New York, June 13, 2026, 11:06 ET —
• Verizon shares climbed 2.49% to $48.11 on Friday, pushing the Dow higher as telecom names caught a bid in the wider market rally.
• Coming up, Verizon’s second-quarter earnings are set for July 24, with the call starting at 8:30 a.m. ET.
• The stock is drawing some interest from income investors, but with high debt, strong rivals and not much room above analyst price targets, risks look balanced.
Verizon Communications Inc. added 2.49% to close at $48.11 Friday, ahead of T-Mobile’s 1.77% move. It ended close to AT&T’s 2.52% gain. The S&P 500 finished up 0.50% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.70% to 51,202.26. Verizon was among the Dow names cited for driving the advance. Since the Dow is price-weighted, a bigger dollar move in a higher-priced stock packs more punch, so Verizon’s gain factored for both VZ shareholders and market participants watching broader blue-chip trends.
Verizon’s stock reacted as investors keep looking for steady cash and dividends, waiting to see if the wireless carrier’s subscriber gains will hold. The shares traded at $48.11, putting Verizon’s market cap near $202.5 billion. Its trailing P/E stood at roughly 11.7. The price-to-earnings ratio, or P/E, measures a company’s share price against its earnings per share and is a common basic valuation check.
Verizon bulls point to the company’s latest operating update as a sign the main business is getting better. For first-quarter 2026, Verizon reported 55,000 total postpaid phone net adds. Postpaid customers are monthly bill payers and tend to be more valuable than prepaid users. The company said this was the first time since 2013 it saw positive first-quarter postpaid phone net adds. On the broadband side, Verizon posted 341,000 net adds, with 214,000 from fixed wireless access and 127,000 from fiber broadband. Management also lifted full-year adjusted EPS guidance to $4.95 to $4.99. Adjusted EPS is earnings per share minus certain items management says aren’t part of core results.
Valuation looks less stretched with that forecast. Based on Friday’s $48.11 close and Verizon’s 2026 adjusted EPS guidance of $4.95 to $4.99, shares are at about 9.6 to 9.7 times projected adjusted earnings. The dividend stacks up as a key draw, too. Verizon set a quarterly dividend at $0.7075 per share on June 4, with payment due August 3 for holders as of July 10. Yield runs close to 5.9% at current prices, according to market data. Dividend yield is calculated as annual dividend over share price.
Verizon still has to show its rebound can last without hurting profits or weakening its balance sheet, bears say. The company finished the first quarter with $142.5 billion in total unsecured debt and $130.1 billion in net unsecured debt. Its net unsecured debt to consolidated adjusted EBITDA ratio was 2.6 times. EBITDA stands for earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization—a proxy for cash flow. A higher debt-to-EBITDA ratio can pinch financial flexibility for capital-heavy telecom firms.
Analyst calls suggest the stock isn’t trading at a big discount after its run. Google Finance put the average 12-month target at $50.88 over the last three months, based on 15 analysts. There were five Buy ratings, 10 Holds and no Sells. That points to only modest upside from Friday’s close, not counting dividends. Yahoo Finance gave a one-year target of $51.90 and said the next earnings are due July 24.
Verizon’s next big event is its Q2 earnings call on July 24, set for 8:30 a.m. ET. Investors will look for postpaid phone net adds in the top end of Verizon’s full-year range of 750,000 to 1 million, solid broadband growth, and steady free cash flow to cover the dividend, buybacks and debt paydown.
Verizon looks fairly priced for income investors, according to the latest verified data. The dividend yield, low forward multiple, and better subscriber numbers back the bullish view, but the upside looks limited after Friday’s rally. Ongoing heavy debt and tough competition from AT&T, T-Mobile, and cable broadband names leave the risk level balanced rather than tipping clearly to growth buyers.
