Verizon Wireless 2009 Annual Report Download - page 3

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VERIZON COMMUNICATIONS INC. 2009 ANNUAL REPORT
Ivan Seidenberg
Chairman and Chief Executive Offi cer
Dear Shareowner,
Verizon is now ten years old. In this fi rst decade of the 21st century,
we have transformed our historic franchise around the demands of
a new industry and a new kind of customer. We have built our
company around our belief that the better the network, the better
the performance of everything that rides on it, and we have pushed
ourselves to release the innovative power of our technology to
customers. Our people are animated by their passion for this
industry and our conviction that what we do is important to society.
We’ve had to sharpen our refl exes and quicken our pace to
compete at Internet speed – a challenge we face anew every day –
but overall, Verizon’s fi rst ten years have proven our fi nancial
strength, capacity for growth and ability to adapt to a rapidly
changing environment.
The past year has put those qualities to the test. Competition has intensifi ed and the economy
has stagnated, taking their toll on our growth, profi tability and stock price. Clearly, we have more
work to do to align our performance with the expectations of our investors and ourselves.
Despite these challenges, though, our 2009 results demonstrate our staying power and launch us
into 2010 from a position of strength and confi dence.
Verizon’s strong cash fl ows, solid balance sheet and modest revenue growth carried us through
the most severe recession in recent memory. Pro forma adjusted revenues grew 1.5 percent to
$107.8 billion in 2009, while U.S. Gross Domestic Product fell by 2.4 percent. Operating cash fl ow was
$31.6 billion, up 14.5 percent, and free cash fl ow was 40.7 percent higher in 2009 than 2008.
Chairman’s Letter to
Shareowners
1