Verizon Communications Inc. is set to release its first-quarter financial results before Monday's market open, marking the company's first earnings report since completing the acquisition of Frontier Communications on January 20. The report will provide an early gauge of CEO Dan Schulman's strategy to reignite growth through fiber expansion and subscriber gains.
The earnings release is scheduled for 7:00 a.m. ET, followed by a webcast at 8:30 a.m. Wall Street analysts, according to Investing.com, project earnings of $1.21 per share on revenue of $34.82 billion. The stock closed Friday at $46.38, down 7.5% over the past month, underperforming its telecom and cable peers.
Key Metrics Under the Microscope
Investors will be closely watching postpaid phone net additions, a crucial indicator of Verizon's competitive position. In the fourth quarter, the company reported 616,000 net additions in this category, its strongest performance since 2019. The company also added 372,000 broadband subscribers, driven by its fixed wireless access service, which uses cell towers to deliver home internet.
Schulman has outlined a 2026 roadmap centered on subscriber growth, fiber deployment, cost reduction, and a move away from price increases that fail to add value. The company expects postpaid phone net additions of 750,000 to 1 million for the full year 2026, with mobility and broadband service revenue growing 2% to 3%.
Competitive Landscape Heats Up
The earnings come amid a fiercely competitive telecom environment. AT&T recently beat expectations for wireless subscriber gains, aided by bundled wireless and fiber offers. Comcast reported broadband losses that were less severe than feared and posted record wireless additions. The industry battleground has shifted to convergence—offering both wireless and home internet services under one roof to improve customer retention.
Morgan Stanley analyst Sean Diffley characterized Verizon as a “show-me story,” as the company seeks to convince investors it can move from losing market share to actually gaining it.
Pricing Strategy and Churn
Schulman has taken a firmer stance on pricing, telling investors in January that Verizon would not pursue “empty price increases” simply to boost short-term revenue and earnings. Monday’s results will test whether the company can deliver growth without raising customer bills.
Churn, or the rate at which customers leave, will be a critical measure. Schulman has attributed past customer losses to price hikes that did not provide commensurate value. The first-quarter data will reveal whether those losses have stabilized or if the strong Q4 performance was merely a result of aggressive promotions.
Frontier Integration and Financial Outlook
The Frontier acquisition has expanded Verizon’s fiber footprint to over 30 million homes and businesses, creating more opportunities to cross-sell mobile and broadband services. However, the company expects wireless service revenue to be roughly flat in 2026, as it cycles past last year’s price increases and continues to absorb promotional amortization costs from past discounts and device deals.
Verizon also recently changed how it reports revenue, now separating Consumer and Business results into mobility, broadband service, wireless equipment, and an “other” category. The new structure, disclosed in an SEC filing, is designed to highlight service growth drivers more clearly.
With AT&T and T-Mobile pushing hard, any signs of subscriber weakness in Verizon’s report could raise questions about how much additional spending may be required just to maintain its competitive position. Monday’s numbers will be a pivotal test of the company’s turnaround narrative.
