M+E Connections

Verizon reported strong results for the first quarter (ended March 31) as it achieved revenue growth across its three business segments and accelerated 5G growth through multiple initiatives.

“We’re off to an excellent start for the year based on our strong operational and financial performance,” Verizon CFO Matthew D. Ellis said April 21 during a webcast with analysts. “We are seeing continued strength in our core business with traction across all five of our growth vectors, driving higher revenues and increased demand for our products and services,” he said.

In the company’s wireless business, “we continue to be pleased with the quality of the additions we are attracting,” he noted. “Similar to last quarter, over 90 percent of new accounts came in on an unlimited plan and over 50 percent of these accounts opted for premium unlimited service,” he pointed out.

At the end of Q1, more than 65% of its base was “on an unlimited plan, with more than 23 percent of our base taking a premium plan,” he told analysts, adding: “We have plenty of room to continue to expand these penetration rates and believe that they will grow alongside our 5G adoption rates, which currently resides at 14 percent of our consumer postpaid phone base. 5G adoption and the customer differentiation associated with our premium and unlimited plans will further benefit our retention efforts, which remained strong in Q1 with phone churn of 0.77 percent for the quarter.”

Verizon reported that Q1 operating revenue grew 4% from a year ago to $32.9 billion, while income jumped 25.4% to $5.4 billion and earnings per share increased to $1.27 from $1.00.

Noting that it has been more than a year since the “devastating effects of COVID-19,” Hans Vestberg, Verizon CEO and chairman, told analysts: “While we see significant progress in vaccination, customer sentiment and recovery of economy, there is still a lot to go before we’re back to normal.” He predicted that Verizon “will come out stronger as a company when this is over, adding that, “today, we stand stronger than ever to compete in the market and serve our customers.”

During Q1, the company “amplified and accelerated our strategy” and, “as we laid out” during the recent Investor Day, the “combination of C-Band and our millimeter wave place us in a unique position of strength to execute on all 5G opportunities: 5G Home, 5G Mobility and 5G Mobile Edge Compute,” Vestberg added.

One day earlier, Verizon announced it was expanding 5G to more U.S. cities.

On April 22, 5G Ultra Wideband was scheduled to launch in New Orleans; Fresno, California; Riverside, California; and San Antonio, bringing the total number of mobility cities to 71.

Meanwhile, 5G Home Internet was slated to launch in Riverside April 22, and Memphis and San Antonio on May 6, boosting the total number of 5G Home Internet cities to 33.

Starting April 29, Verizon will offer up to $500 to cover early termination fees for customers who leave their current Internet providers and switch to 5G Home Internet, it said.

The new cities are part of Verizon’s pledge to deliver over 14,000 new cell sites this year alone, further underlining its commitment to expanding its 5G network on mmWave spectrum while preparing for the launch of 5G service on its recently acquired C-band spectrum, which will cover an additional 100 million mobility customers in the first quarter of 2022, it said.

Furthering its expansion efforts, Verizon also recently said it is continuing to increase 5G Ultra Wideband coverage via the use of signal repeaters, leading to more 5G Ultra Wideband coverage for 5G mobility and 5G Home Internet customers.