09:17 AM EST, 01/24/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Verizon Communications ( VZ ) reported fourth-quarter results above Wall Street's expectations amid double-digit growth in postpaid phone subscribers while the telecommunications giant expects earnings in 2025 to increase by up to 3% on an annual basis.

The company on Friday posted adjusted earnings of $1.10 per share for the December quarter, up from $1.08 the year before, ahead of the FactSet-polled consensus of $1.09. Operating revenue increased 1.6% year over year to $35.68 billion, above the Street's view for $35.34 billion. The stock was up 2.1% in premarket activity.

Wireless service revenue inclined 3.1% to nearly $20 billion, mainly boosted by pricing actions implemented in recent quarters, sales of perks and add-on services and gains in fixed wireless access offerings, according to Verizon. Service and other revenue rose to $28.17 billion from $27.66 billion in the prior-year quarter.

"We had a very strong quarter, both financially and operationally, with subscriber gains in both mobility and broadband," Chief Executive Hans Vestberg said in a prepared earnings call transcript. "We continued to gain share in broadband led by sustained growth in fixed wireless access."

The company added 568,000 net retail postpaid phone subscribers in the quarter, representing a roughly 27% jump from the prior-year period, topping the average analyst estimate for 488,300. "This was driven by strong execution in consumer and continued strength in our business segment," according to Vestberg. "Our total postpaid phone net adds improved year-over-year in every quarter of 2024."

Broadband net additions totaled 408,000, down from 413,000 a year earlier, but up from 389,000 in the previous three-month period, according to an earnings presentation. The company ended the quarter with 12.3 million broadband subscribers, representing a year-over-year growth of 15%.

Total operating expenses fell to $28.26 billion from $34.53 billion last year. Verizon said it recorded a pre-tax gain of $477 million from special items during the quarter.

For the full year 2025, the company anticipates adjusted EPS growth to be flat to up 3% versus the $4.59 a share recorded in the previous year. The Street is looking for non-GAAP EPS of $4.72.

Wireless service revenue is forecast to increase by 2% to 2.8% for the ongoing year. "We expect the growth to be driven by anticipated postpaid phone net additions in both consumer and business, fixed wireless access subscriber growth, perk adoption, and pricing actions implemented in 2024 that carryover into 2025," Chief Financial Officer Anthony Skiadas said in the prepared call remarks. "We anticipate significant promo amortization headwinds to impact wireless service revenue growth in 2025."