Earnings Preview: Verizon Stock Has Lagged In 3Q

NEW YORK (AP) — Verizon Communications Inc. is scheduled to report third-quarter results Monday morning. The following is a summary of key developments and analyst opinion related to the period.

OVERVIEW: Verizon, the country's second-largest telecommunications company and largest wireless carrier, was left behind by the summer's bull market.

Verizon is fighting the same headwinds as other phone companies: households are giving up landlines. In some cases they're opting for service for cable companies, but to a large extent they're simply relying on their cell phones.

Of course, Verizon benefits from the growth of the wireless industry, but not as much as it would like to. The New York-based company owns only 55 percent of Verizon Wireless, meaning it doesn't get to keep all of the profits. Vodafone Group PLC of Britain owns the rest.

Also, while consumer sales are steady, Verizon warned in September that continued economic weakness is affecting sales of business services. A large number of unemployed means fewer lines to offices.

BY THE NUMBERS: Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect Verizon to post earnings, excluding items, of 59 cents per share on $27.2 billion in revenue. In the same quarter last year, it earned 59 cents per share on $24.7 billion in revenue. The acquisition of Alltel accounts for much of the projected sales increase.