Verizon Q1 2026 earnings: first spring subscriber gains since 2013

Among the highlights successful Verizon's first-quarter 2026 results was a nett summation of 55,000 postpaid telephone subscribers — a fig that marked the archetypal affirmative first-quarter show connected that metric since 2013. The year-over-year betterment exceeded 340,000, the institution said.

At $1.28, adjusted EPS climbed 7.6% compared with the aforesaid play a twelvemonth ago, representing the strongest quarterly maturation complaint the institution has recorded since 2021. The effect cleared the $1.20 statement estimation cited by MarketWatch. On the apical line, full operating gross of $34.4 cardinal represented a 2.9% year-over-year summation but fell beneath the $34.8 cardinal analysts had anticipated, per MarketWatch.

For the afloat year, Verizon upgraded its subscriber outlook, projecting that postpaid telephone nett additions volition decorativeness successful the precocious information of the 750,000-to-1-million scope it had acceptable antecedently — astir 2 to 3 times what the institution achieved successful 2025. The full-year adjusted EPS people was besides lifted, moving to a scope of $4.95 to $4.99 — implying maturation of 5.0% to 6.0% — versus the erstwhile guidance of $4.90 to $4.95.

"Our first-quarter 2026 results amusement that our turnaround is not lone progressing, it is gaining momentum," CEO Dan Schulman said successful a statement. "This disciplined attack is already delivering healthier economics, little churn, and the archetypal affirmative first-quarter postpaid telephone nett adds we've seen successful implicit a decade."

Since assuming the CEO relation successful October, Schulman has pursued a cost-reduction strategy that has included workforce reductions, portion the institution has besides moved to streamline its offerings for customers, according to MarketWatch. The institution said the subscriber gains were driven successful portion by a higher premix of customers caller to Verizon and improvements successful churn.

The institution attributed the gross miss successful portion to restrained promotional spending, which slowed instrumentality upgrade enactment and dragged connected wireless instrumentality revenue. Mobility and broadband work gross totaled $22.9 billion, a 1.6% increase, though Verizon noted that credits issued to customers pursuing a web disruption successful January shaved 80 ground points disconnected that segment's maturation rate.

Consolidated nett income was $5.1 billion, up 3.3% from a twelvemonth earlier. Adjusted EBITDA grew 6.7% to $13.4 billion, the highest quarterly fig successful institution history, Verizon said. Free currency travel reached $3.8 billion, up 4.0% year-over-year.

The woody to get Frontier, which operates fibre net infrastructure, closed earlier this year; the unit's fiscal contributions person been consolidated into Verizon's results opening January 20. The institution said it has paid down astir fractional of Frontier's indebtedness since the acquisition closed and expects to repay substantially each of it by year-end.

Verizon banal roseate much than 3% successful premarket trading pursuing the report.