Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) managed to hold onto its leading position in the wireless phone business, but the company’s profits for the third quarter fell -25% compared with the same period a year ago. Revenues also fell 2.9% year-over-year.
Verizon Wireless, a joint venture with Vodafone Group plc (NASDAQ: VOD), added a net 584,000 new subscribers during the quarter, substantially fewer than competitor AT&T (NYSE: T), which added 745,000. But Verizon still leads in total subscribers, with 93.2 million to AT&T’s 92.7 million.
Verizon posted EPS of $0.31 on revenue of $26.48 billion. Excluding items, EPS came in at $0.56 compared with estimates of $0.54. Revenue estimates totaled $26.34 billion. Yesterday AT&T posted EPS, excluding items, of $0.55 on revenue of $31.6 billion.
The expectation that Verizon will begin to sell the iPhone from Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) is front and center on Verizon’s horizon. The company already offers several smartphones using the Android operating system from Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG). AT&T, which has had an exclusive sales deal on the iPhone since the phone hit the market in 2007, has begun to add smartphones to its lineup that run either Android or the Windows 7 Mobile operating system from Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT).
Verizon, like AT&T, is bleeding customers from its landline business. The company lost about 2.5 million landline subscribers. The company did add about 200,000 broadband customers, over 700,000 internet subscribers on its FiOS network, and nearly 700,000 FiOS TV subscribers. These losses are in addition to the spin-off of Verizon’s spin-off of its local exchange businesses in 14 states now doing business as Frontier Communications Corp. (NYSE: FTR).
Verizon noted that its FiOS network now includes connections to more than 15.4 million customers and is equal to approximately 60% of its landline business remaining after the deal with Frontier. That’s a good sign for future revenue growth at the company.
Verizon’s shares are trading down about -1.3% this morning.
