Verizon Communications Beats Analyst Estimates on EPS

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

Verizon Communications (NYS: VZ) reported earnings on April 19. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended March 31 (Q1), Verizon Communications met expectations on revenue and beat expectations on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue expanded and GAAP earnings per share increased significantly.


Margins expanded across the board.

Revenue details
Verizon Communications reported revenue of $28.24 billion. The 26 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ predicted a top line of $28.17 billion on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 4.6% higher than the prior-year quarter's $26.99 billion.

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Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

EPS details
EPS came in at $0.59. The 30 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $0.57 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.59 for Q1 were 16% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.51 per share.

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Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

Margin details
For the quarter, gross margin was 59.9%, 150 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 18.4%, 190 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 6.0%, 70 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $28.54 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.63.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $114.84 billion. The average EPS estimate is $2.48.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 4,599 members out of 4,876 rating the stock outperform, and 277 members rating it underperform. Among 1,017 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 971 give Verizon Communications a green thumbs-up, and 46 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Verizon Communications is outperform, with an average price target of $39.38.

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At the time thisarticle was published Seth Jayson owned shares of the following at the time of publication: Verizon Communications. You can view his stock holdings here. He is co-advisor ofMotley Fool Hidden Gems, which provides new small-cap ideas every month, backed by a real-money portfolio. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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