What AT&T's Earnings Say About Verizon

Verizon's (VZ Quote) third-quarter earnings report on Monday is expected to follow rival AT&T's (T Quote) latest profit release, which highlighted strong wireless growth and continued erosion of its wireline business.

But AT&T had Apple's (AAPL Quote) new iPhone 3G -- Verizon might be stuck with slower growth in both its wireless and business-customer segments.

"The worrisome [takeaway] from AT&T is that the report was mostly black clouds and one silver lining with the iPhone," says Craig Moffett, analyst with Sanford Bernstein. "Verizon could be a mirror image of that report, but without the sliver of good news." ...