Verizon CEO: We had our best fourth quarter ever
Lowell McAdam says Verizon's fourth quarter a "historic" one and looks ahead to his CES keynote address.
LAS VEGAS -- In a prelude to his keynote at CES here, Verizon chief executive Lowell McAdam told investors that the company's fourth quarter was its best quarter ever. Verizon added 2.1 million net subscribers during the quarter, a historic high for the company, he said.
"Thirty percent of our net adds are new to Verizon," McAdam said.
McAdam, who made the remarks at the 2013 Citi Global Internet, Media & Communications Conference that's also taking place in Las Vegas, stated that Verizon's base of LTE devices grew from 16 percent to 23 percent in the fourth quarter and that 85 percent of devices sold in the quarter were smartphones. The executive also touted the success of "Share Everything" plans, saying that new-to-Verizon subscribers were influenced by the company's comprehensive voice, text, and data-sharing options.
See also: Verizon: 9.8 million activations during Q4
The CEO did reveal, however, that Superstorm Sandy took a super-sized financial hit on Verizon in the fourth quarter. The storm had a $1 billion negative impact on the company, he said.
During the discussion, McAdam also spent some time teasing his CES keynote talk, which will take place tomorrow. McAdam's address will be centered around the dramatic changes to Verizon's network over the past two years. "The message that I'm bringing tomorrow is: all the things that you can do today with the network."
Attendees can expect to hear more about a new brand campaign called "Powerful Answers" designed to showcase the strength of Verizon's network. McAdam also promised keynote appearances from NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and Ford Research and Innovation CTO Paul Mascarenas, who will discuss Verizon's role in building "the car of the future."
CNET will be live-blogging McAdam's keynote. Tune in January 8 at 4:15 p.m. Pacific for our complete coverage.