VZVerizon Communications Inc.
Industry Telecom carriers Price 23 Oct 2026
If management hits its targets, one share in 12 months
$44.66 → $48.33
What the podcasts say
1 bullish · 0 bearish · 1 speaker · 1 showWhat investors said about this company on the podcasts we transcribe, newest first. Bullish means the speaker expects the stock to do well, bearish means they expect it to do badly.
- Bullish
Promises vs. what happened
15 claims · 8 decksEvery target management put in a slide deck, and whether they hit it, missed it, or quietly dropped it.
| Promise | Made in | What happened | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deliver 2024 guidance | Q3 '24 | done, above the midpoint | Held |
| FWA 15 months ahead of plan | Q3 '24 | 5.7M+ by end '25 | Held |
| 2025 service revenue +2.0-2.8% | Q4 '24 | +2.0%, the floor | Held |
| 2025 EBITDA +2.5-3.5% (raised) | Q2 '25 | +2.47% | Held |
| 2025 adj. EPS +1-3% (raised) | Q2 '25 | $4.71, +2.6% | Held |
| 2025 FCF $19.5-20.5B (raised) | Q2 '25 | $20.1B | Held |
| More Consumer phone adds in 2025 | Q1 '25 | 137K vs 82K; total fell to 362K | Held |
| At least $3B of buybacks in 2026 | Q4 '25 | $3.5B by June | Held |
| AI, edge compute, private networks | Q3 '24 | never mentioned again | Dropped |
| 2026 phone adds 750K-1M | Q4 '25 | 239K in H1; upper half guided | Open |
| 2026 service revenue +2-3% | Q4 '25 | raised to 2.5-3% | Open |
| 2026 adj. EPS $4.90-4.95 | Q4 '25 | raised twice, to $4.99-5.04 | Open |
| 2026 FCF $21.5B+ | Q4 '25 | raised to +9-10%; $10.2B in H1 | Open |
| Leverage to 2.00-2.25x | Q4 '25 | 2.2x, then 2.5x after Frontier | Open |
| 2025 capex $17.5-18.5B | Q4 '24 | $17.0B, under the floor | Missed |
What they’re pitching
the headline page, deck by deckThe headline from each quarterly results deck over two years, so you can see what they want you to focus on, and when it changes.
'24Q4
'24Q1
'25Q2
'25Q3
'25Q4
'25Q1
'26Q2
'26
HighlightsOff page one Q3 '25
GuidanceOff page one Q2 '26
Phone addsPage one since Q2 '26
BroadbandPage one since Q2 '26
NetworkOff page one Q3 '25
RecordsOff page one Q2 '25
Cash and debtFirst seen Q3 '24
DealsOff page one Q1 '25
on the headline page further in the deck not in the deck▲ onto page one▼ off page one● first mentionTap a mark for the quote.
Highlights slide ("momentum", "execution")
“Continued momentum across the business in 3Q24”
Deck 3Q 2024 Earnings · p. 3 ·
Highlights slide ("momentum", "execution")
“Strong momentum going into 2025”
Deck 4Q 2024 Earnings · p. 3 ·
Highlights slide ("momentum", "execution")
“Strong strategic execution with financial discipline in 1Q25”
Deck 1Q 2025 Earnings · p. 3 ·
Highlights slide ("momentum", "execution")
“Strategic execution drives strong financial performance in 2Q25”
Deck 2Q 2025 Earnings · p. 3 ·
Delivering on guidance
“On track to deliver 2024 financial guidance”
Deck 3Q 2024 Earnings · p. 3 ·
Delivering on guidance
“Delivered on our 2024 financial guidance with financial and customer growth”
Deck 4Q 2024 Earnings · p. 3 ·
Delivering on guidance
“On track to deliver on 2025 financial guidance 1 Sum of Consumer and Business segments.”
Deck 1Q 2025 Earnings · p. 3 ·
Delivering on guidance
“〉 Raised 2025 guidance on Adjusted EBITDA2, Adjusted EPS2, and free cash flow2”
Deck 2Q 2025 Earnings · p. 3 ·
Delivering on guidance
“On track to meet financial guidance”
Deck 3Q 2025 Earnings · p. 5 ·
Delivering on guidance
“Achieved Full Year 2025 Guidance”
Deck 4Q 2025 Earnings · p. 5 ·
Delivering on guidance
“Revised outlook reflects financial strength and confidence within our business”
Deck First Quarter Results 2026 · p. 4 ·
Delivering on guidance
“Revised outlook reflects operational momentum”
Deck Second Quarter Results 2026 · p. 7 ·
Postpaid phone net adds and the mobility turnaround
“more than doubled postpaid phone net adds YoY; positive prepaid net adds, excluding”
Deck 3Q 2024 Earnings · p. 3 ·
Postpaid phone net adds and the mobility turnaround
“〉Nearly 900K postpaid phone net adds for full year and Consumer positive excl.”
Deck 4Q 2024 Earnings · p. 3 ·
Postpaid phone net adds and the mobility turnaround
“〉Total combined postpaid and core prepaid3 phone net adds improved Y/Y; and on track to deliver Y/Y growth in Consumer postpaid phone net adds for full year 2025”
Deck 1Q 2025 Earnings · p. 3 ·
Postpaid phone net adds and the mobility turnaround
“Improved mobility performance and continued broadband subscriber growth”
Deck 2Q 2025 Earnings · p. 4 ·
Postpaid phone net adds and the mobility turnaround
“Subscriber results reflect strategic actions in competitive environment”
Deck 3Q 2025 Earnings · p. 4 ·
Postpaid phone net adds and the mobility turnaround
“Exiting 2025 with strong momentum in subscriber growth”
Deck 4Q 2025 Earnings · p. 4 ·
Postpaid phone net adds and the mobility turnaround
“Generated positive first quarter postpaid phone net adds - the first time since 2013”
Deck First Quarter Results 2026 · p. 5 ·
Postpaid phone net adds and the mobility turnaround
“Strong results demonstrate solid execution and progress in transformation program”
Deck Second Quarter Results 2026 · p. 4 ·
Broadband share gains (FWA and fiber)
“Sustained broadband growth:”
Deck 3Q 2024 Earnings · p. 3 ·
Broadband share gains (FWA and fiber)
“〉Nearly 1.6M broadband net adds in 2024, led by FWA momentum”
Deck 4Q 2024 Earnings · p. 3 ·
Broadband share gains (FWA and fiber)
“〉Market share growth in broadband with continued execution of our FWA and fiber strategy 1Q25”
Deck 1Q 2025 Earnings · p. 3 ·
Broadband share gains (FWA and fiber)
“〉 Continue to take share in broadband; surpassed 5 million Fixed Wireless Access subscribers”
Deck 2Q 2025 Earnings · p. 3 ·
Broadband share gains (FWA and fiber)
“Broadband net adds (K)”
Deck 3Q 2025 Earnings · p. 4 ·
Broadband share gains (FWA and fiber)
“Fixed wireless access net adds (K)”
Deck 4Q 2025 Earnings · p. 4 ·
Broadband share gains (FWA and fiber)
“Broadband net adds (K)”
Deck First Quarter Results 2026 · p. 5 ·
Broadband share gains (FWA and fiber)
“Broadband net adds (K)”
Deck Second Quarter Results 2026 · p. 4 ·
Network build (C-band, fiber, 5G)
“Sustain momentum in mobility and broadband, expand 5G Ultra Wideband and scale private networks”
Deck 3Q 2024 Earnings · p. 7 ·
Network build (C-band, fiber, 5G)
“〉C-band deployment and fiber build execution ahead of plan”
Deck 1Q 2025 Earnings · p. 3 ·
Network build (C-band, fiber, 5G)
“〉 C-band and fiber buildouts tracking ahead of plan”
Deck 2Q 2025 Earnings · p. 3 ·
Record profitability
“〉Strong financial growth across our key metrics with the best reported quarterly Adjusted EBITDA2 ever”
Deck 1Q 2025 Earnings · p. 3 ·
Record profitability
“Delivering on key measures and positioned to achieve financial goals”
Deck 2Q 2025 Earnings · p. 5 ·
Record profitability
“Highest-ever reported Adjusted EBITDA 1”
Deck First Quarter Results 2026 · p. 6 ·
Record profitability
“Responsible growth leading to record reported Adjusted EBITDA1”
Deck Second Quarter Results 2026 · p. 5 ·
Cash flow, balance sheet and shareholder returns
“Executing on our capital allocation priorities”
Deck 3Q 2024 Earnings · p. 6 ·
Cash flow, balance sheet and shareholder returns
“Strong underlying cash flow generation”
Deck 4Q 2024 Earnings · p. 6 ·
Cash flow, balance sheet and shareholder returns
“Strong underlying cash flow generation”
Deck 1Q 2025 Earnings · p. 6 ·
Cash flow, balance sheet and shareholder returns
“Robust cash flow provides flexibility to execute on capital allocation priorities”
Deck 2Q 2025 Earnings · p. 6 ·
Cash flow, balance sheet and shareholder returns
“Within target leverage range ahead of Frontier closing”
Deck 3Q 2025 Earnings · p. 6 ·
Cash flow, balance sheet and shareholder returns
“Strong balance sheet with capacity to execute strategic transactions”
Deck 4Q 2025 Earnings · p. 6 ·
Cash flow, balance sheet and shareholder returns
“Strong Free Cash Flow 1 enabled $5.4B of shareholder returns”
Deck First Quarter Results 2026 · p. 7 ·
Cash flow, balance sheet and shareholder returns
“Significant Free Cash Flow 1 improvement supports enhanced shareholder returns”
Deck Second Quarter Results 2026 · p. 6 ·
Strategic moves (Frontier, towers, satellite)
“Executed strategic moves:”
Deck 3Q 2024 Earnings · p. 3 ·
Strategic moves (Frontier, towers, satellite)
“〉Executed strategic moves (e.g., brand refresh, Frontier, towers deal, UScellular spectrum, satellite partnerships)”
Deck 4Q 2024 Earnings · p. 3 ·
Strategic moves (Frontier, towers, satellite)
“Capacity for strategic transactions”
Deck 4Q 2025 Earnings · p. 8 ·
What they keep talking about · 10
The themes that show up deck after deck, and the ones that disappear.
- Highlights
- A bulleted highlights slide opened every deck to Q2 '25; from Q3 '25 page 3 is a title page with Schulman's name.
- Guidance
- In every deck. 2025 was met at the bottom edges; every 2026 guide was raised in April and again in July.
- Phone adds
- Q3 '25 is the one deck that concedes weakness. From Q4 '25 a numeric guide, 750K-1M, after 362K in 2025.
- Broadband
- A headline bullet to Q2 '25; after that a chart only. FWA and Fios merged into one total from Q1 '26.
- Network
- C-band and fiber milestones last shown Q2 '25, while capex came in under its guide.
- Records
- Record EBITDA claims return in 2026, with Frontier in the numbers from 20 Jan.
- Cash and debt
- Free cash flow in every deck; buybacks from Q4 '25; cash dropped from the debt table the same quarter.
- Deals
- Frontier named on a content slide in Q3 '24 and Q4 '24, then only in footnotes.
- New
- Q4 '25: mobility and broadband service revenue, a net-add guide, a $25B buyback. Q2 '26 call: AI network revenue from 2027, no figure.
- Quiet
- Q1 '26: total revenue, gross adds and the Consumer/Business split gone. AI and edge compute last said Q3 '24. No EBITDA guide for 2026.
Every quarterly report we’ve saved · 9
The press releases and shareholder letters behind this page.
- Q2 2026 release · 8-K 24 Jul 2026
- Q1 2026 release · filed copy 27 Apr 2026
- Q4 2025 release · 8-K 30 Jan 2026
- Q3 2025 release · 8-K 29 Oct 2025
- Q2 2025 release · 8-K 21 Jul 2025
- Q1 2025 release · 8-K 22 Apr 2025
- Q4 2024 release · filed copy 24 Jan 2025
- Q3 2024 release · 8-K 22 Oct 2024
- Q2 2024 release · 8-K 22 Jul 2024
Archived as text; the links open the copies filed on EDGAR or the investor-relations site.
What analysts asked them
7 calls · Q4 24 – Q2 26The last eight earnings calls: what analysts kept asking about, which questions got dodged, and how much the CEO did the talking.
Share of questions by topic, call by call. A topic that suddenly dominates is usually the problem. The last row is how much of the answering the CEO did, rather than the CFO or others.
| Share of questions about… | Q4 24 | Q1 25 | Q2 25 | Q3 25 | Q4 25 | Q1 26 | Q2 26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Demand & customers | 18% | 45% | 27% | 12% | 29% | 9% | 25% |
| Growth & sales | 35% | 64% | 33% | 50% | 43% | 18% | 38% |
| Pricing & margins | 24% | 45% | 33% | 38% | 29% | 27% | · |
| Guidance & outlook | 24% | 55% | 40% | 25% | 57% | 18% | 12% |
| Capacity & supply | 24% | · | · | · | · | · | · |
| Capital & financing | 12% | 27% | 20% | 38% | 29% | 18% | · |
| Competition | 6% | 36% | 13% | 25% | · | · | 25% |
| Products & technology | · | 9% | 13% | 25% | · | · | 25% |
| Macro & regulation | · | 36% | 7% | · | · | · | · |
| Other | 53% | 9% | 20% | 12% | 29% | 55% | 50% |
| Questions | 17 | 11 | 15 | 8 | 7 | 11 | 8 |
Who’s in charge, who’s selling
read from the filings · 20 Oct 2026Shareholder votes against the board and pay, plus which executives have been selling their own shares.
Tier 2 · worsening
A costly CEO change, and the new CEO's award softened in three months
Schulman's 2025 pay $34.3M for under three months; half his $30M PSU moved from relative return to adjusted-EPS targets not yet set (Jan '26); term extended to end-2028 with full vesting on a succession event. Sampath let go in Mar '26 with $22.9M including a $4M retention award from Oct '25.
Tier 2 · new
A $25B buyback started while debt rose to $165B
Authorised 30 Jan '26, the month Frontier closed; $3.5B used by June, including an ASR at $46.97. Total debt $158.2B to $165.2B in the same six months, with $12.0B of new asset-backed borrowing.
Tier 3 · stable
The CEO and most directors own almost no shares outright
Schulman held 0 shares directly against 981K stock units; the nine nominees 525 shares between them. $16.0M of open-market sales in twelve months, none bought; Vestberg sold $11.2M in one day, not under a plan.
Tier 3 · mixed
Rising dissent against the chair and the governance chair
Against Bertolini (independent chair, CEO of Oscar Health) 2.6% to 6.7%; against Archambeau (governance chair, three other boards) 4.2% to 8.7%. An independent-chair proposal drew 15.9%.
Tier 3 · stable
Lead-sheathed cables: investigations the 10-K says could be material
Costs 'cannot be reasonably estimated'; no accrual and no material proceeding. Severance of $1.7B was added back in both 2024 and 2025.
Accounting rule changes 4 in 4 quarters
- Q1 '25Device protection and insurance plan revenue moved from other revenue into wireless service revenue
- Q1 '25Prepaid net adds become retail core prepaid, counting phone and non-phone connections excluding SafeLink
- Q4 '25Guided revenue moves to mobility and broadband service revenue, including Frontier from Jan 20, 2026
- Q4 '25Postpaid phone net adds shown as one retail total, no longer split Consumer and Business
Where shareholders voted no
At each annual meeting shareholders vote on who sits on the board, what the executives are paid and whether the company may create more shares. These are the votes that drew the most "no"s at the last two meetings: the shares voted against (or withheld) each year, then what share of all votes cast that was. Under each one, what the vote was about and what a no means.
| 2025 | 2026 | Share 2026 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Schulman (CEO)A board seat. Shareholders vote to keep this person on the board, the group that hires, pays and can fire the CEO. A no, or a withheld vote, says they want this director out, often because of the committee they sit on or a decision they signed off. | 87.0M | 44.6M | 1.6% |
| Bertolini (chair)A board seat. | 70.8M | 185.9M | 6.7% |
| Archambeau (governance chair)A board seat. | 117.3M | 241.5M | 8.7% |
| Say on payExecutive pay. Shareholders say whether they accept what the top executives were paid. The vote is advisory: the board can ignore it, but a large no is a public rebuke and boards usually change the pay plan after one. | 270.0M | 355.7M | 12.9% |
Insiders who sold the most stock
Reported sales by executives and directors, biggest first.
| Form 4s, Oct '25-Oct '26 | Sold | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Vestberg, former CEO, director | $11.2M | 225K shares on 24 Feb, no plan |
| Hammock, HR chief | $3.5M | 73K shares on 29 May |
| Malady, Business CEO | $0.5M | weekly lots under a plan |
| Russo, networks chief | $0.4M | one sale, 2 Feb |
| Stillwell, controller | $0.4M | under a plan |