Verizon Growth Continues

Verizon (VZ) reported earnings for its fiscal third quarter. The second-largest phone company in the US said profits came in at $0.60 a share, beating analyst estimates by a penny.

Revenues grew 10.2% year-over-year to $27.27 billion vs. estimates of $27.17 billion. Verizon said its wireless customers grew to 89 million, an increase of 26%, while retail customers hit 86 million, an increase of 25%.

Excluding acquisitions and adjustments, this marked a net increase of 1.2 million customers.

Chairman and CEO Ivan Seidenberg noted that even through the worst of the recession, the company continued to raise its dividend and add new customers. Shares have reversed early morning strength and are now down 1% in the premarket.

From the Bull Pen: There are a number of warning flags popping up in the broad markets. But if a tech leader like Google (GOOG) could pull back to $520 support, one could consider testing the upside. If and when.

From the Bear Cave: Verizon shares are making a new low this morning. 28.80 could be new resistance, but watch for the post-earnings noise to play out first. If you’re bearish on the tech sector in general, the Ultrashort Q’s (QID) may be one vehicle to consider. Remember, these are short term vehicles only, so a sell stop can be set below $21.

A Quick Check Around the World

Asian trading closed with the Nikkei 0.77%, India -0.42%, Hang Seng 1.71%, Shanghai 0.06%, and Taiwan 0.25%.

Across the pond, we see the FTSE 0.36%, CAC 0.57%, DAX 0.71%

As of 8:15 a.m. EST, S&P Futures are trading +1.00 to 1078.00 and Nasdaq futures are +1.500 to 1753.50.

A Look at Commodities

Over in commodities, crude oil is -0.16 to 80.34 while gold is -1.50 to 1054.90 this morning. Silver is -0.63 to 17.660 and copper +0.315 to 3.0660.

The dollar index is -0.1700 to 75.3000.

Not much on the radar today, but click here for the full list of this week’s events.

Welcome back and have a great day!