Verizon tops profit expectations in the third quarter

Verizon Communications Inc. on Wednesday reported third-quarter profit of $4.36 billion.

On a per-share basis, the New York-based company said it had profit of $1.05. Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring costs, came to $1.25 per share.

The results beat Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of 14 analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $1.22 per share.

The largest U.S. cellphone carrier posted revenue of $31.54 billion in the period, missing Street forecasts. Fifteen analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $31.57 billion.

Verizon shares have decreased roughly 7% since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index has climbed almost 7%. The stock has declined nearly 6% in the last 12 months.

This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on VZ at https://www.zacks.com/ap/VZ