Verizon (NYSE:VZ) is expected to publish its Q4 2018 results on Tuesday, January 29, reporting on a quarter that is likely to have seen the company continue to benefit from a strong performance at its bread-and-butter wireless business. Below, we take a look at what to expect and what we will be watching when the company reports results.
We have created an interactive dashboard analysis which outlines our expectations for Verizon’s performance over 2018. You can modify any of our key drivers and forecasts to gauge the impact of changes on the company’s bottom line.
Strong Postpaid Wireless Business Should Continue To Drive Results
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Unlike its wireless rivals, Verizon has been largely staying away from high-profile deal-making activity of late, choosing to focus on improving its wireless business, which has paid off for the company in recent quarters. The company disclosed that it had added a net of 650k new postpaid phone connections over the holiday quarter, marking an increase from 295k subscribers from the previous quarter. This was driven partly by the company’s “mix-and-match” plans, which enable subscribers to customize their family data plans, and potentially by promotions on devices such as Apple’s new iPhones. The number was ahead of street expectations. While the carrier’s retail postpaid churn remains among the best in the industry, it saw a slight year-over-year increase over the third quarter, rising to 1.04% due to higher competition in the market. However, the number should settle down in the longer run, driven by a larger number of devices such as the Apple Watch LTE on each customer account.
Updates On Verizon’s Residential 5G Service
In October 2018, the carrier rolled out its first commercial 5G installations targeted at residential users in four U.S. cities, with a larger-scale rollout planned over 2019. While the service is likely to remain relatively niche until more mainstream mobile-focused deployments commence, the company should gain insights ahead of the broader industry, enabling it to refine its networks and customer experience ahead of rivals. We will be looking for updates on how the service is faring.
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