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Verizon lost 189,000 monthly bill-paying phone subscribers in
its consumer business in the quarter after the U.S. carrier
raised prices for its plans in June through additional charges,
which was over and above its already pricier plans.
While the company benefited from a 1% rise in gross wireless
additions (in consumer business) in the quarter, finance chief
Matt Ellis told Reuters, but it was offset by "an increase in
disconnects as we had some customers disconnect as a result of
the pricing actions that we took".
Verizon added 8,000 net new monthly bill paying wireless phone
subscribers in the quarter, well below Factset estimates of
35,400 additions.
Telecom players are coming under increasing pressure to keep
their plans affordable as rising cost of living crimps
discretionary spending by customers.
That coupled with higher costs due to heavy investment in 5G
technology and rising competition to retain high-paying
subscribers has hurt Verizon, which has been adding fewer
subscribers than its rivals.
The carrier's net income for the quarter fell 23.3% to $5
billion. Adjusted earnings per share came in at $1.32 per share.
Total revenue, however, rose 4% to $34.2 billion, above
expectations of $33.78 billion, according to Refinitiv data.
(Reporting by Eva Mathews and Savyata Mishra in Bengaluru;
Editing by Arun Koyyur)
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