iPhone for Verizon, Better Late Than Never (VZ, AAPL, T)

The rumor mill has been active on this for months and months, but the Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone rumor mill is stirring again.  Bloomberg reported that Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) will finally get to break the AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) exclusivity next year “in January.”

You’ve heard this one nearly 100-times most likely, always “according to people familiar with the situation.”  Why not hear it one more time…

This speculation (and probable inevitability) was one of the reasons we kept Verizon over AT&T as the “Safest Dividend Stock” in a sector by sector review.

Sprint Nextel was one of the rumors before, back in May.  In early May, there were rumors that Verizon would get the iPhone as soon as this summer.  There is a reason they refer to these as rumors… they rarely pan out.

Verizon shares had been down with the entire lot of DJIA components and almost all other issues, but shares managed to pop barely back into positive territory by 0.1% at $28.74.  Without surprise, AT&T shares have gone farther south and its shares are down 2.25% at $24.39 on the day.

JON C. OGG