It's a bold boast, considering how problematic the iPhone has been for its exclusive U.S. carrier so far, AT&T. Verizon believes it has learned from AT&T's mistakes since its first iPhone in 2007. Through last year, Verizon added capacity to its network with the iPhone in mind.
Verizon's chief operating officer, Lowell McAdam, said the company's standard $30-per-month unlimited data plan will be available for the iPhone. AT&T abolished its unlimited data plan for new customers last summer, ahead of the launch of the iPhone 4 in June.
However, the offer won't last: McAdam reiterated that the company is going to switch to plans with a monthly data allotment soon.
Verizon also reported fourth-quarter results Tuesday, revealing that its wireless arm did well even without help from the iPhone.
The telecommunications company reported net income of $2.64 billion, or 93 cents per share, for the last three months of 2010. That's up from $617 million, or 22 cents per share, a year ago, but the increase was mainly because of adjustments for the value of the company's retirement plans.
Yahoo's fourth-quarter earnings more than doubled to $312 million, but declining revenue makes it clear the Internet company is still struggling to cash in on the online advertising boom. Revenue dropped 12 percent from the prior year to $1.53 billion. The results announced Tuesday underscore why many investors are wondering if Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz is the right person for the job as she enters the second half of a four-year contract.
The results come as Yahoo is laying off 100 to 150 workers, about 1 percent of Yahoo's work force.
U.S. Steel cautiously expects business to improve early this year after a rough second half of 2010. The Pittsburgh company lost $249 million, or $1.74 per share, in the October-December period. That compares with a loss of $267 million, or $1.86 per share a year earlier. Revenue increased 28 percent to $4.3 billion.
3M is hedging its bets on the U.S. economy until more people get back to work. The company that makes everything from Post-Its and Scotch Tape to respirators and computer arms, doesn't expect to see a big improvement in the U.S. market until the unemployment rate, currently at 9.4 percent, significantly improves. Net income declined less than 1 percent to $928 million in the last three months of 2010 because of higher raw materials costs.
Norfolk Southern said fourth-quarter earnings rose 31 percent to $402 million as railroad shipments improved across all of its business segments, led by coal and intermodal transfers from trucks.
Dupont reported a decline in fourth-quarter earnings as increased sales were offset by higher costs and the loss of pharmaceutical business from patent expirations. It had net income of $376 million, or 40 cents per share, for the quarter, down from $441 million, or 48 cents per share, a year earlier.
Coach, the largest U.S. maker of luxury handbags, reported a 26 percent increase to $303.4 million in second-quarter profit after introducing new bags more frequently in the holiday quarter.
Harley-Davidson cut its fourth-quarter loss, getting a ride from a restructuring and a strong performance from its financial services unit even as motorcycle sales fell 0.2 percent in the U.S. The Milwaukee company reported a net loss of $46.8 million, or 20 cents per share, a vast improvement over the $218.7 million, or 94 cents per share, that it lost in the same period a year ago.
Johnson & Johnson's revenue has slumped for a second straight year, prompting CEO William C. Weldon to make an extraordinary pitch to soothe investors and defend the company's handling of 17 costly product recalls. The health care giant reported a 12 percent profit decline to $1.94 billion and a 5.5 percent drop in sales for the fourth quarter.
Kimberly-Clark, the Plano-based maker of Huggies diapers and Viva paper towels, plans to exit its remaining pulp-manufacturing operations to help earnings after reporting fourth-quarter profit that was little changed at $492 million.
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