Verizon adds 406,000 subscribers, raises annual forecast with AWS deal worth more than $2 billion
Key Facts
Verizon added 406,000 net postpaid phone subscribers in the third quarter of 2026, an increase of more than 820% year over year and its strongest performance for the quarter in five years, according to a company statement. The company raised its 2026 target for net phone additions to between 1.1 million and 1.2 million, from its previous guidance for the upper half of a range of 750,000 to 1 million. It also raised its full-year adjusted earnings-per-share forecast to between $5.04 and $5.06, with expected annual growth of between 7% and 7.5%. The results came as the company announced an agreement with AWS worth more than $2 billion to expand distributed computing. The announcements combine improved customer acquisition with plans to expand services tied to artificial intelligence infrastructure.
Verizon's net income was $5.3 billion for the quarter, up 5.2% year over year, while adjusted earnings per share reached $1.31, up 8.3%. Basic earnings per share were $1.25. Cash flow from operating activities rose to $11.5 billion, up 2.2%, while free cash flow was $7.8 billion, up 12.1% from the year-earlier period. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization reached $13.8 billion, up 8% and the highest quarterly level the company has recorded. These figures point to improving earnings and liquidity alongside subscriber growth.
On the customer front, the company added 137,000 net postpaid accounts, describing it as its best performance in more than a decade. It also gained nearly 1.7 million new mobility and broadband subscribers in the first nine months of 2026, compared with 879,000 in the same period of 2025. The postpaid phone churn rate improved by 4 basis points year over year to 0.94%, while the churn rate among consumer customers was 0.87%. In broadband, Verizon added 314,000 net connections, including 159,000 fixed wireless connections and 155,000 fiber connections. The company’s total broadband connections reached 17.4 million.
By contrast, equipment revenue fell 9% year over year in the third quarter. Verizon attributed the decline mainly to lower phone upgrade volumes, as customers continued to keep their devices longer, and to its strategic decision to reduce spending on device subsidies. Chief Executive Dan Schulman said the company is focusing on customer-centric offers and an expanded loyalty program instead of heavy device subsidies, adding: "By prioritizing customer-first offers, like Simplicity and the expanded loyalty program, over heavy device subsidies, we are winning high-value, loyal customers." The company launched its Simplicity plan in June, with transparent pricing and unlimited data. This approach is part of Verizon’s strategy to attract and retain customers through offers and services.
The phone figures improved from the second quarter, when Verizon added 184,000 net postpaid subscribers and recorded more than 550,000 combined net additions across mobility and broadband services. In the first nine months of 2026, new subscribers to these services exceeded the level recorded in the corresponding period of the previous year. The company’s broadband expansion includes its fiber network, which it expects to reach more than 32 million locations by the end of 2026. Verizon is targeting coverage of between 40 million and 50 million locations over the medium term. That puts growth in fiber connections on an announced expansion path alongside fixed wireless broadband additions.
In infrastructure, Verizon said the AWS agreement, announced on October 26, establishes a commercial framework to expand distributed computing and meet the real-time needs of generative and agentic AI workloads. Reuters reported that the company will provide high-capacity fiber-optic connectivity to AWS data centers, enabling faster and more reliable data transfers to support growing computing workloads. Verizon previously announced an agreement worth more than $1 billion with Google in July 2026 to provide dark fiber connecting the company’s data centers. Verizon is scheduled to hold its third-quarter earnings call on October 26, 2026, at 8:30 a.m. Eastern time. These dates follow the announcement of the results, annual forecasts and AWS agreement.