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The two firms have released their financial results for Q4 of 2023, both of which reflect current market conditions
Verizon have released their annual earnings report, in which total revenue for 2023 stood at $134 billion, a 2.2% year-on-year decrease. Operating profit fell around 25% to $22.9 billion, and net profit decreased by 44% to $12.1 billion.
In Q4, the firm reported a loss of $2.57 billion, and earnings per share down to 64 cents, having been heavily impacted by Verizon’s writ down of its business division by $5.8 billion earlier this month. In a statement last week, the company said this was due to a decline in demand, as well as “continuing competitive and macroeconomic pressure.”
Capital expenditure (capex) last year totalled $18.8 billion, which is down significantly from the $23.1 billion spent the year before. Verizon says thy expect this shrink in capex to continue for the coming year, aiming for between $17 billion and $17.5 billion, a year-on-year reduction of between 6.9% and 9.6%.
“2023 was a year of change. We have the right assets and the best team in place and are well-positioned for growth in 2024,” said Verizon Chairman and CEO Hans Vestberg in the accompanying press release.
More positively, wireless service revenue rose to $76.7 billion, an increase of 3.2% on 2022 figures. Additionally, fixed wireless net additions for 2023 were up over 31% year-on-year, which the company say reflect the increased demand driven by the strength and reliability of the product.
The full earnings report can be accessed here.
While Verizon’s results appear somewhat gloomy, the problem is indeed market wide. This week, after the release of its Q4 results, Ericsson President and CEO Börje Ekholm said that the company “expects the market outside China to further decline, with similar uncertainties as experienced in 2023.”
AT&T have also released their financial results for Q4 and the year 2023, which looked a little brighter. Revenue increased 2.2% year-on-year $32 billion, exceeding expectations. 2023 revenues stood at $122.4 billion, up by 1.4%, and its adjusted operating profit for last year was $24.7 billion, up 5% year-on-year. However, shares dropped 3.8% this morning after the Q4 earnings missed analyst expectations.
“We accomplished exactly what we said we would in 2023, delivering sustainable growth and consistent business performance, resulting in full-year free cash flow of $16.8 billion, ahead of our raised guidance,” said CEO John Stankey.
“As we advance our lead in converged connectivity, we will continue to scale our best-in-class 5G and fiber networks to meet customers’ growing demand for seamless, ubiquitous broadband, and drive durable growth for shareholders,” he continued.
The full earnings report can be found here.
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