2015 Annual Report As the Connected World Expands, We’Re Asking Ourselves a Critical Question: How Do We Make a Difference for the People Who Count on Us Every Day?
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2015 Annual Report As the connected world expands, we’re asking ourselves a critical question: How do we make a difference for the people who count on us every day? This leads us to a simple, powerful truth: the digital world has made consumers a promise of a better, more connected life, and we’re the ones delivering it. We help make businesses better partners for their customers. We help students explore worlds beyond their classrooms. 2015 Annual Report www.verizon.com/2015AnnualReport 1 We deliver the promise of the digital world. 2 Financial highlights Financial highlights as of December 31, 2015 Consolidated revenues Operating cash flows from Reported diluted (in billions) continuing operations (in billions) earnings per share $131.6 $38.8 $38.9 $4.37 $120.6 $127.1 $4.00 $30.6 $2.42 2013 2014 2015 2013 2014 2015 2013 2014 2015 Adjusted diluted earnings Dividends declared per share (non-GAAP) per share $3.99 $2.23 $2.09 $2.16 $3.35 $2.84 2013 2014 2015 2013 2014 2015 Corporate highlights $21.2 billion in free cash flow (non-GAAP) 35.7 million wireless retail postpaid accounts 418,000 Fios Internet subscriber net additions 3.6% growth in operating revenues 0.96% wireless retail postpaid churn 178,000 Fios Video subscriber 2.7% 42.5% annual dividend increase wireless segment EBITDA net additions margin (non-GAAP) 112.1 million wireless retail connections 8.6% growth in Fios revenues 4.6% growth in wireless total 4.0 million wireless retail net additions* operating revenues 3.5% growth in wireline consumer retail revenues *Excludes acquisitions and adjustments Note: Certain reclassifications have been made, where appropriate, to reflect comparable operating results. See Investor Relations (www.verizon.com/about/investors) for reconciliations to U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) for the non-GAAP financial measures included in this annual report. Forward- Looking Statements. In this report, we have made forward- looking statements. These statements are based on our estimates and assumptions and are subject to risks and uncertainties. Forward- looking statements include the information concerning our possible or assumed future results of operations. Forward- looking statements also include those preceded or followed by the words “anticipates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “hopes” or similar expressions. For those statements, we claim the protection of the safe harbor for forward- looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The following important factors, along with those discussed in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), could affect future results and could cause those results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward- looking statements: adverse conditions in the U.S. and international economies; the effects of competition in the markets in which we operate; material changes in technology or technology substitution; disruption of our key suppliers’ provisioning of products or services; changes in the regulatory environment in which we operate, including any increase in restrictions on our ability to operate our networks; breaches of network or information technology security, natural disasters, terrorist attacks or acts of war or significant litigation and any resulting financial impact not covered by insurance; our high level of indebtedness; an adverse change in the ratings afforded our debt securities by nationally accredited ratings organizations or adverse conditions in the credit markets affecting the cost, including interest rates, and/or availability of further financing; material adverse changes in labor matters, including labor negotiations, and any resulting financial and/or operational impact; significant increases in benefit plan costs or lower investment returns on plan assets; changes in tax laws or treaties, or in their interpretation; changes in accounting assumptions that regulatory agencies, including the SEC, may require or that result from changes in the accounting rules or their application, which could result in an impact on earnings; and the inability to implement our business strategies. In keeping with Verizon’s commitment to protect the environment, this report was printed on paper certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). By selecting FSC-certified paper, Verizonis helping to make a difference by supporting responsible forest management practices. 2015 Annual Report www.verizon.com/2015AnnualReport Corporate responsibility highlights 3 Corporate responsibility highlights Education Extending our reach We provided technology access and We transform learning. 100k opportunities to more than 100,000 We’re creating hands-on, students students in all 50 states. technology-based programs that equip young people Increased tech interest with skills to succeed in jobs Winners of our Verizon Innovative 60% App Challenge were more interested of the future. in computer programming. Improved tech skills Students in our Verizon Innovative 56% Learning Schools (VILS) program got better at using technology. Increased engagement Students in our VILS program were 37% more engaged with their subjects. Sustainability Carbon intensity reduction A connected world is a more progress through 2014 sustainable world. We’re 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2020 Cutting carbon reducing our carbon emissions Baseline and our customers’ footprints. We kept working toward our goal of cutting our carbon intensity in half by 2020. Goal 18% 29% 31% 40% 40% 50% Reducing emissions Our IoT solutions reduced customer green- 1 house gas emissions equivalent to taking million more than one million cars off the road. American Climate pledge Business Act on We signed on to support clean energy, reduce waste and minimize Climate Pledge our environmental footprint. www.verizon.com/2015AnnualReport 2015 Annual Report 4 Chairman’s letter Dear Shareowner, growth and profitability in a rapidly see in both our wireless and wireline transforming industry. businesses. Mobile and broadband usage is growing, driven by demand In 2015, the pace of change in com- for data and video. Verizon’s base munications accelerated, driven by of high- quality customers also con- fundamental shifts in technology, tinues to grow. We ended 2015 with industry structure and demographics. 112.1 million retail wireless connections, Once again, we face hard questions 7 million Fios Internet subscribers about how to transform our company and 5.8 million Fios Video subscribers, to compete and grow in this new with strong demand for smartphones, environment and, once again, we’ve tablets and our high-speed Fios stepped up to the challenge of posi- Quantum service. This steady demand In periods of rapid change, the most tioning Verizon to be an innovator in for mobile and consumer broad- important question a corporate leader the digital-first mobile future while band fueled our revenue growth in can ask is, are we the company we delivering another year of strong 2015. Total operating revenues were need to be for the future? operating and financial performance. $131.6 billion, an increase of 3.6 per- cent over 2014. We have asked ourselves that ques- Let me share the highlights of this tion many times throughout Verizon’s transformational year. Most important, as video, music and history, and we’ve responded with commerce all migrate to mobile forward- looking actions that have Delivering innovation and digital platforms, our services are kept us at the forefront of our indus- more embedded in customers’ lives try. Anticipating the mobile revolution, Our strategy for continued growth than ever before. Therefore, Job #1 we built the nation’s best wireless and profitability is straightforward: for Verizon is reinforcing the network network. Recognizing that fiber would deliver great wireless and wireline superiority that is the defining char- overtake copper, we led the transition services over our superior networks, acteristic of our brand. In 2015, we to broadband. Seeing that video was develop new business models in plat- invested approximately $28 billion going mobile, we invested in wireless forms such as video and the Internet in capital and spectrum licenses to capacity and added to our skill set in of Things, and create incremental rev- increase the future capacity of our digital video. At each inflection point, enue opportunities in applications and wireless network, fill out our all-fiber we’ve demonstrated our ability to content. We delivered on all elements network in the Boston-to- Washington use periods of industry disruption to of this three- tiered strategy in 2015. corridor and enhance our global create new sources of growth, while Internet backbone. still delivering on the fundamentals on The U.S. communications market- which Verizon is built. The result has place continues to show its strength Our leadership in 4G LTE wireless been a remarkably durable record of in a changing environment, as we technology has enabled us to keep 2015 Annual Report www.verizon.com/2015AnnualReport Chairman’s letter 5 ahead of the rapid increase in wireless By enhancing our networks with comes to network advances, and we’re data traffic, about 90 percent of which fiber, small cells, in- building systems, investing to make sure that this remains now rides on the 4G LTE network. In antennas and other capacity- boosting a source of competitive advantage. wireline, customers are taking advan- technologies, we’re not only increas- tage of the tremendous capacity of ing our ability to meet today’s surging Better matters our fiber-to-the-home Fios network, demand for wireless data and video, with more than 70 percent of con- we’re also getting our network ready One of the most important metrics for sumer Fios customers subscribing to for 5G wireless technology. This has us is customer loyalty. In the wireless speeds of 50 megabits per second or the potential to substantially increase business, this is expressed as the higher. Our commitment to network the throughput and responsiveness of percentage of customers who leave, excellence has kept us at the top of wireless networks.