Can You Hear Me Now? Good

Verizon Communications Inc. VZ shares are down around 3% as of the time of this writing, but the company is poised for continued strong growth in the years ahead, and may be worth a spot in your portfolio. The New York-based telecom company reported quarterly earnings of 57 cents per share on $27.5 billion in revenues. Wall Street analysts were expecting earnings of 55 cents per share on $27.5 billion in revenues. The company also named Lowell McAdam as its new CEO, taking over for Ivan Seidenberg. Seidenberg will remain Chairman of the company. Regarding McAdam taking over, Seidenberg said, "Lowell's appointment to CEO is testimony to his extraordinary record of achievement. As a member of Verizon's executive leadership team since 2000 and COO over the last 10 months, Lowell has proven his ability to move the organization quickly and to focus on strong performance on behalf of our employees, our customers and our investors. His stellar leadership of Verizon Wireless and his outstanding 28-year career in the telecommunications industry have positioned Lowell to understand the potential of our company and the actions that need to be taken every day to attain that potential. The board and I are excited by what Lowell brings to our company: his outstanding character, his conviction and his dedication to Verizon's success." During the quarter, the company activated 2.3 million iPhones, a number that was less than expected, but the company is still beating AT&T T in terms of new subscribers. During the second quarter, Verizon said it sold 1.2 million devices that use its new 4G network. At the end of the quarter, Verizon has over 106.3 million devices running on its network. Regarding the weaker than expected iPhone sales, Verizon said it expects sales to pick up when Apple AAPL releases a new one this fall. "In terms of earnings growth and the acceleration of revenue growth, this has been one of Verizon's best quarters since the 2008 economic downturn," CEO Seidenberg said. The company said it expects to spend $16.5 billion in capital expenditures this year. In the press release, Seidenberg said, "We expanded sequential margins in both our wireline and wireless businesses, and in the second half of the year we expect Verizon to build on this strong, positive momentum to continue to drive profitable, sustainable growth." Seidenberg added: "We expect Verizon Wireless to gain share in the retail postpaid market and widen its network-quality lead throughout 2011. We also continue to see strong customer demand for FiOS Internet and TV, and for cloud and other strategic services. At the same time, we remain focused on our cost structure, as we deliver improvements in wireline margins quarter after quarter." Verizon has long been a beneficiary of its wireless division, which is co-owned with Vodadone VOD. Verizon Wireless is the crown jewel of the company, and will eventually have to pay a dividend to Vodafone for its ownership in the comapny, to the tune of some tens of billions of dollars. Verizon is no longer the sexy growth stock it was in the late 1990's, when everyone was getting cell phones. Now that everyone has a cell phone, and in many cases, two or three, the growth is coming from data usage, which the iPhone is leading this revolution. Shares trade at 14 times forward earnings, and sport a 5.2% dividend yield, so shares are not as cheap as they once were prior to the iPhone coming on board. Given the fact that Apple is going to release a new iPhone in the next few months, combined with the fact that Verizon has the best network reliability, if Verizon calls your portfolio, it may be a good time to answer the phone. Especially when Steve Jobs and his team are calling with a new phone. ACTION ITEMS:

Bullish:
Traders who believe that Verizon is likely to continue its growth might want to consider the following trades:

• Use today's pullback in shares to initiate a position in Verizon, or add to an existing position.

• Consider Vodafone, which owns 45% of Verizon Wireless. It is owed a huge dividend soon, and the anticipation of a dividend is not priced into the stock.

Bearish:
Traders who believe that Verizon will be overtaken by the AT&T, T-Mobile combo may consider alternate positions:

• Short Verizon and go long AT&T on a pairs trade, especially if AT&T's network becomes more reliable.

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