Verizon reported first quarter earnings Tuesday that beat analyst estimates.
Here's how the telecom giant did:
— Earnings per share: $1.17 vs. $1.10 expected by Thomson Reuters
— Revenue: $31.78 billion vs. $31.25 billion expected by Thomson Reuters
— Net increase of 260,000 retail postpaid connections, compared to 165,000 expected according to StreetAccount
Analysts forecast something of a strong report from the incumbent telecom company, even as the industry faces antitrust uncertainty.
Earnings and revenue for the first quarter represent a 23 percent year-over-year upside and a nearly 7 percent year-over-year upside, respectively.
Shares of Verizon rose more than 3 percent in premarket trading.
The company attributed the growth to "solid performance in the wireless business." Revenue for the wireless division, excluding certain adjustments, totaled $21.9 billion and marked a year-over-year increase of 4.7 percent.
Net losses in connected phones and tablets were offset by a gain of 359,000 in other connected devices, primarily wearables.
Verizon has struggled in the past to maintain consistent net adds of retail postpaid connections — the number representing users locked into a contract.
The company saw a net increase of 1.2 million postpaid accounts in the previous quarter, but posted a net decline of 307,000 in the year-ago quarter.
CNBC reported last week the U.S. Justice Department had requested information from all four major wireless carriers — Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint — as part of an antitrust investigation.
Officials are investigating whether the carriers colluded in stifling technology that would allow customers to more easily change providers.
Antitrust scrutiny has also loomed over merger talks between industry peers T-Mobile and Sprint — a tie-up that, if completed, would pose a greater challenger to leaders AT&T and Verizon.
CNBC reported earlier this month those merger talks had resumed.
Shares of Verizon are down 8 percent in 2018, trading below $49 and more than 20 percent off the stock's 1999 all-time high of $62.29
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