quarter compared to 29 000 subscribers lost in the year-ago period. The median forecast by analysts had pointed to a loss of 51 000 subscribers.
Meanwhile, net income attributable to shareholders was reported to have decreased to $1.94 billion (or $0.47 per share) during the fourth quarter, from $18.78 billion (or $4.56 per share) in the year-ago quarter, when the company registered a one-time benefit of $16.8 billion associated with the US tax code reform.
Verizons earnings per share, excluding special items, were reported at $1.12 during the latest quarter, which exceeded the median analyst estimate of $1.09 per share.
The company also said it now expected full-year 2019 adjusted earnings per share to be similar to results in 2018, while full-year revenue is now expected to register a low single-digit growth.
According to CNN Money, the 24 analysts, offering 12-month forecasts regarding Verizon Communications Inc’s stock price, have a median target of $59.50, with a high estimate of $65.00 and a low estimate of $50.00. The median estimate represents an 11.67% upside compared to the closing price of $53.28 on January 29th.
The same media also reported that 18 out of 30 surveyed investment analysts had rated Verizon Communications Inc’s stock as “Hold”, while 12 – as “Buy”.
Weekly Pivot Levels
By using the traditional method of calculation, the weekly levels of importance for Verizon Communications Inc (VZ) are presented as follows:
Central Pivot Point – $56.83
R1 – $57.44
R2 – $58.47
R3 – $59.08
R4 – $59.68
S1 – $55.80
S2 – $55.19
S3 – $54.16
S4 – $53.12
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