Verizon Posts Strong Q2 Results Ahead Of Wall Street Expectations

Verizon reported strong second-quarter results, with adjusted earnings per share of $1.20 rising 25% over the same quarter a year ago.

The quarterly numbers came in well ahead of Wall Street estimates of $1.14 a share, sending Verizon stock up 3% in morning trading. It has since fallen back to fractional gains, at around the $51 mark.

During a conference call with analysts, CEO Lowell McAdam said the company had no plans to spin off Oath, its media unit, despite recent reports. The call was McAdam’s last as head of the telecom giant. On August 1, the company’s Chief Technology Officer, Hans Vestberg, will take the helm.

The company reported 43,000 Fios Internet net adds, with total Fios revenue rising 2.3%, excluding the impact of the revenue recognition standard. Video subscriptions to FiOS slipped by 37,000, a steeper drop than the 15,000 in the year-earlier quarter.

Results included a pre-tax charge for product realignment of $658 million, mainly related to the discontinuation of Verizon’s go90 video platform and associated content. There were also severance charges of $339 million, and acquisition and integration-related charges of $120 million, primarily pertaining to Oath, the company’s media unit. The net impact of these items, after tax, was approximately $900 million, or 20 cents a share.

Total consolidated operating revenues in second-quarter 2018 were $32.2 billion, up 5% from 2017. Oath revenue, excluding the impact of the revenue recognition standard, were $1.9 billion in second-quarter 2018, which were basically flat on a sequential basis.