Verizon reports a big boost in wireless subscribers

Verizon reported its second quarter earnings this morning, and while revenue fell short of analyst predictions, the company had strong profits and subscriber growth.

Verizon reported consolidated revenue of $32.1 billion in Q2, down 0.4% year-over-year and lower than analyst estimates of $32.4 billion. However, it also reported adjusted earnings per share of $1.23, compared to analyst predictions of $1.20 (which was Verizon’s EPS a year ago).

The company saw significant growth in wireless subscribers, with a total net addition of 451,000 subscribers, including 420,000 net adds on the smartphone side and 245,000 on the phone side (compared to a net addition of 199,000 phone subscribers in Q2 2018).

Meanwhile, the Fios internet business saw 34,000 net additions, with revenue growing 1.9% year-over-year.

Breaking it down by business unit, Verizon Consumer revenue was $22.0 billion (flat year-over-year), Verizon Business revenue came in at $7.8 billion (down 1.1%) and Verizon Media (which owns TechCrunch) saw revenue of $1.8 billion, down 2.9%.

The earnings release also points to the carrier’s rollout of 5G, with a statement from CEO Hans Vestberg: “Verizon made history this quarter by becoming the first carrier in the world to launch 5G mobility. We are focused on optimizing our next-generation networks and enhancing the customer experience while we head into the second half of the year with great momentum.”

In an interview with CNBC, Vestberg predicted that half of the United States will have functioning 5G by 2020.

As of 11:16 am Eastern, Verizon shares were up 1.14% since the start of trading.