Verizon beats estimates on lockdown boost to phone, internet services

Verizon Communications Inc on Friday beat estimates for second-quarter profit and revenue on strong demand for its phone and internet services as coronavirus-induced lockdowns prompted a rapid shift to remote working and learning.

Although stay-at-home orders cut down store visits, limiting new sign-ups in a quarter that was almost entirely spent under lockdown rules, a pick up in demand for internet services helped the company add more phone subscribers who pay a monthly bill.

In the second quarter, Verizon added 173,000 postpaid phone customers, well above analysts’ average estimate of 61,200, according to research firm FactSet.

Total operating revenue fell 5.1 per cent to $30.4 billion but beat the analysts’ average estimate of $29.93 billion, according to IBES data from Refinitiv. The company attributed the fall in revenue to a decline in device sales in the quarter, hurt by lockdown-led store closures.