Verizon: 3 Key Takeaways for Long-Term Investors

During its earnings call for the third quarter of 2026 on October 26, Verizon (NYSE: VZ) reported significant advancements in its operational transformation, resulting in growth across both its wireless and broadband divisions. The company's strategic shift towards profitable subscriber growth and increased infrastructure contracts indicates a major change in its financial landscape. Three key points highlighted by management emerged as particularly noteworthy.

Firstly, Verizon experienced substantial subscriber growth without the need for promotional tactics such as free line offers. The telecom company added a net total of 406,000 postpaid phone subscribers, achieving a remarkable 41% reduction in customer acquisition costs compared to the previous year. By eliminating free line promotions, Verizon ensured that every new subscriber line contributed immediate revenue to the company.

“Our postpaid phone net additions were up 820% year-over-year to 406,000, marking our strongest Q3 performance in five years. Additionally, we achieved 137,000 postpaid net account additions, which is our best quarterly performance in over a decade. This is growth that pays,” stated Dan Schulman, the Chief Executive Officer of Verizon.

Secondly, Verizon is tapping into a new multibillion-dollar growth opportunity through artificial intelligence infrastructure contracts. The company has signed contracts worth $4 billion with major cloud service providers, including a notable dark fiber agreement with Amazon Web Services, valued at over $2 billion. Dark fiber refers to unused optical fiber cables that are leased to tech companies for developing artificial intelligence networks.