Investors awoke to good news from Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) this morning, as the company reported a solid quarter of accelerating growth in key business areas. Verizon's reported revenue of $22.6 billion constitutes a 6% increase from the same period last year. While the $0.51 per-share earnings Verizon reported is 9% lower than last year, this is largely due to special charges related to discontinued operations.
Verizon's continued growth largely comes from two areas of its business -- wireless and broadband. In each of these areas, the company reported accelerating growth and positive customer acquisition and retention metrics.
On the wireless side of the business -- where Verizon owns a 55% stake in Verizon Wireless, and Vodafone (NYSE:VOD) owns the other 45% -- the company added a whopping 1.7 million net customers. Verizon's reliable network keeps customers around, too, besting rivals AT&T (NYSE: T) and Sprint Nextel (NYSE: S) with an industry-low churn rate of 1.08%. The company also encouraged customers to spend more on their cellular services with an average revenue per user (ARPU) coming in at $50.73, 2.8% higher year over year.
On the fixed-line side of its business, Verizon is making up for declines in traditional voice and data services by pushing broadband services carried by its new fiber optic network, called FiOS. The company added 141,000 net new FiOS TV customers in the quarter as well as 177,000 FiOS Internet customers. While small by comparison, these numbers are growing rapidly as Verizon extends the network to residences.
The strong cash flow of legacy business along with new growth in broadband and wireless are helping Verizon improve its balance sheet, as well. The $5 billion in operating cash flow for the quarter allowed for the repurchase of $425 million in shares
Based on customer growth in FiOS services so far, the $18 billion Verizon will eventually spend on expanding the network appears to be a good bet. While it's a huge capital investment, the accelerating growth of profitable new broadband and media services will keep cash flowing to shareholders for years to come.
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Fool contributor Dave Mock is a geek at heart, simply because he knows that the technical term for a change in acceleration is "jerk." He owns no shares of companies mentioned here. Vodafone is an Inside Value recommendation. Take the newsletter for a spin for 30 days, with no obligation. Dave is the author ofThe Qualcomm Equation. The Fool's disclosure policy breaks into turns and accelerates out of turns.
