NEW YORK, Feb 10, 2026, 14:40 (EST) — Regular session
- Verizon climbed roughly 1.4% in afternoon trading, tracking lower Treasury yields following soft U.S. retail-sales numbers.
- Verizon and its competitors faced U.S. senators’ questions about the way they responded to subpoenas seeking lawmakers’ phone “toll records.”
- Director Clarence Otis Jr. plans to step down and won’t seek another term at Verizon’s 2026 annual meeting, according to a new SEC filing.
Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. rose Tuesday, with the telecom stock hovering close to recent highs as falling U.S. Treasury yields saw investors turn to dividend-paying names.
This is hitting now because Verizon acts as a “bond proxy” for plenty of investors—its dividend starts to look better as yields on government bonds slip. When economic data comes in weak, traders are fast to shift their rate-cut bets forward and the market doesn’t waste time reacting.
Retail sales in the U.S. didn’t budge in December, coming in below forecasts for an increase. The 10-year Treasury yield dropped roughly 5 basis points, settling near 4.15% — its fourth down day in a row. “Yields are moving lower,” said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities, while stocks inched up. 1
Verizon traded at $47.69, up 1.4% by 2:40 p.m. EST, after hitting an intraday high of $47.79. AT&T picked up 1.7%. T-Mobile added roughly 0.6%.
Washington got involved, too. Verizon’s lawyers, along with counsel for other major carriers, appeared in front of a Senate Judiciary subcommittee after it emerged that federal investigators had obtained senators’ phone “toll records”—metadata that includes numbers dialed and call times—while looking into the Jan. 6 Capitol attack. Verizon maintained it followed the law, but said it’s updating its policies: now, “senior leadership is notified and consulted” before complying with requests tied to members of Congress. The company also plans to push back in court against non-disclosure orders when it can. 2
You don’t usually see telecom stocks move just because of this kind of scrutiny. Still, it tends to lead somewhere: more compliance work, stricter internal checks, and a real shot at new disclosure or record-keeping requirements down the line.
Verizon, in an 8-K filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, said board member Clarence Otis Jr. has informed the company he won’t seek re-election when his term ends at the 2026 annual meeting. 3
Income’s still a big piece of the story. Verizon’s quarterly dividend clocks in at 70.75 cents per share. The stock goes ex-dividend April 10—anyone buying on or after misses the next payout, slated for May 1. 4
That setup can unravel quickly. A jump in yields—driven by Wednesday’s numbers or upcoming inflation prints—could sap demand for high-yield telecoms. And should the Senate’s attention escalate to actual legislation or lawsuits, operators may face steeper compliance bills, all while price pressure stays fierce.
Wednesday brings the next checkpoint for traders: the U.S. jobs report. CPI inflation numbers drop later in the week. Both frequently jolt Treasury yields, with ripple effects in sectors such as telecoms that react quickly to rate moves. 5
T-Mobile is set to report Q4 results and give a “Capital Markets Day Update” on Feb. 11, an event that could shift how investors are thinking about promotions and subscriber growth in the wireless sector. 6
