(Reuters) – Verizon Communications Inc on Wednesday added more monthly bill-paying phone subscribers than expected as people bought new connections to power work-from-home set-ups. The company said it added 283,000 postpaid phone subscribers, above the average estimate of 268,000 for the third quarter, according to research firm FactSet.
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought global economies to a halt, but the telecom sector has been relatively less affected as more companies adopt work-from-home strategies.
Net income fell to $1.05 per share in the third quarter from $1.25 per share a year earlier, with about 5 cents of COVID-19-related net impacts, Verizon said.
Total operating revenue for the wireless carrier fell 4.1% to $31.5 billion from a year earlier, hurt by lower customer activity and the timing of certain device launches.
The company also said it now expects full-year 2020 adjusted EPS growth of 0% to 2%. Its prior guidance range was -2% to 2%.
(Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain in Bengaluru; Editing by Bernard Orr)