Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) stock gained Friday after the company expressed optimism fourth quarter financial results and 2026 orientations.
The company reported quarterly revenue growth of 2.0% YoY (YoY), reaching $36.40 billion, beating analysts’ consensus estimate of $36.06 billion.
Adjusted EPS of $1.09 beat analysts’ consensus estimate of $1.05.
Verizon reported total postpaid phone net additions of 616,000, up from 504,000 a year ago, marking the best quarter of postpaid phone net additions since 2019.
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Verizon reported 372,000 net broadband service additions during the quarter.
Total fixed wireless access net additions were 319,000 during the quarter, bringing the base to more than 5.7 million fixed wireless access subscribers.
The company achieved 67,000 Fios Internet net adds during the quarter.
The total number of broadband connections reached more than 16.3 million at the end of the quarter following the closing of the Frontier acquisition.
In the fourth quarter of 2025, wireless revenue reached $21.0 billion, representing a year-over-year increase of 1.1%.
Verizon Consumer’s total quarterly revenue was $28.44 billion, up 3.2% year over year, with 551,000 wireless retail postpaid phone net additions for the quarter, compared to 367,000 postpaid phone net additions year over year.
Consumer wireless revenue for the quarter reached $17.37 billion, up 1.2% year-over-year.
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Consumer wireless retail postpaid churn rate was 1.21% and wireless retail postpaid churn rate was 0.95% for the quarter. Consumer wireless postpaid average revenue per account (ARPA) was $147.36, representing a year-over-year increase of 1.2%.
Consumers reported 109,000 net additions of basic prepaid services to wireless retail.
Total quarterly revenue for Verizon Business was $7.37 billion, a decrease of 1.8% year over year amid 11,000 wireless retail postpaid phone net additions in the quarter, including 65,000 postpaid phone net additions.
Business wireless revenue was $3.59 billion, up 0.5% year over year for the quarter.
The retail wireless postpaid business churn rate was 1.64% and the retail wireless postpaid phone churn rate was 1.27% during the quarter.
The Consumer segment’s EBITDA margin decreased 100 basis points to 36.5%, while the Business segment’s EBITDA margin decreased 10 basis points to 22.0%.
Verizon’s quarterly adjusted EBITDA decreased to $11.86 billion from $11.93 billion year-over-year.
Verizon’s net income was $2.45 billion, up from $5.11 billion a year ago.
Verizon’s quarterly free cash flow was $4.37 billion, up from $5.36 billion year-over-year.
CEO of Verizon And Schulman highlighted the closing of Verizon’s acquisition of Frontier on January 20 as an important step in the turnaround, expanding the company’s fiber footprint to more than 30 million homes and businesses.
He added that Verizon has reached a critical inflection point.
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Verizon pursues aggressive growth strategy to regain ground AT&T Inc.. (NYSE:T) And T-Mobile US, Inc.. (NASDAQ:TMUS).
Under the new CEO, Verizon launched bigger promotions, streamlined operations and refocused on customer loyalty.
Verizon has been offering free high-end smartphones with new lines and bundled internet plans, including perks like a free Samsung TV, to stand out in a crowded market.
Schulman also moved quickly to reshape the company, cutting about 13,000 jobs and promising a simpler, faster organization after Verizon lost momentum due to price hikes and customer service problems.
Verizon expects total retail postpaid phone net additions of between 750,000 and 1.0 million.
The company expects total mobility and broadband services revenue growth of between 2.0% and 3.0%, equivalent to approximately $93 billion.
It expects stable wireless revenue growth as the company transitions to sustainable volume-based growth.
Verizon expects adjusted EPS of $4.90 to $4.95 from analyst consensus estimate of $4.76.
The company expects free cash flow of $21.5 billion or more, implying an annual growth rate of 7% or more, which is the highest free cash flow it has generated since 2020.
It expects operating cash flow of $37.5 billion to $38.0 billion and capital expenditures of $16.0 billion to $16.5 billion.
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