Verizon CEO admits to and apologized for huge pricing mistake

The wireless manufacture does not traditionally person a large estimation erstwhile it comes to being transparent. That was the ground of T-Mobile’s full Un-carrier strategy, which forced Verizon and AT&T to driblet what utilized to beryllium the mainstays of however the manufacture charged.

Those changes included:

• Ending overage charges

• Making it overmuch easier for customers to power brands

• Dropping semipermanent contracts

• Making texting and telephone calls unlimited
  Source: T-Mobile's Un-carrier past page

Before those changes, your telephone measure could vary, and galore radical opted for a program bigger than they needed to debar overage charges. At the time, T-Mobile was the fourth-place marque looking to agitate to summation media attention.

That has astir surely changed: After T-Mobile purchased Sprint successful 2018, wireless present has a large three.

With T-Mobile, AT&T, and Verizon each being viable options for astir Americans, each 3 carriers person to beryllium cautious erstwhile it comes to expanding prices. That’s a acquisition Verizon learned the hard way, according to its caller CEO Dan Schulman.

"Verizon is astatine a captious inflection point," Schulman said successful the Q4 net release. "Our fig 1 precedence is to put wisely and strategically into our business, truthful we support our web excellence and afloat delight our customers. Our 2026 guidance reflects the opening of our turnaround, and is simply a measurement relation alteration from our past five-year humanities average.”

• In fourth-quarter 2025, Verizon reported EPS of $0.55 and adjusted EPS, excluding peculiar items, of $1.09.

• Total operating gross was $36.4 billion.

• Consolidated nett income was $2.4 billion, and consolidated adjusted EBITDA was $11.9 billion.

• Verizon reported full postpaid telephone nett additions of 616,000, up from 504,000 successful fourth-quarter 2024, marking the champion 4th of postpaid telephone nett additions since 2019.

• Wireless work gross was $21.0 billion, up 1.1% twelvemonth implicit year.

• Wireless instrumentality gross was $8.2 billion, up 9.1% twelvemonth implicit year. 
  Source: Verizon's Q4 2025 net release

Schulman promised to bash amended by the wireless carrier's customers.

"Our fiscal occurrence volition trust connected subscriber growth, driven by convergence, a value-based pricing strategy, superior value-added services, and a afloat revamped end-to-end lawsuit experience," helium said connected Verizon's fourth-quarter net call.

Schulman, who has lone been connected the occupation for a fewer months, addressed the backlash implicit Verizon raising its terms 4 times successful 2025.

"One of the reasons wherefore we person specified precocious churn rate, 1 of the reasons wherefore we've been losing stock implicit the past respective years is due to the fact that we support raising our pricing without corresponding value. And that is the superior crushed wherefore our customers churn," helium added.

"And the #1 regularisation of getting retired of a spread is halt digging. And we're conscionable not going to bash that again," helium said.

The CEO besides made a committedness astir pricing.

"We volition not trust connected bare terms increases to thrust short-term gross and earnings. That is not a sustainable fiscal exemplary nor an motor of semipermanent growth," helium added.

Max Greve, a Seeking Alpha contributor who has held a semipermanent presumption successful Verizon since 2022, expressed assurance that the wireless bearer is connected the close way nether Schulman. He shared bullish comments connected the contiguous changes Schulman implemented erstwhile helium took implicit successful October.

"It’s lone been a week, but Schulman has already executed a cardinal reset. By resetting pricing to gully successful much subscribers, Verizon is yet aligning pricing with its C-Band spectrum strategy. And successful anticipation of success, it is acquiring a caller tech stack to yet bring mmWave to the municipality cores wherever it tin marque the difference," helium wrote.

Other analysts hold and were pleased with the Q4 results.

"Investors person disquieted that Verizon's renewed absorption connected portion maturation would mean weaker fiscal results, and possibly a wireless terms war, arsenic a consequence," Craig Moffett, expert astatine MoffettNathanson, told Investing.com.

"By and large, Schulman's archetypal 4th arsenic CEO delivered precisely what helium promised. Unit metrics improved. Financial metrics weakened."

More Retail:

• Costco sees large displacement successful subordinate behavior

• Retail concatenation shuts each locations arsenic ineligible changes deed industry

• Lululemon struggles to reverse concerning lawsuit behavior

• T-Mobile launches escaped connection for customers aft large loss

Citi expert Michael Rollins holds a akin presumption astir the company's aboriginal occurrence nether its caller boss.

"Verizon Q4 results and usher are mounting the signifier for Verizon to instrumentality a much assertive posture connected subscriber growth, which whitethorn travel astatine the outgo of immoderate ARPU (average gross per subscriber) dilution," helium said successful a study shared with Investor's Business Daily.

Verizon’s 2026 guidance shows the caller CEO is executing a wide turnaround strategy.

• Total retail postpaid telephone nett additions were 750,000 to 1 million, which is astir 2 to 3 times the 2025 reported result.

• Total mobility and broadband work gross maturation was 2% to 3%, equating to astir $93 billion.

• Wireless work gross maturation volition beryllium astir level successful 2026 arsenic the institution transitions to sustainable volume-based growth.

• Adjusted EPS of $4.90 to $4.95, oregon year-over-year maturation of 4% to 5%, representing a important acceleration compared to caller humanities performance.

• Cash travel from operations of $37.5 cardinal to $38.0 billion, and superior expenditures of $16.0 cardinal to $16.5 billion. This includes a fibre physique gait of astatine slightest 2 cardinal passings successful 2026.
  Source: Verizon's Q4 net release

Related: Costco reveals however it keeps prices debased for members

This communicative was primitively published by TheStreet connected Feb 8, 2026, wherever it archetypal appeared successful the Retail section. Add TheStreet arsenic a Preferred Source by clicking here.