(Reuters) – Verizon missed third-quarter revenue expectations on Tuesday, hurt by fewer customers looking to upgrade their phones, although the group said it acquired more subscribers than expected in the period .
The telecom company reported a 10% drop in phone upgrades as rising interest rates forced customers to cut spending, hurting sales of wireless equipment.
Verizon reported total revenue of $33.3 billion (30.79 billion euros), slightly lower than analysts’ expectations of $33.43 billion.
However, the group said it acquired 239,000 net monthly subscribers in the September quarter, above expectations of 218,100 new subscribers.
The fairly broad adoption of the customizable myPlan offering, which includes benefits on streaming services such as Disney+, Hulu and Max, has allowed Verizon to hold its own in an increasingly competitive market.
As the U.S. phone industry nears saturation, Verizon and its rivals are looking to expand their broadband internet businesses to take advantage of customers’ growing use of mobile data.
The group is expected to unveil its broadband strategy, including new targets for the segment, later today at a conference with analysts.
The group’s net profit fell to $3.4 billion from $4.9 billion the previous year, due to severance payments of $1.7 billion linked to a voluntary departure program and other downsizing initiatives.
The group’s shares were down 1.7% in pre-market trading Tuesday on Wall Street.
(Report by Harshita Mary Varghese, by Etienne Breban, edited by Augustin Turpin)
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