Verizon has raised its full-year earnings forecast following a solid second quarter marked by growth in service revenue and broadband expansion, alongside the benefit of recent tax reforms. While the company highlighted gains in fixed broadband and fixed wireless access (FWA), it was less forthcoming about its losses on the wireless front. Verizon’s Consumer division reported a loss of 51,000 retail postpaid phone subscribers during the quarter. Though this represents an improvement from the same period last year, it still contributed to an overall decline of 9,000 postpaid phone users across the business.
Analysts had expected subscriber growth, not decline. FactSet, cited by Reuters, had predicted a net gain of 13,000 customers. The unexpected dip comes amid customer churn that followed Verizon’s price hikes introduced in January. The churn rate rose to 0.97% from 0.85% a year earlier, a metric the company chose not to emphasize in its report.
Still, Verizon focused on a 2.3% year-over-year increase in consumer wireless service revenue, which reached $17.4 billion. The consumer segment brought in $26.6 billion overall, up 6.9%. Growth in fixed broadband was another bright spot, with 293,000 net additions, pushing the total base to 12.9 million. Meanwhile, FWA net adds hit 278,000, taking that base to 5.1 million. Despite slower growth, Verizon remains confident in reaching 8 to 9 million FWA users by 2028.
The telco also noted progress in its fiber rollout, targeting 650,000 new passings in 2025, though it offered few specifics.
CEO Hans Vestberg announced the updated guidance, citing ongoing momentum and the upcoming Frontier acquisition. Verizon now expects adjusted EBITDA growth between 2.5% and 3.5%, adjusted EPS growth of 1.0% to 3.0%, and free cash flow between $19.5 billion and $20.5 billion. The positive outlook boosted investor confidence, sending shares higher after the announcement.
