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(Bloomberg) -- Verizon Communications Inc. reported fourth-quarter financial results that beat analysts’ estimates, including gains in new mobile-phone and broadband customers.
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Verizon recorded a net gain of 568,000 monthly phone subscribers, according to a statement Friday, beating the 498,000 that analysts were estimating on average.
Fourth-quarter operating revenue increased to $35.7 billion, topping the $35.3 billion average of estimates. Adjusted earnings increased to $1.10 a share, topping projections by a penny.
Broadband was also a bright spot. Verizon added 408,000 net broadband subscribers in the fourth quarter, almost doubling analysts’ expectations of 227,000. Fios fiber customers increased by 51,000 while the company added 373,000 customers in its fixed wireless business.
“Our broadband strategy that we laid out in the third quarter is really resonating with the market,” Chief Executive Officer Hans Vestberg said on Bloomberg TV.
Verizon shares were up 1.8% at 10:52 a.m. in New York. They are down 3.3% over the last 12 months.
The quarter’s wireless gains show Verizon “is continuing to make progress turning around its consumer wireless business after struggling for several quarters,” Edward Jones analyst Dave Heger wrote in a note to investors.
As the pool of potential new wireless customers tightens, New York-based Verizon has been offering customizable mobile and broadband plans and throwing in perks such as savings on streaming services like Netflix and Max.
“The wireless market is highly competitive, and Verizon has recently increased handset promotional activity and simplified pricing to attract and retain consumer subscribers,” he wrote. “As a result, consumer execution is improving.”
Verizon agreed in September to acquire Frontier Communications for about $9.59 billion to expand its high speed internet business, a transaction that Vestberg said would drive growth in the year ahead, along with new satellite partnerships and ongoing artificial-intelligence initiatives.
On Friday Verizon announced a new AI product aimed at providing fiber connectivity and other resources to customers with advanced computing needs like Google Cloud and Meta Platforms Inc. Kyle Malady, CEO of Verizon’s business group, said the company will expand its fiber footprint in some cases and make other physical infrastructure available to meet the demands of the AI era.