The U.S. wireless carrier’s shares surged 9% after Verizon announced a share repurchase program of up to $25 billion over the next three years, including at least $3 billion this year.
During the fourth quarter, telecom operators typically lean on heavy device promotions and bundled plans to attract customers switching carriers during the peak phone-buying window around Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Verizon’s latest offers — including a deal for four phone lines at $100 per month — proved especially effective.
Those promotions helped Verizon add 616,000 monthly bill-paying wireless phone subscribers in the final three months of 2025, far exceeding the 417,250 additions analysts expected, according to FactSet.
Verizon is now shifting its growth strategy toward wireless and broadband convergence, leveraging its expanded fiber network following the recent acquisition of Frontier. Analysts at MoffettNathanson noted that the deal has increased Verizon’s fiber footprint to nearly match that of AT&T.
Fiber infrastructure is increasingly important for driving wireless subscriber growth, as carriers battle over bundled packages combining mobile service with high-speed home internet.
Reflecting this strategic shift, Verizon CEO Dan Schulman said the company will no longer be “a hunting ground for our competitors.”
Schulman, who became CEO in October, has also moved aggressively to streamline the company, announcing more than 13,000 job cuts as part of a broader cost-reduction and restructuring effort.
For 2026, Verizon expects to add 750,000 to 1 million retail postpaid phone subscribers, a significant jump from the 362,000 additions in 2025.
The company projected adjusted earnings per share between $4.90 and $4.95, topping the $4.76 consensus estimate compiled by LSEG. Annual free cash flow is expected to reach at least $21.5 billion, also above analysts’ forecast of $20.96 billion, according to Visible Alpha.