VEON Ltd (NASDAQ: VEON) shares surged 6.23% in pre-market trading on Thursday following the release of its impressive first-quarter 2025 earnings report. The telecommunications company, which operates in markets including Ukraine and Pakistan, reported robust financial results and significant growth in its digital services segment.

VEON's Q1 total revenue grew 8.9% year-over-year to $1.026 billion, surpassing analyst expectations of $996 million. The company's EBITDA saw a substantial increase of 13.7% to $439 million. Notably, VEON's earnings per share skyrocketed to $1.36, significantly beating the analyst consensus estimate of $0.83 and marking a dramatic rise from $0.03 in the same period last year.

A key driver of VEON's strong performance was the 50% surge in digital revenues, underscoring the success of the company's "digital operator" strategy. CEO Kaan Terzioglu emphasized the importance of this shift, stating, "We believe that the future of our industry will move in this direction. It's not anymore about selling number of minutes or number of gigabytes." The company's various digital services, including entertainment, financial services, and superapps, have shown impressive growth rates of 20%, 33%, and 22%, respectively. Despite ongoing conflicts in its operating regions, VEON maintained its full-year 2025 outlook, projecting total revenue growth between 12% and 14% in local currency terms. This positive report and optimistic forecast have clearly resonated with investors, driving the pre-market stock surge.