Verizon Q3 Net Income Rises to $5.3 Billion With Adjusted EPS of $1.31: 406,000 Postpaid Phone Net Adds, Guidance Raised for Third Straight Quarter
Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE, Nasdaq: VZ) reported third-quarter 2026 results in New York on October 26, posting total operating revenue of $34.3 billion, up 1.5 percent year over year, net income of $5.3 billion, up 5.2 percent, and adjusted EPS of $1.31, up 8.3 percent. The carrier added 406,000 postpaid phone connections in the quarter, its strongest third-quarter performance in five years, and raised its full-year guidance for the third consecutive quarter.
Subscriber growth drove the quarter. Postpaid phone net additions of 406,000 were up more than 820 percent year over year, and Verizon added 137,000 postpaid net accounts, its best quarterly performance in over a decade. Overall postpaid phone churn improved 4 basis points year over year to 0.94 percent, with consumer postpaid phone churn at 0.87 percent; promotional acquisition costs fell 41 percent and retention costs improved 30 percent. Broadband net additions were 314,000, including 159,000 fixed wireless access and 155,000 fiber additions, taking total broadband connections to 17.4 million, with more than half of new fiber customers choosing 1-gigabit-plus speeds. Mobility and broadband service revenue was about $23.5 billion, up 2.9 percent, and the company forecast growth of approximately 4.0 percent for that measure in the fourth quarter.
Profitability and cash flow set records: adjusted EBITDA rose 8.0 percent to $13.8 billion and the adjusted EBITDA margin expanded from 37.8 to 40.2 percent, both the highest the company has reported, while the net income margin rose to 15.5 percent from 14.9 percent a year earlier. Equipment revenue fell 9.0 percent as upgrade volumes dropped and Verizon cut device subsidy spending. Capital expenditures were $11.9 billion in the first nine months, and the company returned $12.8 billion to shareholders in that period, up 49.0 percent, including $8.8 billion in dividends and $4.0 billion in share repurchases; it expects full-year repurchases of up to $4.5 billion.
Verizon also signed an agreement valued at more than $2 billion with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to scale distributed compute for agentic and generative SI workloads, and expects total fiber passings to exceed 32 million by year-end, on track toward a medium-term target of 40 to 50 million.
On the strength of the quarter, Verizon raised its full-year 2026 guidance for the third consecutive quarter, putting adjusted EPS at $5.04 to $5.06. "Verizon delivered another record-breaking quarter. One year into our transformation, Verizon is fundamentally stronger — operationally, financially, and competitively," CEO Dan Schulman said, adding that customer-first offerings and an expanded loyalty program, rather than heavy subsidies, are winning loyal, high-value customers while expanding margins, reducing churn and generating strong sustained cash flow. Headquartered in New York City, Verizon generated revenues of $138.2 billion in 2025.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：位于 New York Manhattan 金融区的 375 Pearl Street，该楼曾为 Verizon 大楼、现为数据中心（资料图）。照片：Kidfly182，CC BY 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。Photo: 375 Pearl Street in Manhattan's Financial District, New York, the former Verizon Building and now a data center (file photo). Photo: Kidfly182, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
