Pandemic, Accounting Change Trigger Bad Debt Boosts at Telecoms

A collision of two big events is making bad debt spike at U.S. telecom companies.

The coronavirus pandemic plus a major accounting change made Verizon Communications Inc., AT&T Inc., T-Mobile Inc., Comcast Corp., and Charter Communications Inc. this quarter boost their bad debt expenses, the line in their income statements that tallies money they won’t collect. Comcast hiked its provision to cover the expense the most, increasing it by by 46% compared to last quarter, with Verizon following closely at 43%.

The unfolding recession and worries that customers will fall behind on their cell phone and cable TV bills would ...