Verizon Projects Significant Customer Growth for 2026
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: Jan 30 2026
0mins
Source: stocktwits
- Customer Growth Outlook: Verizon anticipates retail postpaid phone net additions for 2026 to range between 750,000 and 1 million, representing a two to threefold increase from 2025, indicating a significant improvement in customer traction.
- Revenue Growth Projection: The company expects broadband and mobility service revenue to rise by approximately 2% to 3%, nearing $93 billion, even as traditional wireless service revenue growth remains flat, showcasing success in diversifying revenue streams.
- Positive Market Reaction: Following the 2026 outlook announcement, Verizon's stock rose over 4% in Friday's premarket trading, reflecting investor optimism regarding the company's future growth potential.
- Strengthened Strategic Execution: Building on a strong performance in 2025, Verizon continues to drive business growth, demonstrating its commitment to maintaining a leading position in the highly competitive telecommunications market.
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Analyst Views on VZ
Wall Street analysts forecast VZ stock price to rise
14 Analyst Rating
4 Buy
10 Hold
0 Sell
Moderate Buy
Current: 41.990
Low
43.00
Averages
46.42
High
51.00
Current: 41.990
Low
43.00
Averages
46.42
High
51.00
About VZ
Verizon Communications Inc. is a holding company. The Company, through its subsidiaries, provides communications, technology, information and streaming products and services to consumers, businesses and government entities. Its Consumer segment provides wireless and wireline communications services. It also provides fixed wireless access (FWA) broadband through its 5G or 4G Long-Term Evolution (LTE) networks portfolio. The Company's Business segment provides wireless and wireline communications services and products, including FWA broadband, data, video and advanced communication services, corporate networking solutions, security and managed network services, local and long-distance voice services and network access to deliver various Internet of Things (IoT) services and products. It provides these products and services to businesses, public sector customers and wireless and wireline carriers across the U.S. and a subset of these products and services to customers around the world.
About the author

Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
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- Dividend Consistency: Despite losing its Dow membership, Verizon has raised its dividend for 19 consecutive years, currently yielding over 6%, demonstrating its stability and appeal, particularly for income-focused investors.
- Financial Health: Verizon's first-quarter free cash flow rose 4% year-over-year to $3.8 billion, with full-year guidance exceeding $21.5 billion, comfortably covering its annual dividend cost of about $12 billion, indicating strong financial health.
- User Growth Recovery: Verizon added 55,000 postpaid phone subscribers and 341,000 broadband connections in the first quarter, marking its first positive growth in this metric since 2013, suggesting a business recovery that could lay the groundwork for future growth.
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- Robust Cash Flow: Verizon's first-quarter free cash flow rose 4% year-over-year to $3.8 billion, with full-year guidance exceeding $21.5 billion, comfortably covering its annual dividend expense of about $12 billion, indicating strong financial health.
- Subscriber Growth Recovery: Verizon added 55,000 postpaid phone subscribers and 341,000 broadband connections in the first quarter, marking its first positive growth in this metric since 2013, suggesting a business turnaround with promising future growth potential.
- Debt Management Challenges: Although Verizon's net debt reached $130 billion post-Frontier acquisition, raising leverage to 2.6 times, management has repaid half of Frontier's debt and expects to clear most of the remainder by year-end, demonstrating a commitment to financial stability.
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