Key Stats for Verizon
- 52-Week Range: $38.39 – $51.68
- Street Mean Target: $51.56
- Market Cap: ~$200B
- Dividend Yield: ~6.0%
- NTM P/E: ~9.5x
- NTM EV/EBITDA: 7.16x
Plug Verizon’s new AI fiber revenue into your own forecast (It’s free) >>>
Verizon Is No Longer Just Treading Water
For most of the past several years, Verizon (VZ) has been a stock investors held for the dividend and apologized for at dinner parties. Revenue was flat, subscriber losses were grinding, and the story was one of managed decline punctuated by expensive spectrum auctions.
The transformation narrative CEO Dan Schulman has been pushing since taking over in 2025 looked like wishful thinking until Q2 2026, which made it harder to dismiss.
Adjusted EBITDA came in at $13.7 billion for the quarter, up 7.2% year-over-year and the highest figure the company has ever reported. The adjusted EBITDA margin hit 40.1%, also an all-time high, up 300 basis points year-over-year. Postpaid phone net additions were 184,000, the best consumer second quarter in five years, up from a loss of 9,000 in the same period a year ago.
Free cash flow for the quarter alone was $6.4 billion, up 24%. Management raised guidance on service revenue growth, adjusted EPS growth, and free cash flow growth simultaneously.
The EBITDA with Estimates chart shows what the Frontier acquisition has done to the longer-term trajectory. Verizon’s annual EBITDA sat in a narrow band between roughly $47.8 billion and $49 billion from 2022 through 2024, essentially flat as the company digested heavy 5G spectrum costs and faced competitive pressure in wireless.
The Frontier Communications acquisition, which closed on January 20, 2026, added roughly 10 million fiber passings and a credible fiber-to-the-home footprint across 25 states. Consensus now sees EBITDA stepping to around $53 billion in 2026 and continuing toward $60 billion by 2030.
Schulman put the moment plainly on the earnings call: “Our second-quarter results provide clear, compelling evidence that our transformation is driving a structural inflection point across our entire business.”
The broadband business added 348,000 net connections in Q2, bringing total broadband subscribers to 17.1 million.
Fixed wireless access, which uses Verizon’s 5G network to deliver home internet without running a physical fiber line, continues to grow and gives the company a competitive option in markets where full fiber buildout is not yet economical.
See how Verizon’s AI Connect deals could move its price target (It’s free) >>>
Why Free Cash Flow Is the Number Income Investors Should Watch
A 6% dividend yield only matters if the company can afford to pay it, and Verizon’s free cash flow history answers that clearly.
Free cash flow dropped to $14.1 billion in 2022 as the company absorbed enormous capital expenditure from the C-band 5G spectrum auction. It has recovered steadily: $18.7 billion in 2023, $19.8 billion in 2024, and $20.1 billion in 2025.
Through just the first half of 2026, Verizon has already generated $10.2 billion in free cash flow, up 16% from $8.8 billion a year ago. The company paid $5.9 billion in dividends and repurchased $3.5 billion in stock in the first half alone, returning $9.4 billion to shareholders in six months.
Updated full-year guidance calls for free cash flow growth of 9% to 10%, implying full-year free cash flow comfortably above $21 billion against an annual dividend cost of roughly $11 billion. Coverage is solid, and the payout is well supported even as Verizon continues investing in fiber and 5G.
Verizon carries significant debt, net debt of around $191 billion, with a leverage ratio of about 3.35 times EBITDA. Management has targeted reducing that ratio over time, and the improving EBITDA trajectory makes it more achievable with each quarter.
The Frontier integration will add near-term capex pressure as Verizon accelerates fiber passings in the acquired footprint, but owning that infrastructure long-term is considerably more attractive than the alternatives.
See what analysts think about Verizon stock right now (Free with TIKR) >>>
What the Valuation Model Says About VZ’s Total Return
The valuation model mid-case for Verizon is deliberately modest, revenue growing around 2% annually with net income margins near 16% produces a mid-case target of around $68 by end of 2030, an annualized price return of roughly 8%.
Layer the 6% dividend yield on top, and the math gets more interesting. An investor buying at current prices collects roughly 6% annually while waiting for price appreciation, implying a total annualized return approaching 14% if the mid-case plays out.
The Street’s mean target of around $52 implies more modest near-term upside of about 7%, but Verizon, at under 10 times forward earnings with record EBITDA, rising free cash flow, and a new fiber asset base, is not priced for a scenario where the transformation actually works.
If subscriber momentum holds and Frontier integration stays on track, the current valuation looks conservative.
Should You Buy Verizon Stock?
Verizon is not a stock for investors chasing growth. The revenue trajectory is slow, the competitive wireless environment remains intense, and the debt load will require disciplined capital allocation for years. What the stock offers instead is a genuinely rare combination right now: a 6% yield backed by $20 billion in annual free cash flow, record EBITDA at a business that is finally growing again, and a valuation so undemanding it leaves room for multiple expansion even on modest assumptions.
For income investors looking to own a durable cash generator at a reasonable price, Verizon at current levels is worth a serious look.
Run Verizon’s numbers through TIKR’s Valuation Model and see for yourself (Free) >>>
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Disclaimer:
Please note that the articles on TIKR are not intended to serve as investment or financial advice from TIKR or our content team, nor are they recommendations to buy or sell any stocks. We create our content based on TIKR Terminal’s investment data and analysts’ estimates. Our analysis might not include recent company news or important updates. TIKR has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading, and happy investing!
