Verizon (VZ) is scheduled to report quarterly results before the market opens on January 29, while AT&T (T) is scheduled to report before the market opens on January 30. What to watch for: 1. VERIZON’S OUTLOOK: When Verizon reported its third quarter results on October 25, 2019, it affirmed its FY19 adjusted earnings per share guidance of low single-digit percentage growth, excluding the impact of the lease accounting standard. Low single-digit percentage growth in full-year consolidated revenues on a GAAP reported basis. Cash taxes to be $2 billion to $3 billion higher than in 2018 due to benefits that were realized in 2018 that are not expected to repeat in 2019. Capital spending for 2019 to be in the range of $17 billion to $18 billion, including the expanded commercial launch of 5G. Adjusted effective income tax rate for full-year 2019 to be at the lower end of its previously disclosed range of 24%-26%. 2. AT&T’S OUTLOOK: When AT&T reported its third quarter results on October 28, 2019, the company said it sees FY20 adjusted EPS $3.60-$3.70, including HBO Max investment against analyst expectations of $3.62 at that time. The company also said it expects FY20 revenue growth of 1%-2%. On December 3, 2019, AT&T CEO John Stephens spoke at the Wells Fargo Global TMT conference. Stephens discussed the 3-year plan AT&T presented in October. AT&T expects revenues to grow at ~1%-2% CAGR from 2020-2022 and EBITDA margins to expand 200bps by 2022. Revenue growth is expected primarily from wireless, WarnerMedia and Mexico; margin growth is expected to come primarily from wireless, merger synergies, Mexico and cost initiatives. AT&T plans to expand its efficiency initiatives to support its 3-year goal to increase EBITDA margins. Stephens said that over the last 5 years, the company has achieved annual network cost savings between 6% and 8%, driven primarily by the move to software-defined networking, network function virtualization and automation. This trend of cost reductions is expected to continue in 2020. To achieve its margin goals for 2020 and beyond, Stephens said the company has begun several additional cost reduction initiatives targeting an incremental 4% reduction in labor-related costs in 2020 or about $1.5B. 3. AMAZON/VERIZON 5G PARTNERSHIP: On December 3, 2019, Amazon Web Services, an Amazon.com company (AMZN), and Verizon announced a partnership that “will bring the power of the world’s leading cloud closer to mobile and connected devices at the edge of Verizon’s 5G Ultra Wideband network.” Verizon is “the first technology company in the world to offer 5G network edge computing, and will use AWS’s new service, AWS Wavelength, to provide developers the ability to deploy applications that require ultra-low latency to mobile devices using 5G.” The companies are currently piloting AWS Wavelength on Verizon’s edge compute platform, 5G Edge, in Chicago for a select group of customers. The companies added that additional deployments are planned in other locations across the U.S. in 2020.