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

Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) shot up 1.9% during mid-day trading on Tuesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as high as $44.06 and last traded at $43.93. Approximately 28,166,774 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 3% from the average session 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 the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $34.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.77 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 11.64%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.21 earnings per share.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

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

Verizon Communications News Summary

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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VZ has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Arete Research dropped their target price on Verizon Communications from $71.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $45.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. BNP Paribas Exane dropped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seventeen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $50.58.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.48, for a total transaction of $48,928.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 9,900 shares of company stock valued at $469,073 over the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 6.2% during the second quarter. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC now owns 3,568 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $151,000 after purchasing an additional 207 shares during the period. RKL Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 4.3% during the first quarter. RKL Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,338 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $268,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. Manchester Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Manchester Financial Inc. now owns 34,924 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,479,000 after buying an additional 218 shares during the period. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 32.7% in the first quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 888 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares during the period. Finally, FAS Wealth Partners Inc. increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 18,421 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $925,000 after buying an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 1.9%

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 company has a 50 day moving average of $47.54 and a 200 day moving average of $46.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $182.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.44, a P/E/G 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.