Verizon has announced record-breaking results for its 2011 fourth quarter sales. The nation’s largest carrier sold 4.2 million iPhones during the holiday season, effectively doubling sales from the previous quarter.
The iPhone 4S was launched during Q4 of 2011, and holiday sales have surely helped Verizon rise to such impressive results.
Verizon sold only 2 million iPhones in the third quarter of 2011. While this last quarter’s results are certainly fantastic for the CDMA carrier, Verizon does expect to take a hit in profits for the high subsidies it has to pay to Apple for every iPhone sold. That marginal loss will, however, be made up in the long run because of the influx in customer contracts.
During the iPhone 4S launch, Verizon said that the device was its best-selling handset. Sales of the smartphone have continued to stay strong. AT&T and Sprint have seen considerable demand for the smartphone since its release in October.
We won’t know how many total iPhones were sold in 2011’s fourth quarter until Apple gives us the numbers on January 24th.
Alex Heath is a journalist who works for Tech Insider. He’s the former co-host of The CultCast. He has been quoted by the likes of the BBC, KRON 4 News, and books like “ICONIC: A Photographic Tribute to Apple Innovation.” He lives in Lexington, Kentucky. If you want to pitch a story, share a tip, or just get in touch, additional contact information is available on his personal site. Follow him on Twitter.
