Top communications company Verizon Communications
What analysts say:
- Buy, sell, or waffle? There are 24 Wall Street analysts weighing in on Verizon. Of these, 13 have buy ratings on the stock, and 11 say hold. In the Motley Fool CAPS community, 2,381 investors have rated the company and give it a collective four-star rating out of a possible five.
- Revenues. The average revenue expectation from analysts is $24.2 billion this quarter, up 4% from last year.
- Earnings. The average analyst is pegging GAAP earnings at $0.65 per share.
What management says:
Just as with main competitor AT&T
One of those opportunities was gobbling up major regional player Alltel. If the deal goes through as planned, Verizon will be well ahead of AT&T in subscribers and should have a much easier time integrating Alltel's network than Sprint Nextel
What management does:
Verizon has continued a nice upward trend in margins. The percentages are small, but when you apply them to billions in revenue, it makes a big difference on the bottom line.
12/06 |
3/07 |
6/07 |
9/07 |
12/07 |
3/08 |
|
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Gross |
60% |
60.1% |
60.5% |
60.4% |
59.9% |
59.8% |
Operating |
16.1% |
16.5% |
16.8% |
17.2% |
17.7% |
18% |
Net |
7% |
6.8% |
6.7% |
5.9% |
5.9% |
6% |
All data courtesy of Capital IQ, a division of Standard & Poor's. Data reflects trailing-12-month performance for the quarters ended in the named months.
One Fool says:
We already know that Verizon added 1.5 million wireless subscribers this quarter, proof yet again that it doesn't need an Apple
But as attractive as the wireless business is, the company's fiber-optic expansion and FiOS services offered on top of it are a big part of Verizon's growth story. The broadband services in combination with wireless growth play a big role in Verizon's future, so continued success in both areas is key.
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