Verizon
VZ Large CapCommunication Services · Telecom Services
Updated: May 20, 2026, 22:09 UTC
Key Metrics
Valuation Analysis
About the Company
Verizon Communications Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of communications, technology, information, and streaming products and services to consumers, businesses, and governmental entities worldwide. It operates in two segments, Verizon Consumer Group (Consumer) and Verizon Business Group (Business). The Consumer segment provides wireless services across the wireless networks in the United States under the Verizon and TracFone brands and through wholesale and other arrangements; and fixed wireless access (FWA) broadband through its wireless networks, as well as related equipment and devices, such as smartphones, tablets, smartwatches, and other wireless-enabled connected devices. The segment also offers wireline services in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United St
Verizon Stock at a Glance
Verizon (VZ) is currently trading at $47.81 with a market capitalization of $199.6B. The trailing P/E ratio stands at 11.66x, with a forward P/E of 9.07x. The 52-week range spans from $38.39 to $51.68; the current price is 7.5% below the yearly high. Year-over-year revenue growth stands at +2.9%. The net profit margin stands at 12.46%.
💰 Dividend
Verizon pays an annual dividend of $2.83 per share, representing a yield of 5.92%. The payout ratio stands at 67.44%.
📊 Analyst Rating
22 analysts rate Verizon (VZ) on consensus: None. The average price target is $51.85, implying +8.46% from the current price. Analyst price targets range from $46.00 to $71.00.
Investment Thesis: Strengths & Weaknesses
- High return on equity (17.2% ROE)
- High gross margin of 58.91% — indicates pricing power
- Currently flagged as undervalued
- Solid dividend yield of 5.92%
- Positive free cash flow
- –High leverage (D/E 192.04)
Technical Snapshot
Price shows short-term weakness (below 50d MA) but is still in a longer-term uptrend (above 200d MA).
Risk Profile
The data points to relatively defensive market behavior, higher leverage relative to equity.
Trading Data
💵 Dividend Info
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Verizon 2026: Frontier Closing, 5G Free Cash Flow and the 6.1% Dividend Bet
The Real Story
Verizon is set to close the largest acquisition in its history in 2026: the $20-billion Frontier Communications deal expects final FCC approval in March 2026, making Verizon the largest US fiber operator with over 25 million fiber lines. CEO Hans Vestberg is using this to counter structural pressure in core wireless, where T-Mobile has dominated postpaid net adds for years.
Operationally, Verizon is stable but unspectacular: Q1/2026 wireless service revenue grew +2.8% YoY, clearly below T-Mobile (+5.9%) but above AT&T (+1.9%). The real lever is margin structure: adjusted EBITDA margin of 38.4% — the highest of any US carrier. Verizon is a classic cash-flow compounder, not a growth story.
What really decides Verizon in 2026: can it finish the second half of its deleveraging? Net debt/EBITDA fell from 3.1× (2023) to 2.5× — target: 2.25× by year-end 2026. Only then will buybacks return and the dividend become structurally secure.
What Smart Money Thinks
The Q1/2026 13F snapshot shows a classic income-investor lineup: Vanguard (10.2%), BlackRock (8.9%) and State Street (5.1%) as index-fund holdings — passive money. More interesting on the active side: Berkshire Hathaway fully exited its VZ position in Q4/2025 (previously 158M shares) — Buffett has been systematically reducing telecom exposure and parking capital in T-bills.
On the buyer side: Pzena Investment Management built a 12.4M-share position in Q1/2026 — classic value thesis at a 6.1% dividend yield and below tangible book value. Wellington is also among the largest active holders at 2.1%.
Insider activity (Form 4) is thin: CEO Hans Vestberg sold 60,000 shares in February 2026 (10b5-1 plan, routine), no unusual purchases in the last 12 months — typical for Verizon where employee equity programs are small compared to Big Tech.
Explore the BMI Smart-Money Tracker →
📈 The 3 Real Bull Points
Verizon pays an annualized 2026 dividend of $2.71 per share. At ~$44.5 that's 6.1% — the highest yield in the S&P 500 ex-energy/REITs. Dividend has been raised 19 years in a row (Dividend Aristocrat), payout ratio at 60% of free cash flow — covered, but no growth fireworks. For income investors, the second most important S&P 500 yield anchor after AT&T.
After FCC approval (expected March 2026), Verizon adds Frontier's 7.2M fiber lines — combined with the FiOS base, that's 25M+ addresses. Synergies (cost + cross-sell) are estimated at $500M/year from 2028. Fiber is Verizon's only segment with double-digit growth — and the key lever against T-Mobile's bundle aggression.
Net debt fell from $148B (Q1/2023) to $124B (Q1/2026). On EBITDA of $49.2B, leverage stands at 2.5×. Once 2.25× is reached (expected Q3/2027), Vestberg has guided on the conference call that a buyback program will activate. At today's $187B market cap, even a $5B buyback year would add 2.7% to the yield equation.
📉 The 3 Real Bear Points
T-Mobile added another 1.1M postpaid phone net adds in Q1/2026, Verizon only 290k. The structural gap means: T-Mobile is growing wireless service revenue more than twice as fast as Verizon. If the FCC reallocates 5G mid-band licenses in 2027, T-Mobile could extend further — eroding Verizon's premium positioning.
Verizon will invest another $17-17.5B in capex in 2026 (Frontier integration + C-band deployment). Free-cash-flow yield therefore is just 11% — historically low for telecom. If wireless growth doesn't accelerate, Verizon has no cash cushion for M&A or buybacks before 2028.
Charter (Spectrum Mobile) and Comcast (Xfinity Mobile) are aggressively winning in the MVNO business — 2M net adds in Q1/2026 combined. They actually use Verizon's network (wholesale deal from 2011), but they cannibalize the postpaid business. With MVNO competition rising, Verizon wireless ARPU structurally drops.
Valuation in Context
Verizon trades at a forward P/E of 9.1× — historically below the 10-year median (10.8×) and well below the S&P 500 average (20.4×). EV/EBITDA at 6.4× is in the lower range of all US mega-caps. A DDM model (dividend $2.71, 3% growth, 9.5% equity cost of capital) suggests fair value of $42 — slightly below spot. Wall Street consensus sits at $46 (median, range $38 Citi to $58 Goldman). Valuation is cheap, but not an obvious multi-bagger setup — the yield carries the investment case.
🗓️ Next 3 Catalyst Dates
- March 2026: FCC final approval of the Frontier acquisition — largest strategic move since the AOL deal in 2015
- July 24, 2026: Q2/2026 earnings call — free cash flow guidance update and first Frontier synergy targets
- September 2026: Investor Day in New York — fresh 3-year capital allocation strategy including buyback roadmap
💬 Daniel's Take
Verizon is the most honest yield trap in the market — or the last safe 6% dividend, depending on how you read telecom disruption. I hold VZ as a small income position (~2% portfolio) since 2023 and auto-reinvest the dividend — no doubler, but 6% per year plus moderate price appreciation gives a 8-10% total return. My add-trigger: if the stock falls below $40 (yield above 6.7%) OR Frontier closes with positive synergy guidance above $500M. As long as T-Mobile grows more aggressively, Verizon remains a defensive play — not a compounder.
Sources (3)
Disclaimer: This article is not investment advice. Investing in stocks carries risks, including total loss.
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