Verizon Posts 406,000 Phone Net Adds, Its Best Third Quarter In Five Years, And Raises Guidance Again
The carrier cut device subsidies, widened its adjusted EBITDA margin to 40.2% and lifted its 2026 postpaid phone forecast to 1.1 million to 1.2 million.
Verizon Communications, the wireless and broadband carrier, added 406,000 postpaid phone customers in the third quarter, its strongest third quarter in five years, and raised its full-year 2026 outlook for the third consecutive quarter, the company said Monday in an 8-K filing. The gain compares with 44,000 a year earlier.
Fewer subsidies, fatter margins
Revenue rose 1.5% to $34.3 billion. Mobility and broadband service revenue grew 2.9% to about $23.5 billion, while equipment revenue fell 9.0%, which the company attributed to far fewer upgrades and its decision to spend less on device subsidies.
Net income rose 5.2% to $5.3 billion. Adjusted EBITDA, which strips out interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization and special items, rose 8.0% to $13.8 billion, the highest the company has reported, and its margin widened to 40.2% from 37.8%.
Earnings per share were $1.25, up 6.8%, and adjusted EPS was $1.31, up 8.3%. Free cash flow rose 12.1% to $7.8 billion.
Promotional cost of acquiring customers fell 41% from a year earlier, and promotional cost of retaining them improved 30%. Postpaid phone churn improved to 0.94% from 0.98%. The company also added 137,000 postpaid net accounts, which it called its best result in more than a decade.
A transformation built on loyalty
Verizon provides wireless, home and business internet, video and voice services. CEO Dan Schulman said the company is "prioritizing customer-first offerings like Simplicity and our expanded loyalty program over heavy subsidies."
Broadband added 314,000 connections: 155,000 fiber and 159,000 fixed wireless. Total broadband stands at 17.4 million. Verizon closed its acquisition of Frontier Communications Parent in January and also announced an agreement valued at more than $2 billion with Amazon Web Services covering distributed computing for AI workloads.
Raised 2026 targets
Verizon now expects 1.1 million to 1.2 million postpaid phone net additions this year, up from the upper half of 750,000 to 1.0 million. It forecasts adjusted EPS of $5.04 to $5.06, up from growth of 6.0% to 7.0% previously, and free cash flow growth approaching 12.0%.
The company expects mobility and broadband service revenue growth of about 4.0% in the fourth quarter, and still plans to buy back up to $4.5 billion of stock this year. It repurchased $4.0 billion in the first nine months.
Capital spending for 2026 is still forecast at $16.0 billion to $16.5 billion, including success-based investment for AI Connect.
