Updated: November 19, 2025
Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) is in the spotlight today as investors weigh a rich dividend yield, fresh headlines about major layoffs, a new Supreme Court challenge, and mixed analyst views on growth and valuation.
Below is a full rundown of how Verizon stock is trading today, the key news dated November 19, 2025, and what it all could mean for VZ shareholders and watchers.
Verizon stock price today: how VZ is trading on November 19, 2025
As of midday trading on Wednesday, Verizon stock is hovering around the low-$41 range (roughly $41.2 per share, down about 0.6% on the day).
Key snapshot:
- Intraday range: roughly $40.9 – $41.6 so far.
- Market cap: about $174 billion, making Verizon one of the largest U.S. telecoms. [1]
- 52‑week range: around $37.6 (low) to $47.4 (high), placing today’s price closer to the middle of the yearly band. [2]
- 12‑month performance: the stock is roughly flat to slightly negative over the last year (around ‑1%), and still down more than 30% over five years, even after a modest 2025 rebound. [3]
- Six‑month performance: down about 6.2%, according to a new Zacks research note out this morning. [4]
In other words, Verizon remains a slow-moving, income-oriented blue chip: not collapsing, but far from a momentum darling.
Today’s biggest Verizon headlines (all dated November 19, 2025)
Here are the key news items specifically published on November 19, 2025 that relate directly to Verizon and VZ stock.
1. Fresh coverage of planned 15,000 job cuts under the new CEO
Broadband Communities today highlighted Reuters reporting that Verizon’s new CEO, Dan Schulman, is planning to cut around 15,000 jobs, primarily in non‑union management. [5]
Key points:
- Cuts would reduce Verizon’s non‑union management ranks by more than 20% and represent the company’s largest layoff ever. [6]
- Verizon is also expected to convert about 180 corporate‑owned retail stores into franchises, part of a push to “simpler, leaner and scrappier” operations. [7]
- Reuters previously reported that the market initially welcomed the cost‑cut plan, with Verizon shares rising about 1.5% on the layoff news when it first broke last week. [8]
For shareholders, this is a double‑edged catalyst: aggressive cost cuts can support margins and cash flow, but large layoffs also carry execution risk, potential service disruptions, and cultural fallout.
2. Verizon pushes its Supreme Court challenge to a $47 million privacy fine
Legal developments also sit in the background of today’s trade:
- Verizon recently filed a petition for a writ of certiorari asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review a $47 million Federal Communications Commission (FCC) forfeiture penalty over alleged failures to safeguard customer data (customer proprietary network information, or CPNI). [9]
- The petition argues that the FCC’s scheme for imposing large monetary penalties violates the Seventh Amendment right to a civil jury trial, drawing heavily on the Supreme Court’s 2024 Jarkesy decision about administrative penalties. [10]
- Legal press outlets (including a Mealey’s/LexisNexis report dated November 19, 2025) are covering Verizon’s request as part of a broader clash over agency enforcement powers. [11]
This case won’t move the stock tick‑by‑tick, but it is non‑trivial: a Supreme Court ruling could reshape how regulators fine telecoms and influence Verizon’s long‑term regulatory risk profile.
3. Zacks: “Verizon Drops 6.2% in Six Months: Should You Buy the Dip?”
A new Zacks article syndicated via Nasdaq this morning drills into Verizon’s recent underperformance and asks whether VZ is a buying opportunity. [12]
Highlights:
- Price performance: Verizon shares are down 6.2% over the last six months, versus a roughly 9.4% decline for the broader wireless industry – better than peers AT&T and T‑Mobile but still lagging the tech sector and S&P 500. [13]
- Business segment pressure:
- Customer‑first strategy vs. margins: Verizon is leaning into heavy promos and a three‑year price‑lock guarantee on its myPlan and myHome offerings – good for churn and customer loyalty, but likely a drag on margins if not offset by cost cuts (hence those 15,000 layoffs). [16]
- Valuation: Zacks notes VZ trades at about 8.5x forward earnings, versus roughly 12.3x for the industry – a discount that hints at value, but also at slower expected growth. [17]
- Rating: VZ carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) – essentially, “middle of the road, trade with caution.” [18]
This piece frames today’s price as cheap on earnings, but not necessarily a screaming bargain given growth and competitive headwinds.
4. Simply Wall St: Verizon looks about 12–13% undervalued
A new Simply Wall St analysis dated November 19, 2025 argues that Verizon shares may be modestly undervaluedrelative to a narrative‑driven fair value model. [19]
Key takeaways:
- SWS pegs Verizon’s “fair value” around $47.53, implying roughly 12.7% upside from the recent ~$41 price. [20]
- It notes a year‑to‑date price return of about 3.2% and a one‑year total shareholder return around 5.7%, including dividends – far from spectacular, but positive. [21]
- The bullish narrative leans heavily on Verizon’s C‑band 5G rollout, which is tracking ahead of schedule and targeting ~80–90% coverage, supporting premium pricing and future margin expansion. [22]
SWS is clear that this is just one “narrative,” not a guarantee, but its framing supports the view that VZ is currently trading below many fair‑value estimates.
5. GuruFocus: A “GF Score” of 69 and concerns about growth & debt
On the more cautious side, a GuruFocus article published this morning asks whether Verizon might be set to underperform, highlighting several risk factors. [23]
From their quantitative “GF Score” model:
- GF Score: 69 out of 100, which GuruFocus interprets as weak potential for future outperformance versus higher‑scoring stocks. [24]
- Financial strength:
- Interest‑coverage ratio around 4.8x, below the level classic value investors like Ben Graham considered comfortable.
- An Altman Z‑Score of ~1.3, below the typical “safe” threshold, flagging elevated balance‑sheet risk over the coming years. [25]
- Growth:
- Revenue has edged down about 0.3% per year over the last three years, and EBITDA growth has been slightly negative over three‑ and five‑year spans. [26]
GuruFocus essentially says: great brand, big scale, but low growth and heavy debt could cap returns.
6. Institutional money is shuffling positions in VZ
Several MarketBeat “instant alerts” dated November 19, 2025 detail how different institutional investors adjusted their Verizon stakes in the most recent quarter. [27]
Highlights:
- TD Waterhouse Canada Inc.
- Increased its VZ position by 64.3%, buying roughly 320,000 additional shares to own about 816,864 shares, valued near $35.7 million at quarter‑end. [28]
- Alteri Wealth LLC
- Boosted its stake by 149.6% to 19,107 shares, worth approximately $827,000. [29]
- Empirical Finance LLC
- Raised its position by 15.6% to 167,084 shares, valued around $7.2 million. [30]
- Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC
- Moved the other way, cutting its holdings by about 71% to 5,721 shares, worth roughly $247,000. [31]
The broader picture: institutional ownership remains high (around 62%), with some firms adding aggressively while others trim. [32]
7. Motley Fool: Verizon as an “absurdly cheap dividend stock”
A Motley Fool article, syndicated on Nasdaq and AOL early this morning, puts Verizon alongside Ford and Target in a list of “3 Absurdly Cheap Dividend Stocks to Buy for Less Than $100.” [33]
The piece characterizes Verizon as:
- A “blue chip high‑yielder” with significant turnaround potential, thanks to network upgrades and cost restructuring.
- Still trading under $100 per share (obviously), making it accessible to smaller portfolios.
- An income play where investors may get paid to wait for sentiment and growth to improve.
Importantly, Motley Fool is generally bullish in tone, but like most such articles, it’s opinion, not personalized investment advice.
8. Dividend check: 19 straight years of hikes and ~6.7% yield
Dividend‑focused investors get some fresh reinforcement in today’s coverage:
- Verizon’s board raised the quarterly dividend to $0.69 per share back in September, its 19th consecutive annual increase, with the new payout paid on November 3, 2025. [34]
- At about $41 per share, that translates to an annualized dividend of $2.76 and a yield close to 6.7%, one of the highest among large U.S. blue chips. [35]
- Verizon paid more than $11.2 billion in cash dividends in 2024, underscoring the scale of its shareholder‑return commitment. [36]
Several of today’s institutional‑flow articles explicitly call out this high, “reliable” dividend as a key draw for funds staying in or adding to VZ. [37]
9. Network and site status: localized outages, but no major meltdown
If you noticed chatter about Verizon being “down” today, here’s what’s behind it:
- A DesignTAXI community post titled “Is Verizon down? [November 19, 2025]” notes that some Verizon customers began reporting problems around 12:54 a.m. Eastern, citing an uptick in reports on DownDetector. [38]
- StatusGator, which tracks service health, currently lists Verizon as operational, though it records a small handful of user‑reported issues (including a report from New York around 12:53 a.m.). [39]
So far, monitoring sites and status dashboards indicate localized or transient problems, not a broad nationwide outage. There’s no sign this is materially affecting today’s trading in VZ.
Fundamentals backdrop: why 2025 has been a “repair year” for Verizon
Today’s headlines sit on top of some big moves Verizon has already made this year.
Solid but not spectacular Q3 2025 earnings
On October 29, 2025, Verizon reported Q3 results and reiterated its full‑year guidance: [40]
- EPS:
- Reported EPS: $1.17, up from $0.78 a year earlier.
- Adjusted EPS: $1.21, slightly above the prior year’s $1.19 and in line with consensus.
- Revenue:
- Total operating revenue $33.8 billion, up 1.5% year‑over‑year.
- Wireless service revenue: $21.0 billion, up 2.1%.
- Cash flow & debt:
- Free cash flow for the first nine months: $15.8 billion, up from $14.5 billion a year ago.
- Total unsecured debt down to about $119.7 billion, from $126.4 billion, but still substantial.
- Broadband & 5G:
- 306,000 broadband net adds, including 261,000 fixed‑wireless additions, bringing fixed‑wireless subs to roughly 5.4 million.
- 61,000 Fios internet net adds, the best in two years.
Dan Schulman described this as an “inflection point” and promised bold cost and culture changes, which now dovetail with the 15,000 planned layoffs. [41]
How Wall Street sees Verizon stock right now
Consensus rating: Hold
According to MarketBeat’s forecast page, updated with today’s price:
- Verizon has a consensus rating of “Hold” based on 21 Wall Street analysts.
- 13 Hold, 6 Buy, and 2 Strong Buy ratings – notably, no Sell ratings. [42]
Price targets: mid‑to‑high $40s
- The average 12‑month price target is around $47.4, implying about 15% upside from the ~$41 current trading level. [43]
- Target range:
- High: roughly $56
- Low: about $40
Other datasets (like QuiverQuant) show a median target around $49, broadly consistent with this mid‑$40s to low‑$50s band. [44]
Put simply, analysts generally see modest upside and high income, but not explosive growth.
Valuation vs. risk: is Verizon stock cheap or a value trap?
Putting together today’s commentary and the underlying numbers:
What looks attractive:
- Low earnings multiple: Forward P/E around 8.5–9x, below both the broader market and Verizon’s own history. [45]
- High and growing dividend: ~6.7% yield with a nearly two‑decade dividend‑hike streak. [46]
- Improving cash flow: Free cash flow is trending higher, and leverage is slowly being worked down. [47]
- 5G & broadband momentum: Strong fixed‑wireless and Fios growth show Verizon can still find new revenue pockets even in a mature market. [48]
What keeps investors cautious:
- Muted growth: Multi‑year revenue and EBITDA growth are near zero or negative in real terms, as GuruFocus flags. [49]
- Heavy competition: AT&T, T‑Mobile, and cable operators are all fighting for a limited pool of U.S. subscribers, pressuring pricing and margins. [50]
- High debt load: Even with progress, ~$120 billion of unsecured debt is a big number, and rising rates keep debt service in focus. [51]
- Restructuring & legal overhang:
That’s why today’s research snapshot is so split:
- Zacks and GuruFocus emphasize risks, soft business demand and balance‑sheet pressure. [54]
- Simply Wall St and Motley Fool emphasize undervaluation, yield and turnaround potential. [55]
Bottom line on Verizon stock for November 19, 2025
On November 19, 2025, Verizon stock is:
- Trading slightly lower intraday around the low‑$40s.
- Backed by a high, growing dividend that many income investors see as the main reason to own VZ. [56]
- In the middle of a major restructuring push (15,000 planned job cuts, franchising stores) under a new CEO targeting cost transformation. [57]
- Facing mixed analyst sentiment, with a consensus Hold rating and moderate upside to mid‑$40s price targets. [58]
For news and Discover purposes, the story today is not about a sudden crash or surge, but about a high‑yield telecom giant trying to engineer a slow turn: cutting costs aggressively, fighting regulators in court, investing in 5G and fiber, and hoping that patient shareholders will be rewarded for sitting through the grind.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice or a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Always consider your own objectives, risk tolerance, and consult a qualified financial professional before making investment decisions.
References
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