‘Verizon is clearly falling in need of our potential,’ declared new CEO Dan Schulman
Verizon reported its third-quarter 2025 earnings, reaffirming full-year steerage and highlighting regular wi-fi service progress alongside new fiber growth plans and a candid appraisal from its just lately appointed CEO.
Quarterly highlights
Verizon’s whole income rose 1.5% year-over-year to $33.8 billion. Working money circulate for the primary 9 months reached $28 billion, up from $26.5 billion a yr earlier, whereas free money circulate climbed to $15.8 billion, in contrast with $14.5 billion within the prior interval. Wi-fi retail postpaid cellphone churn remained low at 0.91%, with general retail postpaid churn at 1.12%. Common income per account (ARPA) elevated 2% to $147.91. Verizon added 47,000 pay as you go subscribers, barely beneath the 50,000 gained in Q2.
Phase efficiency
The buyer section generated $26.1 billion in income, up 2.9% year-over-year. Client wi-fi service income rose 2.4% to $17.4 billion, supported by 306,000 broadband internet provides. Mounted wi-fi subscriptions grew to almost 5.4 million, whereas Fios fiber broadband posted its strongest quarterly efficiency in two years with 61,000 internet additions.
On the investor name, CFO Anthony Skiadas mentioned the corporate’s just lately introduced strategic fiber partnership with Tillman International Holdings would lengthen Verizon’s Fios footprint past its conventional markets. “The settlement combines Tillman’s community design, construct, and operations capabilities with Verizon’s scale, distribution power, and model energy,” Skiadas mentioned, including that the deal will “broaden our Fios enterprise to new locations throughout the nation.”
The enterprise section reported $7.1 billion in income, down 2.8% year-over-year, although wi-fi service income edged up 0.7% to $3.6 billion. The unit added 110,000 retail postpaid subscribers, with working earnings up 12.7% to $637 million.
Nonetheless, Verizon misplaced 7,000 particular person postpaid subscribers throughout the quarter — a reversal from the 18,000 provides a yr in the past. For comparability, T-Cell US added 1 million prospects in the identical class — its strongest Q3 in over a decade — whereas AT&T noticed solely about 1% progress.
Outlook and strategic focus
Verizon reaffirmed its full-year 2025 steerage, anticipating:
- Wi-fi service income progress of two.0%–2.8%
- Adjusted EBITDA progress of two.5%–3.5%
- Adjusted EPS progress of 1.0%–3.0%
- Working money circulate between $37–39 billion
- Free money circulate of $19.5–20.5 billion
Capital spending will keep inside or beneath $17.5–18.5 billion.
New CEO Dan Schulman acknowledged the corporate’s challenges and outlined a metamorphosis agenda: “After I take a look at our efficiency objectively, Verizon is clearly falling in need of our potential,” he mentioned. “Our main goal is to construct loyalty and drive important enhancements in retention … Verizon will now not be the searching floor for opponents trying to acquire share. We’re reinventing how we function to make Verizon extra agile and environment friendly.”
Schulman additionally emphasised convergence as a key progress lever, citing the pending Frontier Communications acquisition. “[The deal] will allow us to serve roughly 29 million fiber passings, creating an enormous cross-sell alternative,” he mentioned. “We are going to proceed to broaden our fiber footprint by way of our personal construct and with strategic partnerships.”