Verizon Beats on Revenue, Microsoft Slides, Block Surges

On this edition of Stock Movers:

- Verizon (VZ) posted second-quarter revenue that surpassed analysts’ estimates and raised its profit outlook, buoyed by wireless price increases and recent tax legislation. Operating revenue was $34.5 billion, up 5.2% from a year earlier, The New York-based carrier said in a statement. Wall Street had been expecting $33.7 billion, on average. Wireless service revenue, which excludes device purchases and upgrades, was $20.9 billion, in line with analysts’ projections. The strong performance, as well as “favorable tax reform,” led Verizon to boost some full-year guidance metrics, including adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization and free cash flow. The shares rose as much as 4.7% Monday in New York, the most since January 2024. They are up 6.2% this year.

- Microsoft (MFST) shares slid after it warned that hackers are actively targeting customers of its document management software SharePoint, with security researchers flagging the risk of potentially widespread breaches around the world. Vulnerabilities in the software have allowed hackers to access file systems and execute code, the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency warned on Sunday. While Microsoft said over the weekend that it had released a new patch for customers to apply to their SharePoint servers “to mitigate active attacks targeting on-premises servers,” the company was still working to roll out others to address ongoing security flaws.

- Block (XYZ) shares surged on the new it will join the S&P 500. Jack Dorsey's fintech firm will replace Hess in the benchmark. The changes will go into effect prior to the start of trading on July 23, according to a press release from S&P Dow Jones Indices Friday. Block, formerly known as Square, has evolved from a payments processor into a broader fintech player, offering peer-to-peer transfers, merchant services, and increasingly, consumer lending. Earlier this year, Block’s industrial bank subsidiary Square Financial Services Inc. received approval from the US Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. to begin offering consumer loans directly through the Cash App Borrow product. The company is also integrating Bitcoin payment capabilities into its Square terminals, reflecting Dorsey’s long-standing advocacy for Bitcoin. He remains an influential voice in the digital-asset world, recently sharing open-source coding projects on X.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
Bloomberg Audio Studios Podcasts, Radio News.

Speaker 2 (00:08):
The Stock Movers podcast, your roundup of companies making moves
in the stock market, harnessing the power of Bloomberg Data.

Speaker 1 (00:18):
Carol Master Long with Tim Stanevik. Let's get to some
of the stocks on the move.

Speaker 3 (00:22):
With us is Bloomberg News Equities reporter Alex Savanova here
in studio got to talk about Verizon.

Speaker 1 (00:28):
Yeah, that is a stock that is doing quite well today,
up almost five percent. This is after the company posted
second quarter revenue that beat analyst estimates. It also raised
its profit outlook obviously, that is really important this earning season.
The strong results were lifted by wireless price increases and
also the Trump Administration's new tax law. That was enough

(00:49):
to offset the fact that the company actually saw a
net loss of fifty one thousand monthly subscribers and an
expecting a gain of twelve thousand, So really remarkable. Here.
I guess that profit outlook optimism as part of the
reason that the stock is up today. It's shares are
actually six percent of this year as well. Verizon has
been struggling to woo new customers in a very tight market.

(01:10):
Is obviously competing with at and T and T Mobile,
which up until recently has had better deals than Verizon.
Actually this spring it put out some promotions. It offered
free phone upgrades, so that helps results. That's poised to
help results a little bit. The company is also benefiting
from US tax reform. This is really interesting. It allows
companies to immediately write off the full cost of certain

(01:32):
new equipment, and they estimate that that will boost their
free cash flow by up to two billion dollars. So
we're releaseeing in some of these earnings reports the real
time benefits of this new tax.

Speaker 3 (01:42):
Ticker vs A stock up four point seven percent. Apparently
people jump around from plan to plan, Carol.

Speaker 2 (01:49):
We've been doing that lot.

Speaker 1 (01:51):
It's kept driving my family get an I don't want
keeps complaining yet because but some of the jumping, you know,
you kind of sometimes get what you pay for.

Speaker 3 (01:59):
My on his role, and I feeally feel.

Speaker 1 (02:02):
Like there might be another change coming. All right, let's
talk about.

Speaker 3 (02:06):
Microsoft ticker of course MSFT. What's going on here?

Speaker 1 (02:10):
Yeah, this one is a bit of a worry someone.
Microsoft warned that hackers are actively tarting targeting customers of
their document management software share points. Obviously, so many businesses
use this software cybersecurity forms. Caution that a broad section
of organizations may be affected through this breach. Tens of thousands,
if not hundreds, of businesses and institutions use share points

(02:33):
in some fashion to store and collaborate on documents, so
very concerning here. Microsoft has been trying to shore up
at cybersecurity efforts. They hired, you know, people from the
government to try and help with this, but clearly that's
not enough. Right now, the stock is a little change
right now.

Speaker 3 (02:49):
I'm as FT is the ticker, and like you said, Alex,
the stock little changed right now. Here's a good ticker XYZ.

Speaker 2 (02:57):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (02:57):
Block is set to join the SMP five hundred index. Obviously,
this is a huge deal for any company. It's also
a tremendous milestone for Jack Dorsey's firm, which underscores the
influence of the digital payment system and crypto in finance.
It is going to replace Hescorpin the benchmark following Chevron's
acquisition of the energy producer. The changes will go into

(03:21):
effect prior to the start of trading on July twenty thirty.
Look at shares right now, they're up almost eight percent.
Inclusion into the s and P five hundred typically does
bode well for companies. It elevates their profile and exclusion.
Actually often see some stock prices go lower and I
get the ticker, but I understand what they did.

Speaker 3 (03:38):
Is that it was put than just but still a
little way I can do.

Speaker 1 (03:41):
They wanted to stand out.

Speaker 2 (03:43):
The Stock Movers podcast from Bloomberg Radio. Check back with
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