Verizon Shares Fall 2% After Telecom Company's Q1 Earnings Fall Short

Verizon Communications Inc. shares fell more than 2% in premarket trading after the telecom company reported first-quarter earnings on Thursday that missed Wall Street expectations. Verizon's net income for the first quarter was $3.6 billion, or 84 cents per share, compared with $4.4 billion, or $1.06 per share during the same quarter a year ago. Adjusted per share earnings were 95 cents, just below FactSet's 96 cents consensus. Revenue hit $29.8 billion during the quarter, compared with $32.2 billion in the year earlier period. FactSet's revenue consensus was $30.4 billion. Verizon said it saw a decline of 307,000 wireless phone customers along with 13,000 Fios video subscribers. The company added 35,000 Fios internet users. Shares of Verizon have declined more than 8% in the year to date, while the S&P 500 index is up more than 4% in the year.