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what it is
Verizon sells your phone service, home internet, and business connectivity across a network reaching about 298 million people.
how it gets paid
Last year Verizon made $138.2B in revenue.
why it's growing
Revenue grew 2.5% last year. Indeed, vz stock is up roughly 24% in value since our early december review, as compared to a 2.5% uptick in the s&p 500 index.
what just happened
Verizon's fourth quarter was fine, but the real point was full-year EPS hitting $4.71, up 2.6% from $4.59.
At a glance
A balance sheet — strong enough to weather a downturn
100/100 earnings predictability — you can trust these numbers
10.5x trailing p/e — the market's not buying it — or you found a deal
5.7% dividend yield — cash in your pocket every quarter
10.6% return on capital — nothing to write home about
xvary composite: 76/100 — average
What they do
Verizon sells your phone service, home internet, and business connectivity across a network reaching about 298 million people.
Verizon wins because the network already covers about 298 million people and serves roughly 95 million connections. Scale → lots of users on one system → lower cost per customer. So what: if your phone, home internet, and bill all sit with Verizon, leaving is annoying and staying is easier.
How they make money
$138.2B
annual revenue · their business grew +2.5% last year
total revenue
$138.2B
+2.5%
The products that matter
mobile plans and data access
Wireless Services
$76.0B · 55% of revenue
it's the $76.0B engine that pays the bills, and even 2.5% growth matters when the base is this large.
core driver
home internet and wired connectivity
Broadband & Wireline
$48.4B · 35% of revenue
this $48.4B segment is the second pillar, and its size matters because the Frontier deal is supposed to make the broadband story bigger.
scale bet
equipment and other revenue
Other
$13.8B · 10% of revenue
it's $13.8B, or 10% of revenue. Not the story, but not small enough to ignore.
supporting
Key numbers
5.7%
dividend yield
You are paid 5.7% a year to wait, which is the whole point of owning a slow-growth telecom.
10.5x
trailing p/e
P/E → price-to-earnings → what investors pay for each dollar of profit. So what: 10.5x says the market expects stability, not excitement.
$139.5B
long-term debt
That debt funds the network, but it also means more cash has to go to creditors before it reaches you.
21.2%
operating margin
Operating margin → profit after running the business → how much of each sales dollar survives. So what: 21.2% is strong for a utility-like operator.
Financial health
A
strength
- balance sheet grade A — very strong financial position
- risk rank 1 — safer than 95% of stocks
- price stability 95 / 100
- long-term debt $139.5B (40% of capital)
- net profit margin 12.7% — keeps about 13 cents of every dollar in revenue (15.9% on some feeds often mixes definitions — verify GAAP net)
- return on equity 22% — $0.22 profit for every $1 investors have put in
A with balance sheet grade and risk rank standing out. your money faces less risk here than at most public companies. Net margin here uses ~12.7% GAAP-style net; gross margin for Verizon is typically ~55–60% — do not confuse with operating margin.
Total return vs. market
You invested $10,000 in VZ 3 years ago → it's now worth $15,820.
The index would have given you $13,880.
source: institutional data · total return
What just happened
beat estimates
Verizon's fourth quarter was fine, but the real point was full-year EPS hitting $4.71, up 2.6% from $4.59.
Fourth-quarter EPS was $1.09 versus a $1.08 consensus. Management then guided 2026 adjusted EPS to $4.90-$4.95, above the $4.76 expectation cited in news reports.
$36.4B
revenue
$1.09
eps
21.2%
operating margin
the number that mattered
The key number was 2026 EPS guidance of $4.90-$4.95 because Verizon is selling predictability, and it delivered a higher guide.
-
verizon looks a bit different than it did at the time of our early december review.on january 20th, the company closed on the acquisition of frontier communications parent, inc., a u.s. provider of broadband internet and other communication services. at that time, each share of outstanding frontier common stock was canceled and converted into the right to receive $38.50 a share in cash. hence, verizon paid roughly $9.4 billion in cash, net of cash acquired, and assumed approximately $12.9 billion of frontier’s debt, resulting in total aggregate consideration of $22.3 billion. finally, the acquisition expands fiber access to over 30 million homes and businesses, thereby accelerating verizon’s national mobility and broadband convergence strategy.
-
meanwhile, the company seems poised for an impressive performance in 2026.
-
verizon reported fourth-quarter earnings of $1.09 a share, bringing the year-end earnings tally to $4.71 a share, up 2.6% vs. prior year.during the december period, the company achieved more than one million total net additions across mobility and broadband, which is the highest number of reported additions since 2019. and leadership is optimistic that the good times are sustainable, as the company is in the early stages of a comprehensive strategic turnaround. hence, we now look for the company to post 2026 earnings of $4.90 a share, up a nickel from our earlier estimate, and we have initiated a 2027 earnings call of $5.15.
-
investors have certainly taken notice of verizon’s improved prospects.
-
indeed, vz stock is up roughly 24% in value since our early december review, as compared to a 2.5% uptick in the s&p 500 index over the same period.
source: company earnings report, 2026
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What could go wrong
the top risk is frontier integration on top of a $139.5B debt load.
med
frontier integration
Verizon closed the Frontier deal on January 20th. Broadband scale is the promise. Integration costs, execution slips, or slower-than-expected synergies are the obvious trap.
the broadband case gets harder to defend if the acquired assets add complexity without improving growth
med
wireless pricing pressure
Wireless services is $76.0B, or 55% of revenue. When your biggest segment is this mature, price competition and promotions can eat away at returns faster than revenue headlines suggest.
small changes in churn or pricing matter because they hit the largest profit pool first
high
leverage limiting flexibility
Long-term debt is $139.5B, equal to 40% of capital. That doesn't break the balance sheet today, but it does narrow management's margin for error if growth stays muted.
more cash has to protect the dividend and the debt stack before it can create upside for you
med
a low-growth business at the top of its range
Revenue grew 2.5% last year and the stock is already near the top of its $38–$50 range. That means the easy part of the rerating may already be behind you.
if the operating trend cools, a 5.7% yield may not be enough to hold sentiment up on its own
when a $138.2B business grows 2.5% and carries $139.5B in long-term debt, execution misses do not need to be dramatic to matter.
source: institutional data · regulatory filings · risk analysis
Pay attention to
earnings
next quarterly update
watch whether management can keep the improved subscriber and broadband momentum going after the more-than-1-million net additions print.
metric
wireless service revenue
$76.0B is the main engine. If this segment slips from the current 2.5% growth pace, the whole equity story gets thinner fast.
risk
frontier integration signals
the deal is closed. Now you watch for broadband execution, customer retention, and whether the added scale looks useful instead of merely larger.
trend
stock price versus analyst midpoint
VZ trades at $49.68 while the analyst midpoint sits at $45. Either operations keep improving, or the stock drifts back toward income-stock gravity.
Analyst rankings
short-term outlook
average
momentum score 3 — the stock is trading like the market sees a stable operator, not a breakout story.
risk profile
safest 5%
stability score 1 — lower risk than almost any stock in the database. In human-speak: analysts trust the business to keep showing up.
chart momentum
bottom 5%
technical score 5 — the chart still screens poorly even after the rally. The business looks steadier than the tape.
earnings predictability
100 / 100
management's earnings pattern is unusually reliable. You are not buying drama here.
source: institutional data
Institutional activity
1,153 buyers vs. 1,409 sellers in 4q2025. total institutional holdings: 2.8B shares.
source: institutional data
Price targets
3-5 year target range
$32
$57
$50
current price
$45
target midpoint · 9% from current · 3-5yr high: $75 (+50% · 15% ann'l return)
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