Verizon Adds 406,000 Subscribers, Raises 2026 EPS Outlook
Key Facts
Verizon reported third-quarter results on Monday, October 26, posting adjusted earnings per share of $1.31 as revenue rose 1.5% to $34.31 billion. Earnings per share topped analysts’ estimate of $1.28 by $0.03, while revenue fell short of consensus at $34.77 billion. The company said net income reached $5.3 billion, up 5.2% year over year. Adjusted EBITDA also rose 8.0% to $13.8 billion, the highest quarterly result the company has reported. The performance led the company to raise its annual outlook, while a Reuters report noted that shares rose 2.4% in premarket trading.
Adjusted earnings per share rose 8.3% from $1.21 in the third quarter of 2025 to $1.31 in the same period of 2026. Basic earnings per share came to $1.25, compared with $1.17 a year earlier, a 6.8% increase. On the customer front, Verizon added 406,000 postpaid phone connections during the quarter. Reuters said additions were nearly double Visible Alpha’s forecast of 209,439. The figures reflect subscriber growth alongside improved earnings, while revenue remained below analyst estimates.
The company also recorded 314,000 net broadband additions in the third quarter, including 159,000 through fixed wireless access and 155,000 through fiber. During the same period, promotional customer acquisition costs fell 41% year over year, while promotional retention costs improved 30%. As part of its efforts to attract subscribers, Reuters said demand for simplified plans supported growth in postpaid additions. Verizon launched its Simplicity plan in June, with transparent pricing and unlimited data. These indicators come as the company seeks to expand its customer base and control promotional costs.
By contrast, equipment revenue declined 9.0% year over year in the third quarter. Verizon attributed the decline mainly to a significant drop in device upgrades, as customers kept their devices for longer. The company also reduced device price subsidies, another factor it cited in explaining the revenue decline. Equipment performance diverged from growth in net income and adjusted earnings, while total revenue rose 1.5% to $34.31 billion but missed market estimates. The contrast places growth in services and earnings alongside weak equipment sales in the quarter’s results.
Verizon raised its 2026 adjusted earnings-per-share outlook to a range of $5.04–$5.06, from its previous range of $4.99–$5.04. It also raised its earnings-per-share growth outlook to 7.0%–7.5%, from 6.0%–7.0%. The company expects full-year mobile and broadband services revenue growth to land in the upper half of its 2.5%–3.0% range. For the fourth quarter of 2026, it expects growth of about 4.0% in revenue from these services. The outlook keeps service performance and customer-base expansion among the areas to watch in the company’s upcoming results.
The company also raised its 2026 operating cash flow growth guidance to 3.5%–5.0%, from a previous range of 2.0%–4.0%. Free cash flow was $7.8 billion in the third quarter, up 12.1% year over year. Verizon expects full-year free cash flow growth in 2026 to approach 12%, compared with previous guidance of 9.0% to 10.0%. Chief Executive Dan Schulman said that, one year into its transformation, the company was “fundamentally stronger — operationally, financially and competitively.” Schulman linked customer attraction to offers focused on their needs rather than relying on substantial device subsidies.
In a move to expand its computing infrastructure business, Verizon signed an agreement with AWS worth more than $2.0 billion. The agreement establishes a commercial framework to expand distributed computing for generative and agentic AI workloads. The company announced in July an agreement worth more than $1 billion with Google to connect data centers using dark fiber. The deals come as telecom companies seek to capitalize on demand for AI infrastructure. The company is looking ahead to the fourth quarter of 2026, when it expects mobile and broadband services revenue to grow about 4.0%.