VALUATION HIGHLIGHTS

1. Consumer constitutes 96% of the Trefis price estimate for Verizon's stock.

WHAT HAS CHANGED?

Q4 2025 Performance

Verizon posted better-than-expected Q4 results. Total operating revenue stood at $36.4 billion, up about 2% year-over-year and above analyst expectations, while earnings per share stood at $1.09. Verizon added 616,000 postpaid phone net subscribers in Q4 2025, its best performance since 2019 and a swing from net losses in recent quarters.

5G C-band Spectrum Rollout

Verizon has been building out its 5G network for some time now, focusing on deploying the mid-band C-band spectrum, which can offer average download speeds of 300 Mbps. The carrier spent over $50 billion to acquire the C-band spectrum, which offers a good balance between speed and coverage. This spectrum is now available to more than 200 million people across the United States.

BUSINESS SUMMARY

Verizon makes money primarily through mobile phone subscription plans for consumers and businesses. The company also provides landline phone service to residences, small businesses, and large enterprises. 5G wireless, wireline broadband Internet, and fiber optic TV services (FiOS) are growth areas for Verizon.

POTENTIAL UPSIDE & DOWNSIDE TO TREFIS PRICE

Below are key drivers of Verizon's value that present opportunities for upside or downside to the current Trefis price estimate for Verizon.

Consumer

• Verizon Retail Wireless ARPU: We expect this figure to increase from current levels of about $47 in 2024 to over $50 by the end of our review period as more customers opt for the company's 5G services and higher-end plans. If this number comes in at over $55 by the end of our review period, there could be a 10% upside to our price estimate.

For additional details, select a driver above or a division from the interactive Trefis split for Verizon at the top of the page.

SOURCES OF VALUE

The Consumer segment constitutes the majority of Verizon's value due to:

Higher revenue base and thicker margins

Verizon's consumer business accounted for about 78% of the company's revenue in 2024. Gross Margins for the segment are also higher, standing at about 60% compared to under 50% for the Business segment due to its higher exposure to more lucrative wireless revenues. The growth potential for the segment is also higher.

KEY TRENDS

Verizon's big spectrum investments

While Verizon was seen as having the strongest 4G network in the U.S., the company trails T-Mobile, which is perceived to have the strongest 5G network in terms of reach and upload and download speeds due to its rich mid-band spectrum holdings, which is considered the sweet spot for 5G deployments. However, during the FCC C-Band auction held in 2021, Verizon spent $52.9 billion, including incentive payments and clearing costs, to add an average of 161 MHz nationwide spectrum. This move effectively doubled Verizon's mid-band spectrum holdings. The company rolled out this spectrum to over 220 million people as of late 2023 and had a target of reaching over 250 million by 2024.

Mobile Voice Declines Offset by Data

Mobile phone voice plan pricing has gradually declined as competition has intensified, and technology (primarily speed and reliability) and reach have improved. Increasingly, data access is a significant part of usage. So, while average voice revenues have been downward, the increased data revenue contribution has helped mitigate the impact on total ARPU. Verizon has also been letting go of its feature phone subscribers while focusing on retaining higher-value smartphone users.

Reducing focus on the landline market

Verizon has been stepping back from the declining landline market to focus on the more lucrative wireless business, which is growing faster and is less heavily regulated. The wireless business is also not unionized, unlike the wireline business.