Verizon's Quarter of Momentum: Boosting Growth, Quality, and Cash Generation
Verizon has made a stellar start to 2026, with its first quarter earnings call showcasing a comprehensive transformation program that is reshaping the company's operations and customer service. CEO Dan Schulman highlighted the importance of delighting customers, driving growth, and improving cash generation, which have been key goals since he joined the company.
The quarter saw Verizon deliver a strong performance across its core operating metrics, with solid operational and financial outcomes that haven't been seen in over a decade. The company reported total revenues growing 2.9% to $34.4 billion, despite a one-time pressure on wireless service revenues from customer credits and other impacts related to a network outage.
However, the quality of Verizon's revenue is improving, with a deliberate shift towards durable, recurring service revenues and away from low-margin, highly promotional activity. This approach has led to positive postpaid phone net adds, better churn, lower acquisition and retention costs, and higher free cash flow and adjusted EPS.
One notable highlight was the addition of 55,000 postpaid phone net adds in the quarter, a significant improvement over the same period last year. This represents the first time in 13 years that Verizon has had positive postpaid phone net adds in Q1. Both consumer and business segments saw substantial improvements in postpaid phone net adds.
Overall, Verizon added almost 500,000 net adds across its mobility and broadband platforms, continuing the momentum established in Q4 of last year while improving the quality and economics of customer relationships.
The company's transformation program is clearly having a positive impact on its business. CEO Dan Schulman emphasized that this performance supports an increase in Verizon's 2026 guidance for both adjusted EPS growth and postpaid phone net adds. The future looks bright for Verizon, with its comprehensive approach to growth, quality, and cash generation set to continue driving momentum throughout the year.
