Verizon adds more phone subscribers than expected in fourth quarter

(Reuters) - Verizon Communications Inc on Tuesday beat Wall Street estimates for net new phone subscribers who pay a monthly bill, adding 650,000 customers in the fourth quarter.

The largest U.S. wireless carrier was expected to add 355,600 new subscribers, according to research firm FactSet.

The company has been investing heavily in its next generation 5G network, which will become the backbone of its largest business.

Verizon said in December it was working with Samsung Electronics Co Ltd to launch 5G enabled smartphones in the first half of 2019.

The company added a total of 1.2 million retail postpaid customers in the quarter, Verizon said at the Citi 2019 Global TMT West investor conference. This was above the average analyst estimate of 800,600 net additions.

Shares of the company rose about 3.5 percent to $58.69, making it one of the top gainers on the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Verizon is expected to report fourth-quarter results on Jan. 29.

(Reporting by Akanksha Rana in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)

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