5 Things To Know About How COVID-19 Affected CenturyLink's Q1 2020

CenturyLink CEO Jeff Storey is "especially concerned" about SMB customers, but the carrier's fiber network and advanced services, like security, edge computing, and managed services, will keep CenturyLink relevant in the post-COVID-19 world, Storey said during CenturyLink's Q1 2020 earnings call.

Overall Revenue Results

As CenturyLink saw declines across SMB, Wholesale and its Consumer segment, revenues for the first quarter of 2020, which ended March 31, declined 3.7 percent to $5.23 billion, compared to $5.43 billion in the first quarter of 2019. Diluted earnings per share for the first quarter was up to 37 cents compared to 34 cents per share for the first quarter in 2019. Net income for the quarter was $316 million compared to $6.16 billion a year ago.

Just as AT&T and Verizon did, CenturyLink withdrew its full-year 2020 financial outlook for adjusted EBITDA, free cash flow and capital expenditures, citing that impact of the coronavirus and the resulting economic circumstances that will be hard to predict.

"While we’re still in the early days, and there are a lot of unknowns, one thing I feel certain is that the demand for fiber and for the services we provide are more important than ever," Storey said at the end of the earnings call. "CenturyLink will also rise to the challenge to meet customer needs."