Verizon Raises 2026 Earnings Outlook Following Unexpected Postpaid Subscriber Additions

-- Verizon Communications (VZ) lifted its full-year earnings outlook on Monday and reported a first-quarter bottom line above market estimates, while the telecommunications giant unexpectedly added postpaid phone subscribers in the three-month period.

The company now anticipates adjusted earnings to come in between $4.95 and $4.99 per share for 2026, up from its previous projections of $4.90 to $4.95, representing annual growth of 5% to 6%. The current consensus on FactSet is for non-GAAP EPS of $4.90. The stock was up 3.9% in the most recent premarket activity.

Last week, rival AT&T (T) maintained its full-year earnings outlook and reported better-than-expected first-quarter results.

For the three-month period ended March, Verizon's adjusted EPS rose to $1.28 from $1.19 the year before, topping the Street's view for $1.21. Operating revenue inclined 2.9% to $34.44 billion, but fell short of the average analyst estimate of $34.82 billion.

The company added 55,000 retail postpaid phone subscribers in the quarter, compared with losses of 289,000 in the prior-year period. The average consensus among eight analysts on FactSet was for a loss of 88,100 subscribers.

"Our first-quarter 2026 results show that our turnaround is not only progressing, it is gaining momentum," Chief Executive Dan Schulman said in a statement. "This disciplined approach is already delivering healthier economics, lower churn, and the first positive first-quarter postpaid phone net adds we've seen in over a decade."

Mobility and broadband service revenue inclined 1.6% to around $22.9 billion, including an 80-basis-point headwind to wireless service revenue growth due to an outage in January, according to the company. Service and other revenue edged up to $28.76 billion from $28.09 billion in the 2025 quarter. Broadband net additions totaled 341,000, down from 353,000 last year, according to a presentation.

For 2026, retail postpaid phone net subscriber additions are now pegged to be at the top half of Verizon's previously issued guidance range of 750,000 to 1 million.

The company continues to expect wireless service revenue gains to be roughly flat this year as it transitions to sustainable volume-based growth. It also reiterated its forecast of mobility and broadband service revenue growth of 2% to 3%.