Verizon adds 1.3M subscribers thanks to iPhone 4 and 4G Android phones

Verizon on Friday reported that it netted a tremendous 1.3 million subscribers in the second quarter, bolstered by the sales of the iPhone 4 and 4G Android devices. The company also announced that COO Lowell McAdam would move into the CEO position, while current head Ivan Seidenberg will stay on as chairman.

The introduction of Apple’s iPhone 4 in January and several 4G Google Android phones since that time appears to have paid off handsomely for Verizon. The company is frequently cited as having the strongest overall network in the U.S., so pairing that image with the hottest smartphone on the market drove overall sales north.

In the second quarter, the company reported $1.61 billion in profits, compared with $1.19 billion in losses a year ago. Strong growth in the the Verizon Wireless sector of the company has helped counter the loss of many land-line customers. And with the relatively quick rollout of 4G LTE in cities across the U.S., the company seems committed to future growth.

Michael Gartenberg, technology analyst for Gartner, indicated Verizon is emphasizing the right mix of products and services.

“They’ve done extremely well in no small part to their stringing of Android devices, the rollout of LTE and of course the strong demand for a Verizon iPhone for years,” Gartenberg told VentureBeat.

Seidenberg said Verizon’s prospects are looking even brighter for the rest of 2011.

“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 said in a statement.

One point of contention is that Verizon still lags behind AT&T when it comes to new iPhone activations. AT&T activated 3.6 million units in the second quarter, while Verizon activated 2.3 million units. However, this isn’t entirely surprising when you consider that AT&T has owned the U.S. iPhone market for years and retains contract customers who want to upgrade from previous iPhone models.

McAdam will become the new CEO of Verizon next month. Verizon said his replacing of Seidenberg has been in place since last year. Seidenberg praised McAdam for his “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,” Seidenberg said in a statement.

A new, updated version of the iPhone for Verizon and AT&T is widely expected in the coming months. No doubt Verizon’s investors can’t wait to see what happens with that development.

Are you satisfied with Verizon’s recent performance and future plans?