Frontrunner in Yahoo bidding process Verizon reports first-quarter results for 2016
Verizon Communications, the company tipped to win the Yahoo bidding war, reported a 2.9 per cent growth in earnings per share (EPS) in the first quarter of 2016.
The figures
The US firm's revenue grew 0.6 per cent on the first quarter of 2015 to $32.17.bn (£22.4bn).
This was slightly below analysts' expectations of $32.46bn, according to a Thomson Reuters consensus estimate.
Read more: Verizon, Google and others consider Yahoo bids
Its EPS, meanwhile, was $1.06, up from $1.02. This was in line with expectations.
Verizon also reported a net income of $4.43bn for the period, up 2.1 per cent year on year.
Why it's interesting
Verizon is believed to currently be involved in a bidding war for part of US web giant Yahoo.
The company submitted an offer with advice from investment banks Guggenheim Partners, LionTree and Allen & Company, and was expected to have advanced through to the second stage of booking, Reuters reported.
Read more: Hedge fund wants to overhaul Yahoo's board
But Verizon, which acquired AOL last year, is facing competition from other companies, including Yellow Pages owner YP, and private equity firms.
Daily Mail owner DMGT yesterday said in a statement that it had not submitted a bid for part of Yahoo, but added that it "remains in discussions with parties who may potentially be interested in Yahoo".
What the company said
Chairman and chief executive Lowell McAdam:
Verizon’s strong first-quarter results demonstrate our capacity to compete effectively, while executing on our plan of continued network leadership and seeding new growth markets in mobile video and the Internet of Things.