Verizon Releases 2013 3Q Earnings

This morning, Verizon released their 3Q earnings that illustrated growth and continued strong operating performance this quarter. The company reported year-over-year double-digit percentage growth in operating income and earnings per share for the third consecutive quarter. Third-quarter 2013 results showed continued high customer demand for Verizon Wireless, FiOS and strategic enterprise services. Take a look at the highlights regarding Verizon’s wireless sector:

• 8.4 percent year-over-year increase in service revenues in 3Q 2013; 8.0 percent increase in retail service revenues; 33.8 percent operating income margin and 51.1 percent segment EBITDA margin on service revenues (non-GAAP).
• Added 1.1 million net retail connections, including 927,000 net retail postpaid connections; low retail postpaid churn of 0.97 percent; 101.2 million total retail connections, 95.2 million total retail postpaid connections.
• 4G LTE service now available to more than 303 million people in more than 500 markets across the United States.

Lowell McAdam, Verizon chairman and CEO, said: "These strong third-quarter results reflect Verizon's long-term investment in reliable, high-quality networks to deliver value to customers. Our unwavering focus on wireless, FiOS and strategic enterprise services has produced consistent performance, and we've delivered double-digit earnings growth in six of the past seven quarters. Verizon's strategic networks form a powerful distribution platform for future growth and innovation."

Verizon reported $0.78 earnings per share in the third quarter compared to the $0.56 EPS they reported in the third quarter of 2012. Third-quarter 2013 results include a non-operational gain of 2 cents per share related to the sale of wireless spectrum, partially offset by 1 cent per share in incremental interest expense related to the financing of Verizon's planned purchase of Vodafone Group PLC's 45 percent stake in Verizon Wireless.