Verizon (VZ) Q3 2026 Earnings Report
MX:VZ Q3 2026 EPS Results
- Actual EPS
- MXN 24.61
- Consensus EPS
- MXN 23.93
- Beat/Miss
- Beat by +MXN 0.68
- One Year Ago EPS
- MXN 22.73
MX:VZ Q3 2026 Revenue Results
- Actual Revenue
- MXN 644.63B
- Expected Revenue
- MXN 653.19B
- Beat/Miss
- Missed by -MXN 8.56B
- YoY Revenue Growth
- +1.45%
Earnings Announcement Details
- Quarter
- Q3 2026
- Date
- 10/26/2026
- Time
- Before Open
- Conference Call
- Monday, October 26, 2026
Verizon's next earnings date is estimated for January 26, 2027, based on past reporting schedules.
Q3 2026 Earnings Call Audio
Q3 2026 Earnings Slide Deck
Q3 2026 Earnings Call Summary
The call was strongly positive, with significant improvements in customer additions, churn, service revenue growth, adjusted EBITDA margin, adjusted EPS, free cash flow, cost efficiency, network capabilities, and shareholder returns. Verizon raised guidance for postpaid net additions, adjusted EPS, and free cash flow, while highlighting substantial AI Connect and high-speed FWA opportunities. The main explicitly stated weakness was a 9% decline in equipment revenue associated with upgrade volumes falling more than 20% year-over-year.
Verizon expects 2026 postpaid phone net adds of 1.1 million-1.2 million, Q4 mobility and broadband service revenue growth of approximately 4%, full-year adjusted EPS growth of 7%-7.5%, and full-year free cash flow growth to approach 12%; it now expects mobility and broadband service revenue growth to be in the upper half of its 2.5%-3% range, wireless service revenue growth in Q4, positive account growth in Q4, fiber passings to exceed 32 million by year-end and reach 40 million-50 million over the medium term, with an incremental 10 million to 15 million premises covered by new high-speed FWA technology, and a medium-term target of 50 million-65 million premise passed with one gig or more of download speed; it expects capital expenditures of $16 billion-$16.5 billion for the full year, Frontier integration to deliver over $1 billion in run rate operating cost synergies by 2028, to repurchase up to $4.5 billion for the full year, and to reach its target leverage range during the 2027 timeframe.
- Postpaid Phone and Account GrowthPostpaid phone net additions increased 820% year-over-year to 406,000, Verizon's strongest third-quarter result in five years. Postpaid net account additions reached 137,000, the company's best quarterly performance in over a decade, with every new line generating revenue and no free lines.
- Raised Postpaid Net Additions GuidanceVerizon raised its 2026 postpaid phone net additions expectation to 1.1 million-1.2 million, which management said would be more than three times last year's result. The company also expects positive account growth in the fourth quarter.
- Improved Churn and Customer EconomicsOverall postpaid phone churn improved by four basis points year-over-year to 94 basis points, while consumer postpaid phone churn also declined by four basis points to 87 basis points. Promotional acquisition costs declined 41% year-over-year and retention costs declined 30%.
- Strong Consumer and Business Mobility PerformanceThe Simplicity plan generated 266,000 consumer postpaid phone net additions, Verizon's best third-quarter consumer performance in five years. Mobility for business added 140,000 net customers, with strong demand from enterprise and small business customers and a return to growth in the public sector.
- Broadband Subscriber Growth and Fiber MixBroadband net additions totaled 314,000 in the quarter, and Verizon added over 1 million broadband customers year-to-date. Fiber accounted for nearly half of broadband net additions, while total mobility plus broadband subscribers added in the first nine months reached nearly 1.7 million.
- Fiber Expansion and ConvergenceVerizon expects fiber passings to exceed 32 million by year-end and remains on track for 40 million-50 million fiber passings over the medium term. More than 55% of new fiber broadband customers are taking one gig or higher download speeds, and bundled postpaid phone and broadband customers are churning materially less than single-product customers.
- High-Speed Fixed Wireless Access InitiativeUsing its 1,700 MHz of millimeter wave spectrum, Verizon developed a 1 gig fixed wireless access product for metro areas. The company plans to scale the service beginning in the fourth quarter and throughout 2027 and beyond, targeting an incremental 10 million-15 million premises covered in addition to its 40 million-50 million fiber build.
- Millimeter Wave Strategic AdvantageManagement described Verizon's millimeter wave holdings as a differentiated competitive advantage and a technological breakthrough. The enhanced FWA capability is expected to provide additional network capacity and create efficiencies in existing C-band spectrum.
- Accelerating Service Revenue GrowthMobility and broadband service revenue grew 2.9% year-over-year in the third quarter, improving from 2.8% in the second quarter and 1.6% in the first quarter. Verizon expects fourth-quarter growth to accelerate to approximately 4% and full-year growth to be in the upper half of its 2.5%-3% range.
- Adjusted EPS Growth and Raised GuidanceThird-quarter adjusted EPS was $1.31, up 8% year-over-year; Tony Skiadas cited growth of 8.3% year-over-year. Full-year adjusted EPS growth guidance was raised to 7%-7.5% from the previous range of 6%-7%.
- Record-Level EBITDA MarginThird-quarter adjusted EBITDA was $13.8 billion, up 8% year-over-year. Adjusted EBITDA margin was 40.2%, up 240 basis points year-over-year and the company's highest reported margin.
- Strong Free Cash Flow GenerationThird-quarter free cash flow was $7.8 billion, up more than 12% year-over-year and the highest quarterly level since 2020. Free cash flow for the first nine months was $18 billion, up 14.3% year-over-year, and full-year free cash flow growth guidance was raised to approach 12% from the previous 9%-10% range.
- Operating Cost TransformationVerizon's $9 billion cost reduction plan across operating and capital expenses remains fully on track. The company also expects to meet its $5 billion operating cost efficiency goal for the year, with savings from network modernization, copper decommissioning, and optimized advertising and marketing spending.
- Frontier Integration SynergiesThe Frontier integration remains ahead of plan, with Verizon expecting more than $1 billion in run-rate operating cost synergies by 2028.
- Customer Value Proposition MomentumManagement said the Simplicity offering, Verizon One, and the loyalty program are exceeding expectations. Loyalty enrollment is scaling quickly, while net promoter score, overall customer satisfaction, and first-call resolution are moving in the right direction.
- AI Connect Contract MomentumVerizon signed a dark fiber agreement with Amazon Web Services valued at over $2 billion, building on its previously announced Google agreement. The company now has approximately $4 billion of signed AI Connect contracts, including contracts expected to generate hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue over their terms, with impact beginning in 2027.
- AI Infrastructure Growth OpportunityVerizon reported strong demand from hyperscalers, neocloud providers, and enterprise customers for dark fiber, lit fiber, and edge computing. The company said these contracts carry attractive margins, require modest success-based capital, and leverage existing fiber capabilities and real estate assets.
- Fiber Supply Secured for ExpansionVerizon announced a multi-year, multi-billion-dollar agreement with Corning for more than 80 million miles of fiber through 2032 to support fiber broadband expansion and the long-haul backbone required by AI hyperscalers.
- Network Performance ImprovementsVerizon said network performance continues to improve, with customers noticing the enhancements. Spectrum acquired in the AWS-3 auction is already improving the network and is expected to further enhance capabilities in key metro areas.
- Deleveraging and Shareholder ReturnsNet unsecured debt to consolidated adjusted EBITDA declined to 2.3x, a 0.2x improvement from the prior quarter, with the company remaining on track to reach its target leverage range during 2027. Verizon returned $12.8 billion to shareholders year-to-date, up 49% year-over-year, including $8.8 billion of dividends and $4 billion of share repurchases, and expects to repurchase up to $4.5 billion for the full year.
- Capital Expenditure Plan MaintainedCapital expenditures totaled $11.9 billion through the end of the third quarter, and Verizon remains on track for full-year capital expenditures of $16 billion-$16.5 billion, inclusive of success-based capital related to AI Connect.
MX:VZ Earnings History
| Report Date | Fiscal Quarter | Forecast / EPS | Last Year's EPS | EPS YoY Change | Press Release |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 26, 2027 | 2026 (Q4) | 21.76- | 20.48 | ― | ― |
| Oct 26, 2026 | 2026 (Q3) | 23.9324.61 | 22.73 | 8.26% (+1.88) | |
| Jul 24, 2026 | 2026 (Q2) | 24.0124.42 | 22.92 | 6.56% (+1.50) | |
| Apr 27, 2026 | 2026 (Q1) | 22.7324.05 | 22.36 | 7.56% (+1.69) | |
| Jan 30, 2026 | 2025 (Q4) | 19.7820.48 | 20.67 | -0.91% (-0.19) | |
| Oct 29, 2025 | 2025 (Q3) | 22.3822.73 | 22.36 | 1.68% (+0.38) | |
| Jul 21, 2025 | 2025 (Q2) | 22.3022.92 | 21.6 | 6.09% (+1.32) | |
| Apr 22, 2025 | 2025 (Q1) | 21.5522.36 | 21.6 | 3.48% (+0.75) | |
| Jan 24, 2025 | 2024 (Q4) | 20.4020.67 | 20.29 | 1.85% (+0.38) | |
| Oct 22, 2024 | 2024 (Q3) | 22.1322.36 | 22.92 | -2.46% (-0.56) |
The table shows recent earnings report dates and whether the forecast was beat or missed. See the change in forecast and EPS from the previous year.
