Verizon Communications Inc. shares rose over 3% on Monday morning following the release of its first quarter financial results. The figures suggest that the strategy implemented by new CEO Dan Schulman to reclaim market share is yielding early results, evidenced by a significant turnaround in mobile subscriber numbers.
The carrier added 55,000 net new mobile phone users, marking its first positive first-quarter growth for this metric since 2013—a year-over-year jump of 340,000. This performance sharply contrasted with analyst expectations of approximately 89,169 losses.
At 12:54 p.m. EDT, Verizon stock rose 2.87%, or $1.33, at $47.72 in New York trading. The company’s 14% year-to-date gain outpaces AT&T’s 5.5% rise and T-Mobile’s 6.5% decline over the same period.
Financial Highlights and Forecasts
Verizon boosted its full-year outlook, now projecting adjusted earnings between $4.95 and $4.99 per share. The company also anticipates that annual phone subscriber growth will reach the upper limit of its 750,000 to 1 million estimate. Adjusted earnings for the quarter were $1.28 per share, as compared with projections of $1.21, the highest quarterly growth since 2021, Verizon said. Its adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, a key measure of financial health, was $13.4 billion, the highest in the company’s history.
Verizon reported operating revenue of $34.4 billion, slightly below projections for $34.8 billion.
While adjusted EBITDA hit a company record, wireless service revenue was slightly lower than anticipated. Schulman described this as a calculated trade-off, prioritizing long-term customer retention and value over immediate service margins.
“We are purposely shifting our mix towards durable, recurring service revenues and away from low margin, highly promotional activity,” he said on a call with investors.
Marketing and Strategy
Verizon has recently leaned into aggressive, high-profile marketing, including a viral four-and-a-half-minute advertisement featuring Heated Rivalry actor Connor Storrie. Current promotions include bundling high-end hardware, like the iPhone 17 Pro and Samsung TVs, with new service lines.
However, Schulman indicated a looming shift in retention tactics. He noted that while free phone offers are effective, they are a costly primary solution that doesn’t always address specific user needs.
“We’re customizing offers to exactly their needs,” Schulman said. “We’re moving away from just having one tool in our toolbox, becoming much more sophisticated.”
Broadband Expansion
The company reported 341,000 net new internet additions across home and business segments. This total includes contributions from the Frontier Communications acquisition, which finalized on January 20. Under a revised reporting structure, Verizon will now aggregate its consumer and business broadband data into a single metric.
The results come in the first six months for Schulman, a former PayPal CEO who was given the top job last year to help stem the wireless giant’s customer losses.
“The strong postpaid phone net adds result shows that Dan Schulman is here to fight tooth and nail,” said New Street Research analyst David Barden. “Anyone that doubted whether Verizon might achieve their guidance for the year should have no doubts after this quarter.”