Verizon’s management opened the Q4 earnings call by apologizing for a recent network outage that fell short of customer expectations and framing the company’s current phase as a “turnaround story.” Chief Executive Officer Dan Schulman outlined a multi-year plan focused on simplifying the customer experience, improving network reliability, and rebuilding brand trust. The initiative involves accelerating execution on key projects, streamlining internal processes by reducing organizational layers, and establishing an “in-year war chest” funded through headcount reductions, real estate rationalization, and marketing efficiencies.

In the fourth quarter, Verizon delivered its highest quarterly net additions in six years, with over one million combined mobility and broadband adds. Postpaid phone net additions reached 616,000—including 551,000 consumer lines—while prepaid phone adds totaled 109,000 for the sixth consecutive quarter of positive growth. Broadband net additions of 372,000 were driven by 319,000 fixed wireless access adds and 67,000 fiber internet adds, marking the best fourth-quarter fiber performance since 2020. Despite these gains, postpaid churn remained elevated, prompting management to prioritize investments in customer experience, convergence bundles, and AI-driven personalization to improve retention in 2026.

Since closing the Frontier transaction, Verizon has integrated over 9 million fiber passings from Frontier and deployed approximately 1.3 million new passings in 2025. The combined footprint now exceeds 30 million homes passed, with a medium-term target of 40 to 50 million. Management has doubled its synergy outlook to more than $1 billion of annual run-rate operating cost savings by 2028, driven by network integration, third-party contract renegotiations, and marketing efficiencies. Frontier itself contributed 125,000 fiber net additions in Q4—a 29% year-over-year increase—underscoring the strategic value of the deal for Verizon’s convergence strategy.

Verizon reported consolidated adjusted EBITDA of $11.9 billion in Q4 and $50.0 billion for the full year, up 2.5% year-over-year, and generated $20.1 billion of free cash flow in 2025. Wireless service revenue grew 2% for the full year. For 2026, Verizon guided to 750,000–1,000,000 postpaid phone net additions, 2%–3% mobility and broadband service revenue growth, and adjusted EPS of $4.90–$4.95, representing 4%–5% growth. Capital spending is expected to decline by $4.0 billion to $16.0–16.5 billion, while free cash flow is projected at $21.5 billion or more. The board approved a 2.5% dividend increase—extending the streak to 20 consecutive years—and authorized up to $25 billion of share repurchases over the next three years, including at least $3 billion in 2026.