Shares in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) opened lower on Thursday as the telecoms giant missed Street expectations following its worst quarter of subscriber decline in its phone business.
New York-headquartered Verizon lost 289,000 regular monthly phone customers – lucrative accounts for the firm – in the first quarter of 2017.
That could have been worse, too, as prior to it bringing back an all-you-can-eat data plan in February, it had shed almost 400,000 from its customer base.
The dwindling numbers had an effect on the top and bottom line when Verizon reported its first quarter earnings and sales this morning.
Total revenue for the three months to end March was US$29.8bn versus the Wall Street consensus of US$30.5bn, while it was also a 7% decrease compared to the same period last year.
Similarly, earnings per share also missed forecasts and came in 10% down year-on-year at 95 cents compared to the 96 cents analysts had expected.
“e extended our wireless and fibre network capabilities, began offering an unlimited pricing option and expanded our opportunities in new markets,” said chief executive Lowell McAdam .
“We're executing on strategies to capture future growth.”
Verizon repeated that full-year sales are likely to be “fairly consistent” with those generated last year.
Its stock price has been hammered so far in 2017 after it admitted it would not be able to increase its revenues this year.
Shares were off another 2% in early deals to US$48.08.