Too much of a good thing, maybe, for Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ). Verizon Wireless, the company’s joint venture with Vodafone plc (NASDAQ: VOD) sold 4.2 million Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhones in the fourth quarter, but Verizon’s margins will fall because the iPhones cost the company more than other smartphones that use the Android operating system from Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG).
Verizon’s fourth quarter iPhone sales were more than double the third quarter, when sales reached about 2 million as consumers waited for the new iPhone 4s. Verizon expects a 5% hit on wireless margin as a result of the hefty iPhone sales.