Verizon Earnings Surprise Lifts Outlook

Verizon earnings on April 27, 2026 showed unexpected subscriber momentum that management said supports the company's raised full-year adjusted EPS outlook and signals improving operating efficiency under CEO Dan Schulman.

Quarter Results and Subscriber Gains

Verizon reported first-quarter adjusted earnings per share of $1.28, up 7.6% year over year, on total operating revenue of $34.4 billion, a 2.9% increase. Adjusted EBITDA rose 6.7% to $13.4 billion, the highest quarterly total in company history. Consolidated net income was $5.1 billion, and diluted EPS was $1.20. CEO Dan Schulman said the results reflect a disciplined approach delivering healthier economics, lower churn, and the first positive first-quarter postpaid phone net additions since 2013.

The company posted 55,000 total postpaid phone net additions, reversing a decade-long trend and improving by 340,000 year over year versus consensus expectations for a loss. Core prepaid net additions reached 115,000, marking the seventh consecutive quarter of growth. Broadband net additions totaled 341,000, including 214,000 fixed-wireless-access and 127,000 fiber connections, bringing total FWA and fiber connections to about 16.8 million. Mobility and broadband service revenue rose 1.6% to $22.9 billion despite an 80-basis-point headwind from January network-outage customer credits. Wireless equipment revenue increased 5.2% to $5.7 billion.

Guidance and Capital Outlook

Verizon raised its full-year 2026 adjusted EPS guidance to a range of $4.95 to $4.99, implying 5.0% to 6.0% growth. The company also increased its expected total retail postpaid phone net additions to the top half of a 750,000 to 1,000,000 range, citing subscriber momentum and lower churn.

For the year, Verizon projects mobility and broadband service revenue growth of 2.0% to 3.0%, about $93 billion, with wireless service revenue roughly flat. It expects cash flow from operations between $37.5 billion and $38.0 billion, capital expenditures of $16.0 billion to $16.5 billion, and free cash flow of at least $21.5 billion, a 7% increase and the highest level since 2020. In the first quarter, cash flow from operations was $8.0 billion, capital spending $4.2 billion, and free cash flow $3.8 billion. Share repurchases totaled $2.5 billion, keeping the company on track for at least $3.0 billion in buybacks this year.

Verizon closed its acquisition of Frontier Communications on January 20, 2026, and has repaid roughly half of Frontier’s debt. The company reported unsecured debt of $142.5 billion at quarter-end, with net unsecured debt of $130.1 billion and a net unsecured debt-to-EBITDA ratio of 2.6 times. It expects to repay the remaining Frontier debt by year-end 2026 after receiving required regulatory approvals.