Verizon raises 2026 forecast after best phone additions in five years
By Pooja MehraIndustry Trends Analyst, Peepals Tech
Representative image: albertoadan / Pixabay
Verizon added 406,000 postpaid phone customers in Q3 2026 and raised its full-year outlook on October 26, 2026, while signing a $2 billion-plus AWS fibre deal.
What Happened
US telecom company Verizon raised its full-year 2026 forecast on Monday, October 26, 2026, after adding 406,000 postpaid phone customers in the July to September quarter, its best third quarter for phone additions in five years. The company also announced an artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure deal worth more than $2 billion to supply fibre connections to Amazon Web Services (AWS) data centres. Despite the subscriber beat, Verizon's shares slipped in pre-market trading because quarterly revenue of $34.3 billion fell short of analysts' estimates.
Key Facts
- Postpaid phone net additions: 406,000 in Q3 2026, nearly double the analysts' estimate of about 209,000 compiled by Visible Alpha.
- New 2026 target: 1.1 million to 1.2 million postpaid phone net additions, up from 750,000 to 1 million.
- Adjusted earnings per share guidance for 2026 raised to $5.04-$5.06, from $4.99-$5.04; quarterly adjusted earnings were $1.31 a share.
- Revenue: $34.3 billion, up 1.5% from a year earlier but below the roughly $34.74 billion analysts expected, according to LSEG data.
- Equipment revenue fell 9% as customers kept their handsets for longer.
- Free cash flow: $7.8 billion, up about 12% year on year.
- The AWS agreement, worth more than $2 billion, follows a similar fibre deal with Google.
Why It Matters
"Postpaid phone net additions" is the number the telecom industry watches most closely. Postpaid customers pay a monthly bill rather than topping up in advance, stay longer and spend more, so adding them is the clearest sign that a mobile operator is winning. In the US market, where almost everyone already has a phone, growth mostly comes from taking customers away from rivals. Reports linked Verizon's 406,000 additions to its simpler price plans, which appear to be drawing customers from competitors.
The forecast raise matters because it was the third time this year Verizon lifted its outlook, according to reports, a sign that management expects the gains to last. Investors, however, looked at revenue too. The miss came largely from lower equipment sales: people are holding on to their phones for longer, which reduces the money operators make from selling handsets, even when they keep paying for service.
The AWS agreement points to a second source of growth. AI data centres need huge amounts of data to move quickly between buildings and regions, and fibre-optic cables carry that data. By signing multi-billion-dollar deals with cloud companies such as AWS and Google, Verizon is turning its fibre network into infrastructure for the AI boom, not just a way to connect homes and phones.
| Measure | Q3 2026 / 2026 outlook | Earlier |
|---|---|---|
| Postpaid phone net adds | 406,000 | estimate about 209,000 |
| 2026 phone net adds target | 1.1-1.2 million | 750,000-1 million |
| 2026 adjusted EPS guidance | $5.04-$5.06 | $4.99-$5.04 |
| Revenue | $34.3 billion | estimate $34.74 billion |
Impact
Short-term: The share price reaction shows investors weighing strong subscriber growth against weaker revenue. Rivals may respond with new offers to protect their customers in the busy holiday quarter.
Long-term: If Verizon keeps adding customers and signing fibre deals with cloud companies, it could build steadier growth beyond the saturated phone market. Its ability to do so without heavy discounting will decide whether profits rise along with customer numbers.
Who is affected: Verizon customers and shareholders; rival US carriers; cloud companies such as AWS and Google that need fibre capacity for AI data centres; and handset makers facing slower upgrade cycles.
Key Takeaway
Verizon's strongest third-quarter phone additions in five years led it to raise its 2026 forecast, though slower handset sales held revenue below expectations.
Questions and Answers
Why did VZ stock fall despite Verizon's raised forecast?
Verizon's Q3 2026 revenue of $34.3 billion was below the roughly $34.74 billion analysts expected, mainly because equipment revenue fell 9%. That weighed on the shares in pre-market trading on October 26, 2026, even though subscriber growth was strong.
How many phone customers did Verizon add in Q3 2026?
It added 406,000 postpaid phone customers, its best third quarter in five years and nearly double analysts' estimates.
What did Verizon change in its 2026 forecast?
It now expects 1.1 million to 1.2 million postpaid phone net additions, up from 750,000 to 1 million, and adjusted earnings per share of $5.04 to $5.06, up from $4.99 to $5.04.
What is the Verizon-AWS deal?
It is an agreement worth more than $2 billion for Verizon to provide fibre connectivity to Amazon Web Services data centres used for AI, following a similar deal with Google.
Disclaimer: Prepared by the Peepals newsroom from publicly available sources with AI assistance. Information is accurate to the best of our knowledge at the time of publication and may change. Images may be representative. Not professional advice. Report an error via our contact page.
By Pooja Mehra, Industry Trends AnalystCovers Industry News & Trends and more for Peepals Tech. All stories by Pooja Mehra
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Pooja Mehra is a pen name of the Peepals Global Editorial Team, which researches, fact-checks and publishes every story. The portrait is an illustration.
