Verizon Shifts Strategy to Combat Customer Churn
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: Feb 01 2026
0mins
Should l Buy VZ?
Source: NASDAQ.COM
- Strategy Shift: Verizon's previous reliance on price hikes to drive revenue has led to increased churn, with CEO Dan Schulman emphasizing that empty price increases without corresponding value have contributed to market share losses.
- Significant Churn Impact: Over the past three years, Verizon's churn rate has risen by 0.25 percentage points, which, while seemingly small, translates to a loss of approximately 2.25 million net additions, significantly affecting the company's market performance.
- Future Growth Expectations: Although wireless revenue is expected to remain flat in the short term, Verizon aims to achieve between 750,000 and 1 million postpaid net phone additions in 2025, which is projected to be 2 to 3 times higher than the previous year, indicating confidence in future growth.
- Investor Confidence Restored: Following months of weakness, Verizon's stock surged as investors reacted positively to the turnaround strategy, with the guidance for postpaid net additions overshadowing the weak wireless revenue forecast, suggesting a potential recovery in market sentiment.
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Analyst Views on VZ
Wall Street analysts forecast VZ stock price to fall
14 Analyst Rating
4 Buy
10 Hold
0 Sell
Moderate Buy
Current: 46.610
Low
43.00
Averages
46.42
High
51.00
Current: 46.610
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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- Revenue Continues to Rise: Verizon's overall revenue increased by 2.9% year-over-year to $34.4 billion, with service revenue rising 2.4% to $28.8 billion, indicating successful responsiveness to customer demand.
- Improved Profitability: Adjusted earnings per share (EPS) climbed 7.6% to $1.28, while EBITDA grew 6.7% to $13.4 billion, showcasing the company's dual advantages in cost control and revenue growth.
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- Acquisition Impact: The recent debt increase primarily stems from the $20 billion acquisition of Frontier Communications, and the $53 billion spent on C-band spectrum in 2021, which, while enhancing network quality, has further exacerbated the debt load.
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- 2026 Performance Outlook: Despite a 35% increase in Sirius XM's stock price to $27 at the start of 2026, the company forecasts flat revenue and a slight decline in adjusted EBITDA, reflecting ongoing pressure on profitability.
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