Telecommunications services provider Windstream Corp. (WIN) is slated to announce its first-quarter results before the market opens on Friday. Wall Street analysts forecast a year-over-year decline in the company's earnings per share and revenue for the first quarter.
Windstream, together with its subsidiaries, provides telecommunications services in rural communities in the U.S. The company provides local telephone, high speed Internet, long distance, network access, and video services. As of December 31, 2008, Windstream operated 61 retail stores and 2 call centers.
On average, 17 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect Windstream to earn $0.23 per share for the first quarter, compared with $0.27 per share the company reported a year ago. Analysts also forecast revenues of $775.71 million, a 4.4% drop from last year's $811.70 million.
In early February, Windstream, the spin-off company from Alltel's wireline business, reported an 86% decline in its fourth-quarter net income, hurt by a loss from discontinued operations and the absence of a year-ago gain on its directory publishing business sales. The company's net income for the fourth quarter was $81.2 million, or $0.19 per share, and total revenues and sales were $777.5 million.
During the fourth-quarter results announcement, Windstream said it expects fiscal 2009 operating income before depreciation and amortization, or OIBDA, to be between $1.485 billion and $1.55 billion and adjusted OIBDA between $1.575 billion and $1.64 billion.
The company also projected full-year revenues in the range of $3.045 billion - $3.170 billion, which is a decline of 0-4% compared to 2008. Meanwhile, Wall Street is looking for full-year earnings of $0.90 per share on revenues of $3.07 billion.
In February, Windstream entered into an agreement with Mitel to offer business customers an expanded portfolio of feature-rich communications solutions.
Among rivals, AT&T Inc. (T) has announced a 9.7% drop in its first-quarter earnings on pension charges and continuing declines in wireline voice access lines and business voice revenues. Net income attributable to AT&T was $3.126 billion, or $0.53 per share, compared with $3.461 billion, or $0.57 per share, in the year-earlier quarter. Net income declined to $3.2 billion from $3.52 billion a year ago. The company's consolidated operational revenue declined to $30.57 billion from $30.74 billion last year.
Another competitor, Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) reported a 5.3% increase in its profit for the first quarter, helped by the acquisition of Alltel and strong growth in its wireless segment. The second-largest U.S. telecommunications company's income increased 5.3% in the first quarter to $3.21 billion from $3.05 billion in the year-ago quarter. Operating revenue climbed 11.6% to $26.59 billion from $23.83 billion a year ago, as the company added revenues from its acquisition of Alltel in early January 2009.
WIN closed Thursday's trading at $8.78, up $0.02, on a volume of 4.24 million shares. For the 52-week period, the company's trading range was $6.28 - $15.
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