- 22Oct
(Reuters) - Verizon Communications Inc (VZ.N) held its ground against AT&T Inc (T.N) in the third quarter as its results edged ahead of Wall Street expectations from growth at Verizon Wireless.
The company has lost market share to AT&T, the exclusive U.S. carrier for Apple Inc's (AAPL.O) iPhone. But Verizon plans to sell iPhones next year, a move eagerly awaited by investors.
Verizon Wireless, its venture with Vodafone Group Plc (VOD.L), added 584,000 monthly bill-paying customers in the quarter compared with the average expectation for 580,000 from six analysts contacted by Reuters.
In comparison, AT&T reported postpaid net additions of 745,000 the day before, boosted by iPhone.
Until it starts selling iPhones, growth at Verizon Wireless, the biggest U.S. mobile operator, depends heavily on cellphones based on Google Inc's (GOOG.O) Android.
Verizon's third-quarter net profit fell to $881 million, or 31 cents per share from $1.18 billion, or 41 cents a share in the same quarter a year earlier.
Excluding 25 cents per share in charges from a pension related settlement and other items, Verizon's earnings per share were 56 cents, 2 cents ahead of the average estimate from Wall Street analysts, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Revenue fell to $26.48 billion from $27.27 billion in the year-ago quarter, slightly ahead of the average analyst estimate for $26.35 billion.
Excluding year-earlier revenue from the wireline assets it sold to Frontier Communications (FTR.N) in July, Verizon's revenue rose 2.1 percent.
Verizon said its adjusted earnings for the second half of 2010 would be at the high end of its previously announced forecast range for a 5 percent to 10 percent increase from its $1.01 earnings per share in the first half of the year.
Its shares fell 0.5 percent to $32.35 in early trade after closing at $32.52 in regular New York Stock Exchange trade.
