TLDR
- Verizon stock jumped ~4% in premarket trading after beating Q1 earnings estimates
- Added 55,000 net postpaid phone customers — first positive Q1 since 2013
- Adjusted EPS came in at $1.28, beating the $1.21 analyst estimate
- Full-year 2026 EPS guidance raised to $4.95–$4.99, above the prior $4.90–$4.95 range
- A January service outage briefly hurt wireless service revenue via $20 customer credits
Verizon posted first-quarter results on Monday that surprised Wall Street, and the stock responded. The carrier jumped around 4% in premarket trading, reaching $48.33.
Verizon Communications Inc., VZ
Adjusted earnings came in at $1.28 per share. That beat the analyst consensus of $1.21 per share, according to FactSet. Revenue was $34.4 billion, up 2.9% year-over-year, though slightly below the $34.8 billion estimate.
The headline number that got attention wasn’t earnings — it was subscribers. Verizon added 55,000 net postpaid phone customers in Q1. Analysts had expected a loss of around 81,000–88,000.
VERIZON $VZ Q1’26 EARNINGS HIGHLIGHTS
🔹 Revenue: $34.4B (Est. $34.82B) 🔴; +2.9% y/y
🔹 Adj. EPS: $1.28 (Est. $1.21) 🟢; +7.6% y/y
🔹 Postpaid Phone Net Adds: 55,000
🔹 Broadband Net Adds: 341,000
🔹 Adj. EBITDA: $13.4B; +6.7% y/yFY Guide:
🔹 Adj. EPS: $4.95-$4.99 (Est.… pic.twitter.com/R7nm86B8so— Wall St Engine (@wallstengine) April 27, 2026
That’s the first time Verizon has posted positive postpaid phone net adds in a first quarter since 2013. For a company that has been fighting to stabilize its wireless business, that’s a real milestone.
What’s Driving the Subscriber Turnaround
CEO Dan Schulman credited a shift in customer strategy. “We are beginning to reclaim our market leadership by putting the customer at the center of everything we do, reducing friction to increase loyalty and create genuine value,” he said.
Part of that strategy involved going directly after rival customers. Verizon offered better terms to people who brought in bills from AT&T and T-Mobile, pulling subscribers across.
The carrier has also leaned into bundled plans — combining home internet with wireless — a playbook AT&T has used to boost retention. It appears to be working.
Verizon’s results also include Frontier for the first time, following the close of that acquisition on January 20.
One headwind worth noting: wireless service revenue took a hit from $20 credits Verizon handed out after a service outage in January that lasted roughly 10 hours. Hundreds of thousands of customers received that credit, which shaved into the top line.
Guidance Gets a Bump
Verizon raised its full-year adjusted EPS guidance to $4.95–$4.99 per share. That’s up from its previous range of $4.90–$4.95, and ahead of the $4.90 analyst consensus at the midpoint.
The company also said it now expects total retail postpaid phone net additions for 2026 to land in the upper half of its 750,000 to 1 million forecast range.
That’s a quiet but meaningful upgrade. Verizon isn’t just beating Q1 — it’s telling investors to expect more of the same.
S&P 500 futures were roughly flat on Monday as the broader market waited on Big Tech earnings results.
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