Thursday, April 21, 2011

Verizon (VZ) Profits Soar on IPhone (AAPL) Sales

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) reported a solid quarter as earnings were over triple what they were while taxes were cut, as new customers flocked to the carrier in response to it now carrying Apple's iPhone (NASDAQ:AAPL).

Net income jumped to $1.44 billion, or 51 cents a share, Verizon said today in a statement. Analysts estimated 50 cents a share. Sales were level at $27 billion.

Verizon added 906,000 wireless contract customers in the quarter. Analysts on average projected 998,000. AT&T (NYSE:T), the biggest U.S. phone company, said it added 62,000 users last quarter.

Average monthly bills for wireless contract customers rose 2.2 percent from last year in the same quarter to $53.52, a little under analysts’ average estimate. The data portion climbed 17 percent to $20.51, Verizon said. Bills in the fourth quarter averaged $53.50.

Verizon was trading at $36.94, down $0.85, or 2.25 percent, as of 12:10 PM EDT. Investors are using the relatively average report to take some profits after the recent run up in share price.

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