NEW YORK, March 19, 2026, 7:37 PM EDT
Verizon Communications slipped for another session Thursday, with shares last seen at $49.48 in late New York dealing, off roughly 0.2% from Wednesday’s finish. The stock has now backed further away from last week’s 52-week high, staying under the $51.67 mark reached on March 13. Reuters
The drift is notable—Verizon surged following its Jan. 30 report. That was when the company projected 2026 adjusted earnings between $4.90 and $4.95 per share, unveiled a $25 billion share buyback, and logged its strongest quarterly increase in monthly bill-paying wireless subscribers since 2018. CEO Dan Schulman declared that Verizon wouldn’t serve as a “hunting ground” for competitors anymore. Reuters
The S&P 500 closed down 0.27% on Thursday, and the broader pullback didn’t spare Verizon. Its typical defensive status offered little cover—AT&T finished up roughly 1.2% at $27.74, while T-Mobile hovered near flat at $206.59. Reuters
Management says the turnaround isn’t over yet. Speaking at a Deutsche Bank event on March 10, CFO Tony Skiadas told the audience Verizon had “moved quickly and took bold actions” to slash $5 billion in costs. The company’s sights remain set on service-revenue growth of 2% to 3%, adjusted EPS gains of 4% to 5%, and at least $21.5 billion in free cash flow for 2026 — that’s cash left after capital spending. According to Skiadas, just a five-basis-point improvement in churn—the share of customers leaving—would get Verizon more than halfway to its annual postpaid phone target. Still, he acknowledged that previous price hikes had driven churn higher than they expected. Verizon
Verizon is shifting its reporting structure, altering how progress gets measured by investors. In a March 13 filing, the company outlined plans to break out Consumer and Business revenue by mobility and broadband service, wireless equipment, and a catch-all “other revenue” category. Going forward, key operating metrics will show up only consolidated—not split out. That change has already come under fire. KeyBanc’s Brandon Nispel called it an “investor unfriendly move,” adding the new disclosures are “practically useless for modeling purposes.” QuoteMedia
But some analysts aren’t backing off. Scotiabank’s Maher Yaghi, writing last week, called Verizon’s pace with subscribers and recent cost moves “strong,” describing the shares as “cheap” at these prices. Over at Raymond James, Frank Louthan, and also Oppenheimer, both bumped up their price targets to $56 this month as they leaned into the idea that cost cuts and new subscribers could stick. Yahoo Finance
But the pressure isn’t letting up. AT&T last week announced plans to pump more than $250 billion into U.S. network infrastructure over five years, and also launched a fresh value offering—a double signal that Verizon’s own spending may need to stay high just to hold its ground on market share, even while it tries to shield margins and pricing. Reuters
April 27 marks the next big hurdle, as Verizon gets set to release its first-quarter numbers. After the stock’s sharp rally—and just as sharp a dip—the upcoming report could carry more weight than whatever’s happening session by session. Verizon
