Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) gave investors a fresh reason to revisit the telecom trade after its first-quarter 2026 results showed something Wall Street had not been expecting: customer growth in its core wireless business.
Verizon stock climbed more than 3% in Monday trading, moving near $47.81, after the company posted better-than-expected adjusted earnings and reported a surprise gain in postpaid phone subscribers. For a stock often viewed as a slow-moving dividend name, the reaction was notable because it was tied to operating momentum rather than just defensive yield demand.
The company reported adjusted earnings of $1.28 per share for the quarter, ahead of the $1.22 analysts were expecting. That was also higher than the $1.19 per share Verizon earned in the same period last year. The result marked another earnings beat for the company and showed that its cost controls and restructuring efforts are beginning to flow through to the bottom line.
Revenue came in at $34.44 billion, up from $33.49 billion a year earlier. Although the figure missed Wall Street expectations by about 1.7%, investors focused more on subscriber trends, profit growth and the company’s upgraded outlook. In telecom, revenue growth can often be uneven because of equipment sales, promotions and service-plan mix, but subscriber movement gives a clearer view of customer demand.
The standout figure was Verizon’s addition of 55,000 postpaid phone customers. Analysts had expected the company to lose nearly 89,000 customers in the quarter, making the result a sharp upside surprise. More importantly, it was Verizon’s first positive first-quarter postpaid phone net addition performance since 2013.
That matters because the first quarter has historically been difficult for Verizon’s wireless business. Customer switching, promotional pressure and competition from AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) and T-Mobile US Inc. (NASDAQ: TMUS) have weighed on growth in recent years. A positive print in this period suggests Verizon may be seeing early benefits from a more disciplined operating strategy.
The subscriber gain represented an improvement of more than 340,000 customers from the year-earlier period. Verizon credited the progress to stronger customer acquisition, lower churn and a healthier balance between growth and profitability. Rather than relying heavily on aggressive discounts, the company appears to be trying to attract and retain customers while protecting margins.
Profitability was another reason investors responded positively. Verizon reported consolidated net income of $5.1 billion, up 3.3% year over year. Adjusted EBITDA rose 6.7% to $13.4 billion, the highest quarterly adjusted EBITDA in the company’s history. Adjusted EPS increased 7.6%, marking Verizon’s strongest quarterly adjusted earnings growth rate since 2021.
Cash generation also remained solid. Operating cash flow reached $8.0 billion, compared with $7.8 billion in the year-ago quarter. Free cash flow improved to $3.8 billion from $3.6 billion. For Verizon shareholders, cash flow is a critical metric because it supports dividend payments, debt reduction, capital spending and share repurchases.
The company also made progress in broadband. Verizon added 341,000 broadband customers during the quarter, including 214,000 fixed wireless access additions and 127,000 fiber broadband additions. It now has about 16.8 million combined fixed wireless access and fiber broadband connections. This segment remains important as Verizon looks for growth beyond traditional wireless plans.
Management raised its 2026 adjusted earnings guidance following the better-than-expected quarter. Verizon now expects adjusted EPS of $4.95 to $4.99, compared with consensus expectations of about $4.90. That implies annual adjusted earnings growth of 5% to 6%, a stronger pace than investors have seen from the company in recent years.
Verizon also expects total retail postpaid phone net additions to finish in the upper half of its 750,000 to 1 million target range. That would be roughly two to three times higher than the company’s 2025 reported result. The raised guidance suggests management believes the first-quarter subscriber gain is not just a temporary improvement.
CEO Dan Schulman’s turnaround plan is becoming a bigger part of the Verizon investment story. Since taking over, Schulman has focused on simplifying the business, improving customer experience, reducing friction and cutting costs. The company previously announced more than 13,000 job cuts, equal to roughly 13% of its workforce, as part of a restructuring plan aimed at improving efficiency.
The balance sheet remains a key area for investors to watch. Verizon ended the quarter with total unsecured debt of $142.5 billion, up from $131.1 billion at the end of the fourth quarter. The increase was tied partly to the Frontier acquisition, which closed in January 2026. Verizon said it has already repaid about half of Frontier’s debt since the deal closed and expects to repay substantially all of it by the end of the year.
Capital spending totaled $4.2 billion in the quarter as the company continued investing in mobility and fiber network expansion. For the full year, Verizon still expects capital expenditures of $16.0 billion to $16.5 billion. It also maintained its free cash flow forecast of at least $21.5 billion, which would represent growth of about 7% from 2025 and mark its strongest free cash flow since 2020.
Shareholder returns also stayed in focus. Verizon completed $2.5 billion in share repurchases during the first quarter and remains on track for at least $3.0 billion in total buybacks for 2026. Combined with its dividend profile, the buyback program gives investors another reason to monitor whether improving cash flow can continue.
Verizon shares have gained about 13.9% so far this year, outpacing the S&P 500’s roughly 4.7% advance. Still, the stock is not without risks. Revenue missed expectations, competition remains intense, and the wireless industry continues to face pressure from pricing, promotions and network investment costs.
According to Verizon’s official first-quarter 2026 earnings release, the company believes its transformation actions are already improving customer economics and profitability. Zacks Investment Research noted that Verizon beat earnings estimates again, though the stock remains rated “Hold” as investors wait to see how estimates change after the report.
For now, Verizon’s latest quarter gives the market a stronger turnaround narrative. The company still needs to prove it can sustain subscriber gains without giving up margin, but the mix of earnings growth, better customer trends, stronger EBITDA and higher guidance made the first-quarter report one of Verizon’s more encouraging updates in years.
Also read: Air Canada A321XLR Lie-Flat Seats and Premium Cabin Details
Make Swikblog your go-to source on Google for reliable updates, smart insights, and daily trends.
