Millions of Verizon customers were hit with a widespread outage on January 14th that the company was not able to resolve for several hours. A company spokesman said the outage was tied to an issue with a software update. The result left millions without internet and mobile service connectivity, and as a result sent Verizon (VZ) stock down.
“Yesterday, we did not meet the standard of excellence our customers expect and that we expect of ourselves,” the spokesman said Thursday, announcing a $20 account credit for all affected customers. “This credit isn’t meant to make up for what happened. No credit really can. But it’s a way of acknowledging our customers’ time and showing that this matters to us.” The outage took several hours to fix, and even left some customers with regaining access just to lose it again in a few short minutes.
Verizon said the $20 credit to its 146 million wireless subscribers is meant to compensate them for the inconvenience caused by the outage. To access the $20 credit, the company told customers to log into the Verizon app and accept it. On average, the credit should compensate people for multiple days of service, said the company.
Also Read: Coinbase (COIN) Stock Falls After CEO Pulls Crypto Bill Support
VZ shares have dipped nearly 4% in the last five days, with most of the stock’s falloff occurring in the last 30 hours. Verizon will unveil its Q4 earnings report at the end of the month, which analysts are hoping will help VZ stock rebound from the outage-based slump. Additionally, the company has secured regulatory approvals for its significant acquisition of Frontier, which is set to enhance its fiber access and service offerings.
Analysts have differing views on Verizon’s potential, with price targets spanning from $44 to $56. The stock is currently priced at $39.37, indicating a potential upside.