Verizon Communications, the telecommunications company, posted strong first-quarter growth in wireless subscribers helped by sales of the Apple iPhone.

Verizon Wireless, its venture with the Vodafone Group, posted net additions of 906,000 subscribers, just slightly ahead of expectations from seven analysts contacted by Reuters, who predicted more than 888,000 subscribers.

While Verizon Wireless added only slightly more subscribers than it did in the fourth quarter, the top mobile service was well ahead of archrival ATT, which added 62,000 net subscribers in the quarter.

But higher sales of advanced devices like iPhone came at a high cost as Verizon’s profit margin dipped, a Mizuho analyst, Michael Nelson, said.

Its margin was 43.7 percent, well below the 46 percent it posted a year earlier, based on earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization.

While the iPhone helped Verizon raise subscriber numbers its sales were not dramatically better than analyst expectations, as some investors had hoped.

“Over all it was a solid quarter. Not necessarily a blow-out quarter,” Mr. Nelson said.

ATT lost exclusive rights to the iPhone when Verizon started selling its iPhone in February. Verizon said it sold more than 2 million iPhones over half of the quarter.

Verizon earnings rose to $1.44 billion, or 51 cents a share, from $443 million, or 16 cents a share in the same quarter a year ago when it shouldered hefty one-time charges.

Revenue rose to $26.99 billion from $26.9 billion in the period a year ago and compared with the average analyst expectation for $26.86 billion, according to Thomson Reuters.

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