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Verizon Communications ( VZ ) early Thursday reported Q1 revenue that missed Wall Street views, putting its recent acquisition spree — and its strategy to pursue growth from mobile video and advertising — in the spotlight on its earnings call. Verizon stock was down nearly 4% in afternoon trading Thursday, after the phone company reported EPS in line with analyst consensus estimates but revenue that missed views. High-dividend-paying Verizon and AT&T ( T ) were among top-performing large-cap stocks in Q1, but both have fallen in April. Verizon provided no update on its interest in acquiring struggling Web company Yahoo ( YHOO ). Verizon said that AOL, which it acquired last June for $4.4 billion, had its best March quarter in five years; but Verizon did not break out the digital media company’s results. Nor did Verizon provide subscriber or other data for its ad-supported Go90 mobile video service, launched in late September. CFO Fran Shammo, on Verizon’s earnings conference call with analysts, defended Verizon’s acquisitions and investments in digital media firms that cater to young adults and teenagers. Verizon is turning to advertising as the next leg of wireless revenue growth, as growth from wireless data products slows amid fierce competition with AT&T, T-Mobile US ( TMUS ) and Sprint ( S ), says Craig Moffett, an analyst at MoffettNathanson. Shammo says that Verizon will provide more transparency later in 2016 on how its push into digital media is progressing. “On AOL performance, I think I’m not going to get into a lot of details on AOL, but they’ve had the best quarter in revenue in the last five years,” Shammo said. “We will, as I said before, open the box at some point in time to give you more visibility to this, and I continue to say that that will be midyear to maybe third quarter of this year where we’ll start to produce some numbers around some of these more specific platforms.” The CFO said that he expects more operating synergy between AOL and the Go90 service. Will Regulatory Moves Hurt Verizon’s Ad Ambitions? Along with AOL’s ad platform last year, Verizon acquired online brands such as Huffington Post, TechCrunch and Engadget. Verizon also snapped up ad firm Millennial Media for a reported $250 million. Verizon recently bought a 24.5% stake in DreamWorks Animation ’s ( DWA ) AwesomenessTV, a digital network for teenagers and young adults. Verizon also teamed with Hearst to acquire video website Complex Media, while Verizon-AOL acquired virtual reality studio RYOT for a reported $10 million to $15 million. Those deals followed Verizon’s 2014 acquisition of Intel ’s ( INTC ) Internet video business OnCue. In 2013, it also purchased EdgeCast Networks, a content delivery network. Amid the acquisition spree, some analysts worry about regulatory moves that could hinder Verizon’s ability to increase ad revenue. Verizon aims to use wireless customer location data to support its advertising business, analysts say. The Federal Communications Commission in March proposed a rule that would require mobile and fixed Internet service providers to get customer consent to collect data for targeted advertising. Under the privacy rules, ISPs would need to tell consumers what information they are collecting, how they are using it and when they will share it. “Privacy and security has always been a priority for Verizon,” said Shammo. “The issue that we have right now is that the FCC’s proposed rules would apply to broadband (service) providers but not to companies like ( Alphabet ’s ( GOOGL )) Google or Facebook ( FB ). “If we’re going to have rules, we need to make sure we don’t single out certain industries. That’s something our legal department continues to work with the FCC on.” Verizon’s buyout of Vodafone Group ’s ( VOD ) 45% stake in Verizon Wireless for $130 billion in 2014 gave it more flexibility to use cash for acquisitions and pursue a new strategic direction. Verizon had $104 billion in net debt as of March 31, down slightly from $109 billion in Q1 2015. On April 1, Verizon closed a deal to sell wireline assets in California, Florida and Texas to Frontier Communications ( FTR ) for $10.5 billion. The deal could lower Verizon’s debt, unless it acquires part or all of Yahoo. Verizon on Thursday reiterated guidance for flat full-year adjusted earnings. Verizon said that the strike of 39,000 wireline workers, which began April 13, could pressure current-quarter profit. Verizon said that its Q1 profit rose 4% to $1.06 from the year-earlier period, with revenue rising less than 1% to $32.17 billion. Analysts had modeled revenue of $32.46 billion. Excluding AOL, acquired in June 2015, Verizon said that its Q1 revenue fell 1.5%. Wireless revenue fell 1.4% to $22 billion. Wireless revenue from IoT (Internet of Things) products, mainly Web-connected cars, rose 25% to $195 million, Verizon said. Scalper1 News
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