Focus: US Stock Market 2026 Q2 Earnings Reports
This mobile operator's profit declined, impacted by costs associated with a British telecom joint venture. The mobile and broadband segments, which form the company's revenue backbone, saw a 2.8% increase to $23.4 billion.
Key Highlights at a Glance
Verizon (ticker: VZ, down 1.06% for the day) reported a net addition of 184,000 postpaid phone subscribers in the second quarter. This core metric, which measures the acquisition of high-value, premium customers, exceeded Wall Street expectations.
However, the mobile carrier's quarterly profit decreased due to additional costs from forming a new joint venture. The company's total revenue fell slightly by 0.7% year-over-year to $34.25 billion, a figure that came in below the analyst consensus estimate of $35.16 billion.
Verizon attributed the lower revenue to a nearly 20% year-over-year decline in equipment sales revenue, as consumers are now extending their phone replacement cycles. Concurrently, the company's proactive reduction in subsidies for new phone purchases also weighed on equipment revenue.
Verizon's second-quarter net income was $3.95 billion, or 92 cents per share. This compares to net income of $5.12 billion, or $1.18 per share, in the same period last year.
The company stated that the profit decline was mainly due to an $1.8 billion pre-tax special one-time expense, which included a $746 million loss from integrating international operations with BT Group. This joint venture was announced last month, allowing both telecom companies to concentrate resources on their core domestic markets.
According to a consensus estimate from analysts surveyed by FactSet, adjusted earnings per share were expected to be $1.28. The company's actual result was $1.30 per share, beating estimates.
Mobile communications and broadband services, which generate the vast majority of the company's revenue, saw this segment's revenue grow by 2.8% to $23.4 billion.
CEO Dan Schulman stated that the company is now relying on the value of its products to improve long-term customer retention, rather than depending on promotional subsidies to attract customers.
Schulman introduced several new套餐 (plan) options: an unlimited data plan launched last month priced at $45 per month for existing customers and as low as $30 per month for new customers switching networks. The carrier's standard single-line unlimited plan starts at $55 per month. This new plan is expected to attract more users to leave family-shared plans and sign up for individual service.
Schulman stated that the latest quarterly results prove the entire business strategy is driving a turning point across all operations. Since taking the helm of Verizon in October, his core goals have been to drive subscriber growth and reduce overall costs.
"Our key metrics are improving at an accelerated pace, with a significant improvement in customer churn and a simultaneous reduction in both acquisition and retention costs," Schulman said.
The company added 348,000 net new broadband subscribers this quarter.
Last week, Verizon disclosed plans for layoffs: a total of approximately 3,000 employees will be cut, including about 500 from corporate functions. The company also plans to convert several hundred physical retail stores to franchise operations. This is a follow-up to a round of layoffs and store outsourcing completed last autumn.
Updated Full-Year Guidance: The company raised its full-year adjusted earnings per share guidance to a range of $4.99 to $5.04, up from the previous range of $4.95 to $4.99. The full-year expectation for retail postpaid phone net additions remains unchanged, with an estimate of 875,000 to 1 million new subscribers.
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