Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) reported first-quarter 2014 results before markets opened Thursday. The telecom giant reported adjusted diluted quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.84 on revenues of $30.8 billion. In the same period a year ago, Verizon reported EPS of $0.68 on revenues of $29.42 billion. First-quarter results also compare to the consensus estimates for EPS of $0.87 on revenues of $30.7 billion.

On a GAAP basis, Verizon posted EPS of $1.15, which includes a one-time gain of $0.55 on the sale of Omnitel and one-time charges of $0.25.

First-quarter results include the impact of five weeks of Verizon’s buyout of Vodafone PLC’s (NASDAQ: VOD) stake in Verizon Wireless. Verizon noted that on a pro forma basis the company would have posted adjusted EPS of $0.91 had it owned 100% of Verizon Wireless for the full quarter.

Verizon Wireless added 549,000 net retail connections in the first quarter of which 539,000 were postpaid (contract) subscribers. At the end of the quarter Verizon Wireless claimed 35.1 million retail accounts and 103.3 million retail connections. Average revenue per account (ARPA) rose 6.3% year-over-year to $159.67 a month. Wireless operating margins in the first quarter rose from 32.9% a year ago to 35.0%. Total revenues in the wireless business came in at $20.9 billion.

In the wireline business, Verizon added 98,000 new Internet connections and 57,000 new video connections to its fiber network FiOS. The company’s wireline business generated $3.8 billion in revenues for the quarter.

The company’s CEO said:

We are already seeing the expected earnings accretion from the transaction. The full access we now have to the significant cash flows of Verizon Wireless is energizing our efforts to provide customers with product and service innovations and to enable powerful solutions to some of the world’s biggest challenges.

Smartphones now account for 72% of the Verizon Wireless retail customer phone base, up from 70% in December. The company activated 7.6 million smartphones in the first quarter and 8.1 million LTE-capable devices (phones and tablets). About 73% of the company’s total data traffic currently travels on its 4G/LTE network.

Verizon did not offer any revenue or earnings guidance, but the consensus estimates for the second quarter call for EPS of $0.91 on revenues of $30.94 billion. For the full year, estimated EPS come to $3.52 on revenue of $125.14 billion.

Shares were up about 0.2% at $47.54 in premarket Thursday, in a 52-week range of $45.08 to $54.31. Prior to this release, Thomson/Reuters had a consensus price target of around $53.90 on the company’s shares.

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