Equities Analysts Offer Predictions for VZ FY2026 Earnings

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) – Analysts at Erste Group Bank upped their FY2026 earnings per share estimates for shares of Verizon Communications in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, May 5th. Erste Group Bank analyst H. Engel now anticipates that the cell phone carrier will post earnings of $4.96 per share for the year, up from their previous estimate of $4.92. Erste Group Bank currently has a “Hold” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Verizon Communications’ current full-year earnings is $4.96 per share.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on VZ. Evercore raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Dbs Bank downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. William Blair raised Verizon Communications to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $56.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday, March 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $50.59.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

NYSE:VZ opened at $47.10 on Friday. Verizon Communications has a one year low of $38.39 and a one year high of $51.68. The company has a market cap of $196.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.24. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $48.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $44.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.61.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.07. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.25% and a net margin of 12.46%.The business had revenue of $34.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.82 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.19 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.950-4.990 EPS.

Institutional Trading of Verizon Communications

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 379,402,347 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $15,453,058,000 after purchasing an additional 5,497,598 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 222,951,399 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $9,080,810,000 after purchasing an additional 7,461,335 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 116,570,816 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,747,930,000 after purchasing an additional 5,851,715 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 102,632,509 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,168,080,000 after buying an additional 867,694 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth $2,357,158,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Mary-Lee Stillwell sold 8,569 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $428,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 43,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,189,100. The trade was a 16.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Hans Erik Vestberg sold 200,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.61, for a total transaction of $9,922,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 145,069 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,196,873.09. This represents a 57.96% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Verizon Communications

Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE: VZ) is a major U.S.-based telecommunications company that provides a broad range of communications and information services. Its operations span consumer and business markets, with core offerings that include wireless voice and data services, fixed-line broadband and fiber-optic services, and enterprise networking solutions. Verizon is headquartered in New York City and operates a nationwide wireless network that supports consumer subscribers as well as business and government customers.

The company’s consumer products include mobile phone plans, unlimited data services, and Fios, its branded fiber-optic internet, television and voice service for homes and small businesses.