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Earnings: Verizon Revenue Misses Expectations; Wireless Data Revenue Jumps 45.3 Percent

imageVerizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) reported second quarter earnings today of $1.88 billion or $0.67 in adjusted diluted earnings per share on $24.1 billion in revenue. Though revenue was up 3.7 percent year on year, analysts had forecast profits of $24.2 billion. EPS beat expectations by $0.02.

Earnings Highlights:

Wireless Revenues Up; Data Revs Surge: The company’s wireless division’s total revenues climbed 11.8 percent year-on-year to $12.1 billion. Service revenues were up 11.6 percent compared to last year to $10.5 billion, boosted by customer growth and demand for data services. Data revenue surged in the second quarter, growing 45.3 percent to $2.6 billion, and accounting for nearly a quarter of all service revenues.

Net Adds Up: The company added 1.5 million total net customers in the quarter—up 3.2 percent from last year, with 97.5 percent of them the more valuable retail post-paid customer. The carrier ended the quarter with 68.7 million total subscribers.

Churn Down: Churn was down at Verizon, which reported a record low for the company at 1.12 percent. Among its retail post paid customers, the figure was lower at 0.83 percent, another all time low for the carrier.

Data ARPU Jumps: ARPU was up from last year, rising 0.9 percent to $51.53. Data ARPU, meanwhile, surged 31.3 percent compared to last year to $12.58.

Broadband and Video Revenues Jump: Verizon reported that broadband and video revenues from customers jumped 52.9 percent year-over-year, giving it $1.0 billion in the second quarter. Sales penetration rates for both FiOS Internet and FiOS TV were up. Penetration rates for FiOS Internet averaged 23.5 percent across all markets, up from 18.7 percent from last year, while FiOS TV penetration averaged 19.7 percent, up from 13.3 percent.

FiOS Net Adds: FiOS TV added 176,000 net new customers, for a total of nearly 1.4 million FiOS TV customers as of the end of the quarter. Verizon added 187,000 net new FiOS Internet customers, giving it nearly 2 million FiOS Internet customers at the end of the quarter. The company said this is nearly double the number from last year.

Broadband/Video and FiOS ARPU UP: Growing revenue from its broadband and video services help boost consumer ARPU in Verizon’s otherwise stagnant wireline markets. APRU climbed to $63.76, up 10.4 percent from the same period last year. FiOS figures were even better, with FiOS customer figures coming in at more than $130 a month.

Conference Call Highlights:

Where is wireline loss going? Half of line loss is going to wireless (did not say if that loss went specifically to Verizon’s wireless unit, or a rival). Plans to increase growing out FiOS. Will continue to offer triple play package to stop wireline loss.

iPhone Impact?: “We are seeing minimal short term impact…. the impact is disproportionately less than our market share.” Apple’s iPhone has caused what “a stimulation of smartphone sales.” Reports that sales of PDAs integrated devices are up 30 percent from last year.

Release | Presentation | Conference Call

Jul 28, 2008 7:07 AM ET

Posted In: Money, Earnings, Companies, Verizon

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