Verizon attracts more users

Article Excerpt

VERIZON COMMUNICATIONS INC. $41 is a buy. The telecom provider (New York symbol VZ; Income Portfolio, Utilities sector, Shares outstanding: 4.2 billion; Market cap: $172.2 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.3; Dividend yield: 6.5%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.verizon.com) is the second-largest wireless carrier in the U.S. after AT&T (New York symbol T), with 144.8 million subscribers (consumers and businesses) as of December 31, 2023. It also sells traditional telephone lines, high-speed Internet and TV services. In the fourth quarter of 2023, Verizon added 449,000 wireless phone subscribers under long-term contracts (net of cancellations). However, due to lower sales of new phones, revenue fell 0.3%, to $35.13 billion from $35.25 billion a year earlier. Excluding one-time items, per-share earnings fell 9.2%, to $1.08 from $1.19 on higher interest and depreciation charges. For 2024, Verizon expects its revenue from its main wireless division will rise between 2.0% and 3.5% as more users upgrade to faster 5G speeds. As well, now that the company has completed the bulk of those…