Verizon posts earnings of $1.02 a share vs. 95 cents estimate
Verizon Communications on Tuesday delivered quarterly earnings that topped analysts' expectations.
The telecom behemoth posted first-quarter earnings of $1.02 per share, up from 84 cents a share in the year-earlier period.
Revenue rose to $31.98 billion from $30.82 billion a year ago.
Wall Street had expected the company to deliver quarterly earnings per share of 95 cents on $32.27 billion in revenue, according to consensus estimates from Thomson Reuters.
The results "offer further evidence that this is a company seeking balanced and profitable growth on both sides of its business, wireless and wireline," Wells Fargo Securities senior analyst Jennifer Fritzche said on CNBC's "Squawk Box."
Verizon's shares were lower in early trading Tuesday. (Click here to track its shares.) Shares of the company have increased almost 2 percent over the last 12 months to $48.90.
In an effort to compete with online streaming services, Verizon is offering FiOS Custom TV, which gives customers the option to buy a $55 base package with more than 35 channels plus two additional themed channel packs. The company said no contract is required. The unbundling would give viewers more control over the channels they pay for.
Fritzche said the product provides an interesting hybrid that will appeal to many people.
Walt Disney has objected to the service since Verizon announced it. How the dispute resolves will say a lot about who has the strength in the relationship, Fritzche said.
In February the telecom giant announced it would sell its local wireline businesses in California, Texas and Florida for a total of $10.54 billion. In a separate transaction, Verizon announced the sale of its leasing and operating rights to 11,324 towers to American Tower for about $5 billion.
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Disclosure: Fritzche doesn't own shares of Verizon. Wells Fargo does not hold a greater than 1 percent share in the stock. It does provide investment banking services to Verizon and maintains a market in Verizon common stock.
—CNBC's Tom DiChristopher and Terri Cullen and AP contributed to this report.