VZ · Q1 2026 Earnings

Bullish

Verizon

Reported April 27, 2026

30-second summary

Verizon raised FY2026 adjusted EPS guidance to $4.95–$4.99 (+5.0–6.0% YoY) from $4.90–$4.95 (+4.0–5.0%) — a $0.045 midpoint lift just one quarter into Schulman's reset — and narrowed postpaid phone net adds to the top half of the 750K–1.0M range. Q1 postpaid phone net adds of 55K were the first positive Q1 result since 2013 and a +340K YoY improvement, which management framed as a milestone validating the turnaround; the print still sits below the ~190–250K midpoint cadence implied by the FY guide, leaving H2 as the burden of proof on the narrowed range. Free cash flow of $3.78B and adjusted EBITDA of $13.4B set up the ≥$21.5B/+7% FCF and accelerated-EPS narrative. Note on management commentary cited below: direct quotes attributed to CFO Tony Skiadas are sourced from a pre-Q1 fireside chat that took place after the Q4 2025 earnings call and before the Q1 2026 print. They reflect forward-looking management framing at the time of the FY2026 guide, not post-Q1 commentary. We have not been provided a Q1 2026 earnings call transcript; tone/narrative observations are therefore anchored on the Q1 2026 press release and the pre-quarter fireside chat, with that provenance noted.

Headline numbers

EPS

Q1 FY2026

$1.28

Revenue

Q1 FY2026

$34.44B

+2.9% YoY

Free cash flow

Q1 FY2026

$3.78B

Operating margin

Q1 FY2026

23.9%

Key financials

Q1 FY2026

Metric	Q1 FY2026	YoY	Q4 FY2025	QoQ
Revenue	$34.44B	+2.9%	$36.40B	-5.4%
EPS	$1.28	—	$1.09	+17.4%
Operating margin	23.9%	—	13.8%	+1020bps
Free cash flow	$3.78B	—	—	—

Guidance

FY2026 EPS guidance raised 1pt at midpoint (4.925→4.97) with postpaid phone net additions narrowed to top half of range; cash flow guidance and service revenue outlook reaffirmed.

Guidance is issued for both next quarter and the full year. Both may appear below.

Changes to prior guidance

Metric	Period	Prior guide	New guide	Δ	Result
Adjusted EPS	FY2026	$4.90 to $4.95	$4.95 to $4.99	+$0.05 at low end, +$0.04 at high end	Raised
Adjusted EPS Growth (YoY %)	FY2026	4.0% to 5.0%	5.0% to 6.0%	+1.0pt at both ends	Raised
Total retail postpaid phone net additions	FY2026	750,000 to 1.0 million	top half of 750,000 to 1.0 million range	Narrowed upward to 875,000 to 1.0 million (implied from 'top half')	Raised
Fiber build pace	FY2026	at least 2.0 million passings	Withdrawn — no replacement	—	Withdrawn
Wireless service revenue growth	FY2026	approximately flat	Withdrawn — no replacement	—	Withdrawn

Reaffirmed unchanged this quarter: Mobility and broadband service revenue growth (2.0% to 3.0%), Cash flow from operations ($37.5 billion to $38.0 billion), Capital expenditures ($16.0 billion to $16.5 billion), Free cash flow ($21.5 billion or more, growing approximately 7.0% or more)

Segment performance

Q1 FY2026

Segment	Q1 FY2026	YoY
Consumer	$26.453B	+3.3%
Business	$7.419B	+1.8%
Mobility and Broadband Service	$22.9B	+1.6%
Wireless Equipment	$5.681B	+5.2%

Platform metrics

Q1 FY2026

Segment	Q1 FY2026
Postpaid Phone Net Additions	55,000
Total Broadband Net Additions	341,000
Fiber Broadband Net Additions	127,000
Fixed Wireless Access Net Additions	214,000
Total Fixed Wireless and Fiber Broadband Connections	16.8 million
Wireless Retail Postpaid ARPA	$166.66
Postpaid Phone Churn	0.97%

Profitability

Q1 FY2026

Segment	Q1 FY2026
Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA	$13.4 billion

Management tone

The following observations draw on Skiadas's pre-Q1 fireside chat commentary (post-Q4 2025 earnings, pre-Q1 2026 print) combined with the Q1 2026 press release. Quotes below are from that fireside chat and reflect management framing at the time of the FY2026 guide rather than post-Q1 commentary.

Cost transformation framed as executed dollars with reinvestment optionality. Skiadas in the fireside chat: "We took actions pretty quickly back in the fourth quarter to drive $5 billion of cost out of the business, and that allows us... flexibility. It gives us flexibility to invest in the customer. It gives us flexibility to drop some to the bottom line as well." The Q1 EPS guide raise is the financial expression of that flexibility — management chose to drop a portion to the bottom line while continuing to absorb customer-experience investment.

Churn positioned as the primary growth lever. In the fireside chat Skiadas quantified the math: "if we can reduce our churn by five basis points, that gets us more than halfway to our net ad target for the year. And if we do that, we can be much more targeted and much more surgical with our promotional spend to drive the other half." The 0.97% postpaid phone churn print is up 2bps YoY, so the directional progress on this thesis is not yet visible in the Q1 data.

Frontier integration moved fast post-close. Skiadas: "As soon as we closed the deal, we had convergence offers in market within 48 hours." The 16.8M total FWA + fiber broadband connections base now reflects Frontier inclusion (closed January 20, 2026).

C-band capex characterized as substantially complete. Skiadas: "we're about 90% done with our C-band build. So 90% of our planned sites are now on C-band... that build is going to be more with small cells, which come at a lower unit cost." This is the structural justification for the $16.0–16.5B FY2026 capex framework holding firm despite Frontier inclusion.

Cultural reset framing. Schulman's quoted phrase via Skiadas — "We're creating a new Verizon with the goal of being the best and playing to win" — frames the cultural posture going into FY2026.

Recurring themes management leaned on this quarter:

Transformation under new CEO with culture shift toward customer delighting and shareholder returnsChurn reduction as primary lever for sustainable volume growth vs. promotional spend escalationCost extraction ($5B) enabling simultaneous customer experience investment and cash flow growthFrontier integration execution creating fiber-to-premises scale platform with 40-50M home targetNetwork excellence (C-band completion, fiber build) as foundational competitive moatCapital discipline with CapEx decline despite Frontier acquisition and growth initiatives

Risks management surfaced:

Promotional environment remaining intensely competitive with ongoing pressure on churn and ARPU2026 characterized as 'transitional year' for wireless service revenue with flat growth assumptionFrontier integration execution risk and synergy realization timeline (ramp through 2028)Working capital absorption from Q1 severance payments (~$800M) and interest expense headwind (~$1B from Frontier debt)Leverage target deviation requiring debt paydown in 2027 timeframe post-Frontier deal

Answers to last quarter's watch list

Whether postpaid phone net adds Q1 2026 tracks toward the 750K–1.0M FY pace — Q1 came in at 55K, first positive Q1 since 2013 and a +340K YoY improvement, but below the ~190–250K midpoint quarterly cadence implied by the FY guide. Management narrowed the FY range upward (top half: ~875K–1.0M), implying H2 acceleration. Math now requires ~294K average across Q2–Q4.

Continue monitoring

Wireless service revenue YoY trajectory vs. "approximately flat" — Reaffirmed in the Q1 press release: "Wireless service revenue growth will be approximately flat in 2026." Q1 mobility and broadband service revenue grew 1.6% with an 80bps drag from the January network outage; March alone grew in the middle of the 2.0–3.0% guide range. Status: Tracking

Capex run-rate Q1 vs. the new $16.0–16.5B framework — Q1 capex was $4.2B, tracking within the $16.0B–$16.5B FY framework.

Resolved positively

Workforce reduction completion — Most of the 13,000-person workforce reduction is off payroll as of Q1; severance was reflected in Q4 2025 ($1.715B charge per non-GAAP reconciliation).

Resolved positively

First quantitative FY2026 adjusted EBITDA disclosure — Q1 adjusted EBITDA was disclosed at $13.4B (+6.7% YoY), but no FY2026 EBITDA guidance range was provided.

Continue monitoring

Frontier integration disclosures — Closed January 20, 2026; convergence offers launched within 48 hours of close; ~half of Frontier debt already repaid with substantially all expected to be retired by year-end. The 2.0M+ fiber passings build-pace target remains in the FY framework.

Resolved positively

What to watch into next quarter

Q2 postpaid phone net adds vs. the ~294K implied run-rate — Q1's 55K means Q2 needs to print materially above 200K to keep the H2 narrative credible.

Whether postpaid phone churn improves further toward the 5bps target — Q1 at 0.97% is up 2bps YoY; a print at 0.92% or better in Q2 would validate the churn-led-growth thesis quantitatively.

FWA net adds trajectory after Q1's 214K — down 30.5% YoY; a second sub-300K print would reopen questions about the long-run FWA trajectory.

Whether Business revenue holds the +1.8% YoY positive turn — Q1 EBITDA margin expansion to 26.5% from 23.1% raises the bar on sustainability.

First reinstated FY2026 adjusted EBITDA disclosure or directional band — silence for a second consecutive quarter would itself become a credibility issue for the cost-transformation narrative.

Fiber passings build-pace progress toward the 2.0M+ FY commitment — central to the Frontier thesis; interim progress disclosures would de-risk the FY framework.

Sources

Verizon Q1 2026 press release / 8-K exhibit, filed 2026-04-27.
Verizon pre-Q1 2026 fireside chat with Tony Skiadas (EVP and CFO), held after Q4 2025 earnings and before Q1 2026 results.

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