Leading U.S. telecom provider Verizon Communications
Despite struggles to retain customers in traditional telephony services, Verizon made up for it in other areas and delivered $24.8 billion in revenue this quarter. Once again, strong results from investments in wireless and broadband helped carry the business and deliver $1.67 billion in net income. Investors welcomed the news, bidding shares of Verizon up by more than 10% midway through the day.
Verizon continues to convert customers to its new broadband television and Internet offering, FiOS, netting 233,000 TV and 225,000 Internet customers in the quarter. Wireless operations continue to grow at double-digit rates as well. Verizon integrated customers from its Rural Cellular acquisition this quarter, helping it post 2.1 million new wireless customers to its role.
One metric that stood out in Verizon's wireless results was a slight uptick in customer churn to 1.33%, above the 1.12% last quarter and even the 1.27% last year. Though this low turnover still leads the industry, there's no denying that AT&T
I'm sure Verizon would be happy to jump on the "iconic device" bandwagon, though, should the new Blackberry Storm from Research In Motion
Even after today's jump, shares of Verizon are near the lowest price they've seen in more than a decade. While I wouldn't call Verizon a screaming bargain at this level, its consistency in operations and 6.6% dividend yield certainly make it an attractive alternative to many other stocks.
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