Earnings recap · VZ
Verizon Q3 2026 results
What Verizon reported for Jul to Sep 2026, compared with the same quarter a year earlier, from the press release it filed with the SEC.
Source The press release Verizon filed with the SEC on Oct 26, 2026 as Exhibit 99 to a Form 8-K (Item 2.02). The quarterly report (10-Q), with full financial statements and notes, hadn't been filed when this page was built. This page will say so here when it is.
The headline numbers
Verizon's total operating revenue was $34.3B for Q3 2026, compared with $33.8B a year earlier (+1.5%). Net income was $5.3B (+5.2%), and diluted earnings per share were $1.25, compared with $1.17. These are GAAP figures, prepared under the standard accounting rules. Net income here includes the part that belongs to minority owners of some subsidiaries; the part attributable to Verizon itself was $5.2B, and that is the figure EPS divides by the share count. How EPS is calculated.
Comparing Q3 2026 (Jul to Sep 2026) with Q3 2025 (Jul to Sep 2025)
Each pair of bars shows both quarters. Longer bar, more money. Bars in a group share one scale.
Q3 2026Q3 2025
Revenue and profit (GAAP)
Per share (GAAP)
Cash flow (GAAP)
| Line | Q3 2026 | Q3 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total operating revenue | $34,313M | $33,821M | +1.5% |
| Service revenues and other | $29,197M | $28,202M | +3.5% |
| Wireless equipment revenues | $5,116M | $5,619M | −9.0% |
| Operating income | $8,650M | $8,105M | +6.7% |
| Net income | $5,320M | $5,056M | +5.2% |
| Net income attributable to Verizon | $5,198M | $4,950M | +5.0% |
| Diluted EPS | $1.25 | $1.17 | +6.8% |
Change is worked out by Ticker Sage from the two figures shown. Operating margin, operating income as a share of revenue, was 25.2% compared with 24.0%. What profit margins measure.
Revenue from services rose while revenue from selling phones and other wireless equipment fell. The release puts the equipment decline down mainly to lower upgrade volumes, with customers keeping devices longer, and to a decision to spend less on device subsidies.
Customer numbers the release highlights
Telecom companies report customer counts alongside the dollars. These come from the operating statistics tables in the release.
| Measure | Q3 2026 | Q3 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Postpaid phone net additions | 406,000 | 44,000 | +362,000 |
| Fiber broadband net additions | 155,000 | 61,000 | +94,000 |
| Fixed wireless broadband net additions | 159,000 | 261,000 | −102,000 |
| Broadband net additions | 314,000 | 322,000 | −8,000 |
| Total broadband connections | 17,437,000 | 13,065,000 | +4,372,000 |
| Postpaid phone churn | 0.94% | 0.98% | −0.04 pts |
Net additions are new connections minus disconnections in the quarter. Churn is the average share of postpaid phone customers who left each month. Broadband connections are counted at the end of each quarter. The release also says Verizon Added 137,000 postpaid net accounts
, and that Mobility and broadband service revenue of $23.5 billion grew 2.9 percent year-over-year
.
Verizon's own adjusted measures (non-GAAP)
Read this first
These are measures Verizon defines itself. They aren't prepared under GAAP, other companies may define similar names differently, and the release reconciles each one to the nearest GAAP figure. The GAAP figure is shown next to each one. Why companies exclude one-time items.
| Measure | Q3 2026 | Q3 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adjusted EPS (company measure) | $1.31 | $1.21 | +8.3% |
| Diluted EPS (GAAP) | $1.25 | $1.17 | +6.8% |
| Adjusted EBITDA (company measure) | $13,802M | $12,775M | +8.0% |
| Net income (GAAP) | $5,320M | $5,056M | +5.2% |
| Free cash flow (company measure) | $7,801M | $6,956M | +12.1% |
| Cash from operations (GAAP) | $11,517M | $11,266M | +2.2% |
| Adjusted EBITDA margin (company measure) | 40.2% | 37.8% | +2.4 pts |
Adjusted EPS, as the release describes it, is EPS excluding special items. For this quarter the excluded items were amortization of acquisition-related intangible assets and acquisition and integration charges. Free cash flow is cash from operations minus capital expenditures of $3.7B ($4.3B a year earlier). How free cash flow works.
Segments
Verizon reports two segments: Consumer and Business.
| Segment line | Q3 2026 | Q3 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Consumer revenue | $26,432M | $26,105M | +1.3% |
| Consumer operating income | $8,093M | $7,664M | +5.6% |
| Consumer operating income margin | 30.6% | 29.4% | +1.2 pts |
| Business revenue | $7,023M | $6,843M | +2.6% |
| Business operating income | $855M | $716M | +19.4% |
| Business operating income margin | 12.2% | 10.5% | +1.7 pts |
Two presentation changes this year affect comparisons with older reports. The release says: During the first quarter of 2026, Verizon revised its presentation of revenue reporting for its reportable segments.
There was no change to the composition of our reportable segments and total segment results, nor to the determination of segment profit.
And: In the second quarter of 2026, the net assets representing Verizon's international wireline connectivity and managed network services business were classified as assets and liabilities held for sale and moved from the Business segment to Corporate and other.
Prior periods in the table above have been recast by the company to match. Segment results also leave out special items: The segment financial results above exclude the effects of special items (other than the effects of acquisition-related intangible asset amortization)
.
What management said
"Verizon delivered another record-breaking quarter. One year into our transformation, Verizon is fundamentally stronger — operationally, financially, and competitively"
Verizon's outlook for 2026
The release says that Verizon is raising its full-year 2026 guidance as follows:
Postpaid phone net additions: 1.1 million to 1.2 million, up from upper half of 750,000 to 1.0 million
Adjusted EPS¹: $5.04 to $5.06, or 7.0 to 7.5 percent growth year-over-year, up from 6.0 to 7.0 percent.
Cash flow from operations: 3.5 to 5.0 percent growth year-over-year, up from 2.0 to 4.0 percent.
Free cash flow¹: expected to approach 12.0 percent growth year-over-year, up from 9.0 to 10.0 percent.
Mobility and broadband service revenue: upper half of annual guidance of 2.5 to 3.0 percent growth, with approximately 4.0 percent growth in fourth-quarter 2026.
It also repeats its spending plan: Capital expenditures: $16.0 billion to $16.5 billion, inclusive of success-based investments for AI Connect.
The ¹ mark is the release's own: it flags a non-GAAP measure. These are the company's own forecasts, stated in the release, and forecasts can change. Adjusted EPS and free cash flow are non-GAAP measures; the release notes that Verizon does not provide a reconciliation for certain of the following adjusted (non-GAAP) forecasts
because it can't predict the special items that could arise.
Other items in the release
Signed an agreement valued at $2.0+ billion with AWS that establishes a commercial framework to scale distributed compute and meet the real-time demands of agentic and generative AI workloads.
- Capital returned in the first nine months:
This includes dividend payments of $8.8 billion and share repurchases of $4.0 billion. The company continues to expect to repurchase up to $4.5 billion for the full year.
What to look for in the 10-Q
The press release has the headline tables. The 10-Q, due within 40 days of quarter end for a company this size, adds the full statements, the notes and management's discussion. Items in this release that the 10-Q should explain in more detail:
- An acquisition. Cash paid for acquisitions of businesses, net of cash acquired, was $9.5B in the first nine months of 2026, against none a year earlier, and goodwill rose to $30.7B at Sep 30, 2026 from $22.8B at Dec 31, 2025. The notes should say what was bought and how the price was allocated.
- Wireless licenses. Spending on wireless licenses was $4.4B in the first nine months, compared with $340M a year earlier.
- The business held for sale. The international wireline business moved to Corporate and other. The 10-Q notes should show its assets and liabilities and any expected loss or gain.
- Special items. The reconciliation tables list what Adjusted EPS and Adjusted EBITDA leave out. The 10-Q shows where those charges sit in the GAAP statements.
- Debt and risk factors. Any changes to borrowings, maturities and the risk factors section since the 10-K.
How an 8-K, a 10-Q and a 10-K differ. When the 10-Q is filed, the box at the top of this page links to it.
Sources
- Exhibit 99: press release and financial tables, filed Oct 26, 2026
- Form 8-K filing index on SEC EDGAR
- Verizon Form 10-K for fiscal 2025
Common questions
When did Verizon report Q3 2026 results?
Verizon filed its Q3 2026 press release with the SEC on Oct 26, 2026, as Exhibit 99 to a Form 8-K under Item 2.02 (Results of Operations and Financial Condition).
What were Verizon's revenue and EPS for Q3 2026?
Total operating revenue was $34.3B, compared with $33.8B in Q3 2025. Diluted EPS was $1.25, compared with $1.17.
What is the difference between EPS and adjusted EPS?
EPS is the GAAP figure: net income attributable to the company divided by the diluted share count. Adjusted EPS is Verizon's own measure that leaves out items it calls special. For Q3 2026 EPS was $1.25 and Adjusted EPS was $1.31.
Has Verizon filed its 10-Q for Q3 2026?
Not when this page was built. Large companies file the 10-Q within 40 days of quarter end. This page links to it once it is filed.
Verizon company file → · Verizon filings news · Learn
Disclosures
- Editor holdings in VZ
- The editor holds no position in Verizon (VZ). As of Oct 25, 2026.
- Compensation
- Nobody paid for this page. No affiliate links.
- Sources
- Verizon's own SEC filings, linked next to each number.
- Last updated
- Oct 26, 2026
A summary of a public filing for general education, the same for every reader. Not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold VZ. It reports what the company said and doesn't compare the results with forecasts by anyone else.