Verizon beats revenue estimates on lockdown boost to wireless services

[July 24, 2020]    (Reuters) - Verizon Communications Inc <VZ.N> on Friday beat estimates for second-quarter revenue on strong demand for its phone and internet services as coronavirus-induced lockdowns prompted a rapid shift to remote working and learning.

 Workers board up a Verizon store in midtown Manhattan during protests against the death in Minneapolis police custody of George Floyd, in New York City, U.S., June 2, 2020. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

Although stay-at-home orders cut down store visits, limiting new sign-ups in a quarter that was almost entirely spent under lockdown rules, a pick up in demand for internet services helped the company add more phone subscribers who pay a monthly bill.

In the second quarter, Verizon added 173,000 postpaid phone customers, above analysts' estimates of 61,200 additions, according to research firm FactSet.

Total operating revenue fell 5.1% to $30.4 billion but beat the analysts’ average estimate of $29.93 billion, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

The company said that the fall in revenue was due to a decline in wireless equipment revenue in the quarter, hurt by lockdown-led store closures.

Revenue in Verizon's media unit, which includes Yahoo, HuffPost and TechCrunch, declined 24.5% to $1.4 billion from a year earlier as companies cut down on advertising to rein in expenses.

(Reporting by Neha Malara; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta and Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)

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