Topic: How To Invest

Pat: Would you please give me your current opinion on Vodafone as a buy, sell or hold?

Article Excerpt

Vodafone Group plc (ADRs), $27.92, symbol VOD on Nasdaq (ADRs outstanding: 5.1 billion; Market cap: $142.4 billion; www.vodafone.com), is a leading provider of mobile telecommunications services, including cellular phones and paging. The company has 379 million subscribers and operates in 26 countries. It also owns 45% of Verizon Wireless, which provides mobile-phone services in the U.S. Verizon Communications, symbol VZ on New York, owns the remaining 55%. In its fiscal 2012 first quarter, which ended June 30, 2011, Vodafone’s revenue rose 3.5%, to $18.5 billion U.S. from $17.9 billion U.S. The company did not report quarterly earnings; it won’t report earnings until the six months ended September 30, 2011. However, for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2011, earnings per ADR rose 3.4%, to $2.75 U.S. from $2.66 U.S. Vodafone continues to benefit from rising use of smartphones, which generate higher profit margins than regular cellphones. In Europe, which accounts for 70% of Vodafone’s revenue, 19.5% of its subscribers used smartphones…