As U.S. markets prepare to reopen on Monday, December 1, 2025, Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) heads into the new week as a high‑yield telecom giant in the middle of its biggest restructuring in decades, fresh off aggressive Black Friday promotions and a string of short‑term bullish technical calls.
Here’s a detailed look at Verizon’s share price, the latest news (November 28–30, 2025), and what analysts and models are projecting for VZ stock ahead of the opening bell.
Verizon stock price recap: where VZ stands before the December 1 open
Verizon last traded on Friday, November 28, 2025, closing at $41.11 per share. That was a modest gain of roughly 0.6–0.7% on the day, with an intraday range between $40.71 and $41.13 and volume just under 10 million shares. [1]
Based on recent data, Verizon has:
- YTD performance 2025: about +9.8% year to date. [2]
- 52‑week range: roughly $37.58 (low) to $47.35 (high), putting Friday’s close about 9% above the low and 13% below the high. [3]
- Forward P/E: in the mid‑8s and
- Dividend yield: about 6.7%, based on an annualized dividend of $2.76 per share following Verizon’s recent quarterly dividend increase to $0.69. [4]
In other words, Verizon goes into December trading like a defensive, high‑income stock: modest capital gains, a high dividend yield, and a valuation that is cheap versus the broader market.
Key Verizon news and analysis from November 28–30, 2025
1. Layoffs and restructuring remain the central macro story
Although the initial announcements came earlier in November, a flurry of fresh commentary and analysis between November 28 and 30 has kept Verizon’s historic job cuts at the center of the investment case:
- Verizon is in the process of cutting more than 13,000 jobs, with some reports framing the plan as around 15,000 roles, or roughly 15–20% of its non‑union workforce. [5]
- The company will convert about 179–180 company‑owned retail stores into franchises and close at least one store, as part of a push to shrink fixed costs and make the retail footprint more flexible. [6]
- CEO Dan Schulman has told employees that in addition to the layoffs, Verizon will “significantly reduce” outsourced labor and other outside expenses, framing the changes as a long‑term “cost transformation” rather than a one‑off belt‑tightening. [7]
Commentary published over the last three days has largely focused on whether these cuts will meaningfully improve margins without damaging the brand or service quality:
- Analysis from outlets such as Simply Wall St describes the move as a structural reset, arguing that job cuts and franchising could lift profitability but also increase execution risk and employee‑morale issues. [8]
- A widely shared Motley Fool–syndicated note questions whether slashing 13,000 jobs signals trouble for Verizon’s famed dividend, concluding that while the payout looks covered by cash flow for now, the heavy debt load and intense competition leave little room for operational missteps. [9]
For Monday’s open, investors will still be digesting what this “new Verizon” looks like in practice: a leaner cost base, a more franchise‑heavy retail model, and a CEO clearly signaling that cost reductions are “a way of life” going forward. [10]
2. Black Friday 2025: Verizon leans into giveaways as wireless price war heats up
From November 28, multiple tech and consumer outlets highlighted Verizon’s unusually aggressive Black Friday 2025 promotions, especially in home internet:
- Fios Home Internet / 5G Home Internet deals: Verizon cut the price on its Fios 1 Gig plan to around $74.99/month and its 5G Home Ultimate plan to about $60/month, both with no data caps. Many offers lock in pricing through 2030. [11]
- High‑value freebies: New customers signing up for eligible Fios or 5G Home plans can choose from free hardware such as Samsung QLED 4K TVs, Galaxy Tab S10 tablets, smart monitors, soundbars, or a $200 Target gift card, with gift values up to roughly $600. [12]
On the wireless side, T‑Mobile’s Black Friday push grabbed headlines by offering four lines for $25 each with a free iPhone 17 on every line and no trade‑in, a move analysts described as the most aggressive wireless promotion of the season and part of a broader 2025 “wireless price war” hitting the margins of all three national carriers. [13]
International business coverage over the weekend framed Verizon as a “Black Friday bargain” for dividend investors, citing its high yield and relatively low valuation compared with both peers and the broader market. For example, a November 28 Economic Times piece features Verizon alongside other high‑yield stocks as a cheap long‑term income play for investors willing to stomach telecom volatility. [14]
Investor takeaway for Dec. 1:
- These promotions could support subscriber growth and help defend market share against T‑Mobile and AT&T.
- But they also raise questions about near‑term ARPU and margins, especially with Verizon already facing slowing growth in some segments like fixed wireless access. [15]
3. Network reliability: outage headlines resurface
While the major outages themselves occurred in October 2025, they returned to the news cycle on November 29, when tabloids and tech sites ran update pieces explaining that service had been fully restored after earlier nationwide disruptions that left phones stuck in “SOS” or “Emergency Calls Only” mode. [16]
Those October incidents affected major cities such as New York, Boston, Washington, D.C., Chicago, Seattle and Atlanta and were widely traced to software issues or cut fiber‑optic cables, prompting renewed scrutiny of Verizon’s network resilience and disaster‑recovery planning. [17]
Although the outages are not fresh events this weekend, the renewed coverage matters because:
- It contrasts Verizon’s long‑standing marketing around network quality (35+ J.D. Power network‑quality awards and strong RootMetrics results) [18]
- and complicates the narrative at a time when the company is simultaneously cutting thousands of jobs and reshaping its retail footprint.
For the December 1 open, investors may treat outage stories as background risk rather than a new catalyst—but they do feed into the broader debate about whether Verizon can cut costs without compromising reliability.
4. Institutional positioning: 13F filings show mixed, but active, interest
From November 28–30, several institutional ownership updates for Verizon hit the tape via regulatory filings summarized by MarketBeat:
- Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. (GMO) reported selling part of its Verizon stake, trimming exposure as of its latest 13F. [19]
- The New York State Common Retirement Fund likewise reduced its Verizon holdings, locking in some gains but maintaining a large position. [20]
- West Family Investments bucked the trend, boosting its stake by about 26.7% to just over 36,000 shares in the second quarter, valued around $1.6 million at the time of filing. [21]
- On November 30, MarketBeat highlighted further trimming from Gifford Fong Associates (25,000 shares sold) and Mackenzie Financial Corp (over 41,000 shares sold), again reflecting selective de‑risking rather than wholesale flight. [22]
These are backward‑looking (Q2/Q3) portfolio disclosures, not evidence of trades this weekend, but they do underline two themes:
- Large, diversified institutions are actively managing Verizon exposure, trading around a core position rather than abandoning the stock; and
- Verizon remains a widely held income and value play in institutional portfolios.
5. Fresh research and AI‑driven technical calls (Nov 28–30)
Zacks and Wall Street strategists
A November 28 Zacks Equity Research note—widely syndicated across financial portals—pointed out that Verizon shares are up about 4.9% since the company’s Q3 2025 earnings report and argued that the stock could continue to grind higher if guidance is met. [23]
Key points from recent analyst commentary:
- For full‑year 2025, management still expects:
- Wireless service revenue growth:2.0–2.8%
- Adjusted EBITDA growth:2.5–3.5%
- Adjusted EPS growth: about 1–3%
- Free cash flow:$37–39 billion on $17.5–18.5 billion of capital expenditures. [24]
- Earlier in the quarter, Verizon beat EPS expectations ($1.21 vs. $1.19) but missed slightly on revenue, posting about $33.8 billion in Q3 sales. [25]
A new MarketBeat summary of broker research, updated within the last week, shows:
- A consensus rating of “Hold” from around 21 brokerages, with
- An average 12‑month price target near $47.4, implying roughly 15–17% upside from current levels. [26]
Within that:
- TD Cowen recently cut its target from $56 to $51 but kept a “Buy” rating.
- Royal Bank of Canada trimmed its target from $46 to $44, maintaining a “Sector Perform” view. [27]
Other aggregators paint a similar picture:
- StockAnalysis lists an average target around $48.50 with a “Buy” consensus. [28]
- Benzinga’s analyst rating tracker shows a broader consensus target near $46.6 across 26 analysts, with the highest target at $56. [29]
- Yahoo Finance cites an average target around $48.06, about 19–20% above recent prices. [30]
Net‑net, Wall Street sees mid‑teens to near‑20% potential upside over 12 months, but remains cautious enough to label the stock a Hold overall.
Intellectia AI: short‑term “Strong Buy” on technicals
On November 30, AI‑driven analytics platform Intellectia updated its VZ technical forecast and gave Verizon a “Strong Buy” classification based purely on chart patterns and indicators. [31]
As of Sunday’s model update, Intellectia’s technical scenario suggests:
- 1‑day prediction (Dec. 1): about +0.9%, targeting roughly $41.48
- 1‑week prediction: about +1.8%
- 1‑month prediction: around +9%, with a projected price near $44.80
- A separate “similar chart pattern” model projects a 4.7% upward move over the next month, with a one‑month target near $43.03. [32]
The same analysis:
- Counts three bullish technical signals and zero bearish, including a positive MACD and price trading above short‑term moving averages.
- Highlights near‑term resistance zones near $41.80 and $42.40 and support around $40.00 and $39.40, levels that traders may watch closely on Monday. [33]
These are model‑based projections, not guarantees, but they do contribute to a short‑term bullish tone around the stock heading into the new week.
Fundamentals: cash flow, debt and dividends beneath the headlines
Beneath the day‑to‑day headlines, the medium‑term Verizon story going into December 2025 looks like this:
- Stable, slow‑growth revenue: Q3 2025 revenue grew only about 1.5% year on year, slightly missing consensus. [34]
- Improving profitability: Adjusted EBITDA and operating margins both ticked higher year on year, and free cash flow margins improved into the low‑20% range. [35]
- High but serviceable leverage: Verizon still carries substantial net debt and is reportedly raising about $10 billion in the bond market to help fund a $20 billion deal with Frontier—another factor investors are watching closely. [36]
- Rich dividend, moderate payout: The annual dividend of $2.76 represents a payout ratio around 59% of earnings, according to recent analyst summaries, leaving some headroom as long as cash flow targets are met. [37]
Analysts and commentators over the last few days generally agree that:
- Cost cuts plus restructuring could strengthen Verizon’s ability to fund the dividend and reduce leverage over time, if customer churn and brand perception don’t deteriorate. [38]
- Slowing growth in fixed wireless access (FWA) and intense pricing pressure in wireless remain key headwinds, particularly as rivals like T‑Mobile lean into aggressive promotions and new 5G offers. [39]
Verizon stock forecast: what the latest data implies before Monday’s open
Pulling together the November 28–30 news flow, here’s how the landscape looks ahead of the December 1, 2025 session:
Bullish factors
- High dividend yield with apparent coverage
- A yield around 6.7% is compelling in a still‑elevated rate environment, especially with management guiding to $37–39 billion in free cash flow and only moderate EPS growth. [40]
- Valuation discount and upside in consensus targets
- VZ trades at an earnings multiple in the high‑single digits and at about 13% below its 52‑week high, while average Street price targets in the mid‑$40s imply mid‑teens to near‑20% upside over 12 months. [41]
- Technical momentum and AI models favoring near‑term gains
- Intellectia’s AI models flag VZ as a “Strong Buy” on technicals, expecting 0.9–1.8% upside over the next day and week and around 9% over the next month, with no major bearish signals in its indicator set. [42]
- Cost‑cutting could unlock margin expansion
- If Verizon executes well on its 13,000–15,000 job cuts and franchise conversion plan, the resulting lower cost base could support margins and cash returns even with modest revenue growth. [43]
Bearish factors / risks
- Execution and reputational risk from layoffs and outages
- Large‑scale job cuts and retail restructuring risk service disruptions, customer frustration and cultural damage, especially against the backdrop of widely publicized outages and SOS‑mode incidents earlier in the year. [44]
- Intense competitive pressure and heavy promotions
- Aggressive Black Friday/Cyber Monday promos across the sector—particularly T‑Mobile’s free‑iPhone offers—underscore a wireless price war that could weigh on ARPU and margins into 2026. Verizon’s own giveaways (free TVs, tablets and gift cards) will likely support gross adds but at a cost to near‑term profitability. [45]
- Leverage and funding needs
- Ongoing bond issuance and large capital investment requirements—especially around 5G, fiber, and potential Frontier‑related initiatives—mean Verizon must balance shareholder returns with debt reduction carefully. [46]
- Sector underperformance vs. the broader market
- Recent analysis notes that Verizon has lagged the Dow Jones Industrial Average over the past three months, even as the stock posted a modest gain—highlighting continued investor skepticism toward U.S. telecoms. [47]
Levels and catalysts to watch on December 1, 2025
Based on current information, traders and investors heading into Monday’s session are likely to focus on:
- Key price levels:
- Support: around $40.00–39.50 (recent short‑term support zone flagged by technical models).
- Resistance: in the $41.80–42.40 band, where short‑ and medium‑term moving averages may cap rallies initially. [48]
- Follow‑through from Black Friday & Cyber Monday:
Any early December commentary from management, retailers, or channel checks on holiday smartphone and home‑internet demand could move the stock, especially if it hints at stronger‑than‑expected net adds or ARPU. - Ongoing reaction to restructuring news:
Additional op‑eds, labor‑market commentary and political scrutiny of the 13,000+ layoffs could keep Verizon in broader news cycles even in the absence of new company releases. - Macro backdrop:
As always, U.S. rates, growth data and broader equity sentiment will shape how much risk investors are willing to take in high‑yield, rate‑sensitive names like VZ.
Bottom line
Heading into the December 1, 2025 market open, Verizon sits at the crossroads of:
- High income and low valuation,
- Aggressive cost‑cutting and restructuring, and
- Rising competitive and operational risks (price war and outage‑related reputational issues).
Most traditional Wall Street research currently frames VZ as a value‑oriented “Hold” with mid‑teens upside, while AI‑driven technical tools skew more bullish in the very short term. None of these views eliminate risk, but together they suggest that in early December 2025, Verizon is likely to trade more on sentiment around execution, network reliability and holiday‑season momentum than on any single headline.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice or a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Investors should consider their own objectives, risk tolerance and independent research before making decisions.
References
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