Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Shares Climb 1.9% After Strong Earnings

Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) were up 1.9% during trading on Tuesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The company traded as high as $44.06 and last traded at $43.93. 28,166,774 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 3% from the average daily volume of 27,412,574 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.10.

The cell phone carrier reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.04. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 11.64% and a return on equity of 19.48%. The company had revenue of $34.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.21 earnings per share. Verizon Communications’s revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 9th will be issued a $0.7075 dividend. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 9th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 73.70%.

Key Stories Impacting Verizon Communications

Here are the key news stories impacting Verizon Communications this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Raised 2026 outlook and strong customer growth: Verizon lifted its full-year expectations for adjusted EPS, free cash flow and postpaid phone additions after adding 406,000 postpaid phone customers and 137,000 postpaid accounts in the quarter. Verizon Q3 Earnings Call Highlights Growth and AI Expansion
• Positive Sentiment: AI and broadband provide new growth avenues: The company signed an agreement worth more than $2 billion with Amazon Web Services to support AI infrastructure. Broadband also remained strong, with 314,000 net additions, while free cash flow reached approximately $7.8 billion. Verizon Lifts Outlook, Inks Amazon Deal Worth More Than $2 Billion
• Neutral Sentiment: SpaceX competition is being closely watched: Verizon CEO Dan Schulman said satellite providers such as Starlink could be potential partners, but argued that SpaceX remains years away from becoming a major U.S. wireless competitor because of the infrastructure investment required. Verizon CEO Open to Working With Elon Musk’s Starlink
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue miss pressured the shares: Third-quarter revenue increased 1.5% year over year to $34.31 billion, below the $34.77 billion consensus estimate. The miss outweighed adjusted EPS of $1.31, which exceeded expectations of $1.27. Verizon Beats Q3 Earnings Estimates on Strong Margins, Revenues Miss
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts reduced price targets: Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, Daiwa, BNP Paribas Exane, TD Cowen, Barclays and Morgan Stanley all lowered their targets after the earnings report. Ratings range from buy to equal weight, but the revisions signal concern about Verizon’s modest top-line growth and limited near-term upside.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on VZ shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $53.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Daiwa Securities Group cut their price objective on Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $52.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Moffett Nathanson lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seventeen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $50.58.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.48, for a total transaction of $48,928.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 99,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,446,487.68. The trade was a 1.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 9,900 shares of company stock valued at $469,073. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verizon Communications

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 15.4% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 62,101,021 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $3,117,471,000 after acquiring an additional 8,289,877 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 14.1% in the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 41,173,226 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,743,274,000 after acquiring an additional 5,075,794 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 20.8% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 38,164,982 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,915,882,000 after acquiring an additional 6,580,820 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 6.4% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 32,734,998 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,643,339,000 after purchasing an additional 1,972,634 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 6.7% during the 2nd quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 20,882,074 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $884,147,000 after purchasing an additional 1,305,471 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.60. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $47.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $46.65. The stock has a market cap of $182.52 billion, a PE ratio of 11.44, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.26.

Verizon Communications Company Profile

Verizon Communications Inc is a telecommunications company that provides wireless communications, broadband, and digital connectivity services. Through its consumer business, Verizon offers mobile voice and data plans, smartphones and other connected devices, home internet, fixed wireless access, and fiber-optic broadband services under the Fios brand.

Verizon also serves businesses, government agencies, and other organizations with wireless connectivity, private networks, internet and data services, managed communications, cloud and security solutions, and Internet of Things services.