Verizon Shares Drop More Than 2% After Company Misses Q4 Profit Expectations

Verizon Communication Inc. shares fell 2.7% in premarket trade on Tuesday after the mobile phone and cable TV provider reported fourth-quarter profit that was below Wall Street expectations. Net income for the quarter was $4.6 billion, or $1.10 per share, compared with $5.5 billion, or $1.32 per share, during the same quarter a year ago. Adjusted earnings per share were 86 cents, below the FactSet consensus of 89 cents. Revenue in the quarter hit $32.3 billion, compared with $34.3 billion during the same quarter the previous year. FactSet had forecast revenue of $32.1 billion. Verizon said it added 591,000 wireless customers during the quarter and tacked on 21,000 Fios video additions as well. The company expects full-year 2017 consolidated revenues to be "fairly consistent" with 2016 and 2017 consolidated adjusted earnings per share to be similar to revenue trends. Revenue for the full year 2016 was $126.0 billion and per-share earnings were $3.22 for the year. Verizon shares have gained more than 11% in the trailing 12-months, while the S&P 500 Index is up nearly 19%.