Verizon Falls After Announcing Competition May Squeeze Q4 Margins

Shares of Verizon Communications (VZ) fell in Tuesday's trading session after the company issued a profit warning due to tough competition, making it TheStreet's Move of the Day. The nation's largest wireless carrier said that its end of the year promotional discounts and price reductions are cutting into profit. Verizon warned late Monday that the cost of its discounts in an effort to win customers will likely hurt its wireless margins, overall margins and earnings per share in the fourth quarter. The company said it is losing more customers to other carriers this quarter than in previous quarters, due to heavy promotions from competitors. Also, analysts at Citigroup, Credit Suisse, and Robert W. Baird all cut their price target on shares of Verizon.