Verizon has released their first quarter 2012 earnings, and it looks like they're going to need some help carrying all that money. I'm no finance wizard (I can barely keep a checkbook balanced) but there's no need to be when things look this good. Their wireless division reported the highest growth it has had in the past three years, with a 7.7 percent year-over-year increase in service revenues, 8.9 percent y-o-y growth in retail, and a whopping 21.1 percent increase in revenue from data services.
That's a lot of cabbage.
It stems from the addition of over 500,000 new postpaid customers, bringing the total to 88 million. 47 percent of those customers are using a smartphone, and the number will likely keep growing as Verizon continues its LTE expansion -- which now covers more than two-thirds of the U.S. population in 203 markets. In addition, the wireline services (FIOS cable Internet and phone) also grew by a couple hundred thousand customers, making the picture rosy all around. Of course, running a network isn't cheap so most of this profit and earnings will go back into the company. Hit the break for the press release with all the highlights.
