Verizon Still Feeling Effects of COVID-19, CFO Says

Verizon continues to feel COVID-19 effects, Chief Financial Officer Matthew Ellis told a virtual Barclays investor conference Thursday. Last year, Verizon had 3% service revenue growth, he said. Then “COVID came along” and in Q2, “we had the most significant dropdown” of 1.7% year over year, he said. In Q3, “we started to see some of those revenue streams come back as you think about usage fees and whatnot,” he said. “International roaming has not started bouncing back at all and probably will not for some time period.” Verizon expects “multiple revenue streams” from 5G, unlike in other generations, Ellis said. “Mobility will continue to be an incredibly strong part of our revenue stream, and it's important that we have postpaid customers there.” The carrier expects “some revenues” from next-generation business-to-business applications next year, “but really we don't expect scaling up of those revenues on the business side until you get into '22,” he said.