Verizon raises free cash flow forecast as subscriber additions top estimates

Verizon raised its annual free cash flow forecast on Tuesday as promotions and the U.S. wireless carrier’s high-speed 5G network helped it attract more subscribers than expected in the third quarter in a competitive telecom market.

The company now expects annual free cash flow (FCF) to be higher than $18 billion, at least a $1 billion increase from its prior forecast.

Its third-quarter FCF of $6.7 billion beat estimates by more than $1.3 billion, according to Visible Alpha.

Shares of the New York-based telecom company, which has benefited from price increases and customers migrating to higher-tiered unlimited plans, rose nearly 2 per cent in premarket trading.

Verizon, whose plans typically cost more than its peers, added 100,000 net monthly-bill-paying wireless phone subscribers in the third quarter, compared with expectations for 63,600 additions, according to Factset.

The company has also been trying to stand out in the competitive U.S. market with promotional offerings and trade-in deals following the launch of the iPhone 15.

Rival AT&T raised its annual FCF forecast last week and beat Wall Street estimates for subscriber additions.

T-Mobile US is scheduled to report results on Wednesday.

Verizon’s revenue fell 2.6 per cent to $33.3 billion in the three months to September, but was in-line with analysts’ average estimate of $33.25 billion, according to LSEG data.