The Proof is in the Capex

Yesterday, we asked if the expectation that wireless spending will pick up in the second half of 2015 would become a reality. Verizon was the first wireless carrier to report their second quarter results, and the company reported second quarter capex of $4.49 billion, which brings their total to $8.2 billion for the first half of the year. The company projected that wireless capex for the year would be around $17.5 billion to $18 billion. “We expect capex to ramp in 2H,” Jonathan Schildkraut of Evercore ISI wrote. Kevin Smithen at Macquarie Securities slightly raised their 2016 earnings per share (EPS) forecasts to $3.76 following Verizon’s second quarter earnings call. “Verizon mentioned on its conference call that LTE network traffic doubled year-on-year (Y/Y). While this is an approximate number, our recently-published forecast was for 72% Y/Y growth in Q2. We are even more convinced now that VZ will have network congestion issues on LTE over the next couple of years and that this could ultimately lead to higher churn,” Smithen wrote.