Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) Business Profile

What it does

Verizon Communications Inc. is a communications holding company founded in 2000 and headquartered in New York City. Dan Schulman is its chief executive. Through its subsidiaries, Verizon provides data, video, voice, connectivity, security and related technology services to consumers, businesses, government entities and carriers.

The company operates two segments: Verizon Consumer Group and Verizon Business Group. Consumer sells mobile service, phones and other connected devices, home internet, video and voice. Its home-connectivity products use fiber, copper and fixed wireless access, or FWA. FWA uses Verizon’s 5G or 4G LTE radio network rather than a cable running into a home or business.

Business sells mobile and wireline connectivity to enterprises, public-sector organizations, smaller businesses, carriers and wholesale customers. Its offerings include mobile communications, wireline and FWA broadband, Internet of Things connectivity, corporate networks, voice, security and managed-network services.

Verizon designs, builds and operates the networks that deliver these services. Its infrastructure includes wireless spectrum, 5G, fiber transport, cloud systems, automation, private networks and IP-routing systems. It holds licenses for low-, mid- and high-band spectrum, including C-Band and millimeter-wave frequencies, which support mobile and fixed wireless voice, video and data services.

Management said on the call that Verizon is developing a one-gigabit FWA product for metro areas using its millimeter-wave spectrum.

How it makes money

Verizon principally earns recurring service revenue from monthly mobile and broadband plans. Postpaid mobile customers are generally billed one month in advance for a monthly access charge, while Consumer prepaid customers pay in advance. A customer account can contain several connected devices, including phones, tablets, watches, FWA connections and other internet-enabled devices.

Consumer also earns equipment revenue when it sells phones, handsets, tablets and connected devices. Customers can use device-payment plans that spread the cost of equipment over time. The company uses trade-in offers and other promotions to win new customers and encourage upgrades. Consumer additionally sells residential internet, video, voice, device protection, content offerings, cloud storage, and wholesale network access to mobile virtual network operators.

Business earns service revenue from mobility, broadband, networking, voice, security, managed-network, IoT and wholesale services. Its Enterprise and Public Sector unit serves large companies, governments and educational institutions; Business Markets and Other serves smaller businesses; and Wholesale sells data, voice, local dial tone and broadband services to carriers.

2025 revenue: Consumer $106.8 billion and Business $29.1 billion; Q3 2026 total revenue: $34.3 billion.

In Q3 2026, management said mobility and broadband service revenue grew 2.9% year over year, while lower upgrade volumes contributed to a 9% decline in equipment revenue. Management also said it expects wireless service revenue to return to year-over-year growth in the fourth quarter.

Customers and how it sells

Verizon serves consumer households and mobile users; large enterprises; federal, state and local governments; educational institutions; small and medium-sized businesses; wireless and wireline carriers; and resellers. Consumer had approximately 116 million wireless retail connections at December 31, 2025, including FWA, and approximately 11 million broadband connections. Business had approximately 31 million wireless retail postpaid connections and approximately 3 million broadband connections.

The company’s wireless services operate across an extensive U.S. network under Verizon brands and through wholesale arrangements. Its wireline consumer services are provided in 31 U.S. states and Washington D.C. through fiber and copper networks. Verizon also operates a global fiber-optic network serving Business customers in more than 180 countries, while providing only a subset of its products internationally.

Sales use company-operated stores, sales and service centers, business direct-sales teams, digital and omni-channel channels, retail agents, national retailers, convenience-store chains and internet channels. The Business segment also uses resellers, distributors and system integrators.

Management said on the call that Verizon had added nearly 1.7 million mobility and broadband subscribers in the first nine months of 2026. It also said Verizon had 17.4 million broadband subscribers at quarter end.

Suppliers and costs

Verizon’s main operating costs include employee compensation and benefits, network access and transport, content, contracted services, materials, customer provisioning, computer-system support, technical facilities, advertising, sales commissions, call centers, regulatory fees, rent, utilities and device-insurance costs. It also buys wireless devices and funds network investment in spectrum, capacity, fiber, network modernization and information systems.

The company depends on suppliers and vendors for fiber, switching and network equipment, smartphones, customer-service support and other operating services. Smartphone makers can themselves depend on a single manufacturer for critical components such as chipsets, and Verizon says only a limited number of companies can supply the network-infrastructure equipment it needs. Replacing a major supplier can involve cost and time, particularly when a replacement is needed quickly.

Capital investment was $17.0 billion in 2025. Management said on the call that capital expenditures were $11.9 billion through the first nine months of 2026 and that it was on track for $16 to $16.5 billion for the full year, including success-based capital related to AI Connect.

Management also said Verizon agreed to buy more than 80 million miles of fiber from Corning through 2032.

Competitive position

Verizon competes in U.S. wireless service against AT&T Inc., T-Mobile US, Inc., regional providers, mobile virtual network operators and wireless resellers. Cable companies including Comcast Corporation and Charter Communications, Inc. resell wireless service and offer bundled products. In fiber, FWA and other broadband services, Verizon competes with cable companies, wireless providers, telecommunications operators, satellite operators, internet-service providers, over-the-top video providers and managed-network providers.

Business faces global telecommunications and integrated-service providers for large enterprise and government contracts. Enterprise and Public Sector also competes with system integrators, carriers, hardware providers and software providers. Wholesale competes with traditional carriers, network providers, cable companies and specialty firms for fiber, voice and IP services.

Competition centers on price, promotions, bundled content and perks, customer service, reliability, speed, capacity, coverage, distribution and access to capital. Verizon says customer growth in the U.S. wireless industry is moderating, raising competition for customers.

Our reading: Verizon’s spectrum holdings, national wireless network, fiber infrastructure, retail and digital distribution, and ability to combine mobile and broadband are meaningful competitive resources, but they do not prevent price-led switching or promotions by AT&T, T-Mobile, cable companies and resellers. Its network and fiber assets are supported by item1 and its current FWA and fiber build plans by call_prepared.

Our reading: The company’s advantage from millimeter-wave spectrum depends on executing its planned high-speed FWA deployment and translating coverage into customer demand; management’s claim of differentiation is supported by call_prepared.

Growth opportunities

Verizon identifies mobility and broadband as its strategic growth areas. It expects consumer growth to come from growing and retaining its mobile customer base, higher-priced plans, perks, prepaid service, fiber expansion and FWA connections. It expects Business mobility and broadband revenue to expand through wireless volumes, FWA revenue and fiber penetration, while traditional wireline services continue to face pressure.

The Frontier acquisition expanded Verizon’s fiber footprint to 31 U.S. states and Washington D.C. Verizon also acquired Starry to add fixed-wireless capabilities for multi-dwelling units and urban communities. Management said on the call that fiber represented nearly half of Q3 broadband net additions and that it had added more than 1 million broadband customers year to date.

Management said it expects more than 32 million fiber passings by year end and remains on track for 40 to 50 million fiber passings over the medium term. It also stated a goal to add one-gigabit FWA coverage for an incremental 10 to 15 million premises, in addition to the fiber build.

AI Connect is a further growth initiative spanning dark fiber, lit fiber and edge-computing connectivity for cloud providers, enterprises and other customers. Management said on the call that Verizon had signed approximately $4 billion of AI Connect contracts, including a dark-fiber agreement with Amazon Web Services valued at more than $2 billion, and expects these contracts to begin affecting results in 2027.

Structural risks

• Competition and pricing: Verizon faces aggressive pricing, promotions, price locks, guarantees and bundled-content offers. Competition for wireless customers may increase as industry customer growth moderates.

• Technology and customer demand: New technologies and business models can change customer demand and enable new entrants. Verizon may not introduce or adapt services at an acceptable cost or on a timely basis, and AI investments may not deliver anticipated benefits.

• Network outages and cyberattacks: Network or systems failures, severe weather, power outages, equipment failures and cyberattacks can interrupt service, raise recovery costs, lead to litigation or investigations, and damage the brand.

• Supplier dependence: Verizon relies on vendors for network equipment, fiber, devices and services. Supply-chain disruption, tariffs, geopolitical events, weather or failures by key vendors could affect network upgrades and customer service.

• Regulation and licenses: FCC, state, local and international rules affect spectrum, broadband, privacy, data protection, network operations and pricing. Verizon must maintain licenses, and regulatory changes can increase costs or limit operations.

• Debt and labor obligations: Verizon has substantial debt and related interest obligations. A significant portion of its workforce is union-represented, and contract negotiations could result in additional costs or work stoppages.

Bottom line

Our reading

Our reading: Verizon is a capital-intensive connectivity business built around recurring mobile and broadband service revenue, supported by a large U.S. network, spectrum holdings, fiber assets and broad distribution. Its operating model is exposed to persistent price competition, high investment needs, regulation, supplier reliance and debt, as set out in item1 and item1a.

Our reading: Current growth efforts combine fiber and FWA expansion, mobile-and-broadband cross-selling, cost transformation and AI-connectivity contracts. The practical test is whether these initiatives produce durable service growth while preserving network performance and avoiding heavier promotional spending, based on call_prepared and item7.