New York, May 6, 2026, 07:08 EDT
- Verizon is dialing back its across-the-board free-line and free-handset promos, with CEO Dan Schulman steering the company toward a tighter approach on customer retention.
- Verizon notched its first set of positive postpaid phone net adds in a first quarter since 2013—a closely tracked data point in the U.S. wireless battle.
- The catch: competitors continue offering device subsidies and bundled deals, plus Verizon’s own deal page still promotes certain “on us” phones that require specific plan conditions.
Verizon Communications CEO Dan Schulman is tightening the screws on giveaways, pulling back from the practice of handing out free phones and service lines to retain customers. Schulman is wagering that improvements in service and more precise marketing can keep users loyal without leaning on those costly promotions. “We are no longer giving away lines for free,” Schulman said, as reported by TheStreet. TheStreet
This time, Verizon posted something it hasn’t managed in over a decade—a net gain of 55,000 postpaid phone customers in the first quarter. These are the valuable wireless subscribers who pay their bills each month. It’s the first time since 2013 Verizon has reported a first-quarter increase for this group.
Schulman wants to convert those gains into something more sustainable. Verizon posted $34.4 billion in revenue for the quarter, a 2.9% rise over last year. The company bumped its 2026 adjusted EPS growth target up to a range of 5% to 6%. It’s also guiding that full-year retail postpaid phone net adds will hit the upper half of its 750,000-to-1 million outlook.
Retention stands out as the major shift. Schulman called time on “the era of just the free handset,” pointing out that swapping in a new phone won’t solve poor reception at someone’s house. During the earnings call, he referenced reports noting a femtocell — that’s the compact in-home device that boosts cellular coverage — could solve a signal problem at about one-third the price of a free phone offer. Wccftech
Not every offer vanishes, though. As of Wednesday, Verizon’s deals page continued to show multiple $0 or “on us” phone promos—some linked to new lines, others to select plans, trade-ins, or extra connected device lines. The real change? Fewer across-the-board freebies, more hoops to jump through, and a shift toward actually addressing the main gripe. Verizon
Whether the numbers add up remains in focus. Craig Moffett at MoffettNathanson pointed out that, while phone net adds improved, these gains look less convincing when you set them against a “sizable loss of accounts” and softer ARPU and ARPA—average revenue per user and average revenue per account. Fierce Network
David Barden at New Street Research took a more upbeat view, saying Schulman’s response to the postpaid phone numbers signaled he was prepared to “fight tooth and nail.” Still, Barden questioned the origin of those gains, hinting that cable companies might have contributed more to the increase than AT&T or T-Mobile. Fierce Network
Competition in the sector remains tough. AT&T picked up 294,000 net postpaid wireless phone subscribers in the first quarter, topping FactSet’s forecast. According to Reuters, U.S. carriers leaned on device subsidies, offered plan discounts, and kept pouring money into networks to attract users.
T-Mobile is shifting focus to growing accounts instead of simply tallying up phone lines. The company bumped its 2026 target for postpaid net account additions to a range of 950,000 to 1.05 million. CFO Peter Osvaldik told Reuters that over 90% of postpaid accounts now carry more than one line.
Cable’s still pushing up. Charter reported 368,000 new Spectrum Mobile lines in Q1 and rolled out a $1,000 savings guarantee for customers switching at least two mobile lines over from Verizon, AT&T, or T-Mobile.
There’s a clear trade-off here: service repairs just aren’t as fast as handing out subsidies. After Verizon’s January network outage, wireless service revenue growth slipped by 80 basis points that quarter—this was after factoring in customer credits. Another bout of service trouble could reveal whether customers are willing to stick around for fixes, or if they’ll expect a free device instead.
Verizon stock has hovered around $47.34, barely budging from its last close. That price tags the telecom giant with a market capitalization near $199.3 billion.
