Jan 23 Reuters Verizon Communications forecast annual profit above estimates on Tuesday after strong demand for its wireless plans and Black Friday promotions helped the U.S. carrier post its highest quarterly subscriber additions in nearly two years.

Shares of the New Yorkbased telecom firm rose more than 5 in premarket trading, as the company39;s consumer business also added subscribers after three straight quarters of declines.

Verizon whose services typically cost more than rivals has seen strong adoption for its customizable myPlan that was launched in May last year. To make the plan more attractive, the company is also offering subscriptions to Netflix and Warner Bros Discovery39;s Max streaming service in some bundles.

The company said it expects adjusted profit in 2024 to be between 4.50 and 4.70 per share, the midpoint of which was higher than the estimates of 4.59, according to LSEG data.

Its quarterly results also benefited from promotions for the Black Friday shopping event and the release of the iPhone 15 series, which drove up smartphone upgrade activity.

The company added net 449,000 monthly billpaying wireless phone subscribers in the last three months of 2023, blowing past estimates of 223,800 additions, according to Factset.

Its consumer business reported 318,000 wireless retail postpaid phone net additions in the quarter.

That, as well as price hikes implemented over the course of last year, helped Verizon post revenue of 35.1 billion, which…