Verizon Just Gave Income Investors 3 New Reasons to Be Optimistic

Core Viewpoint - Verizon Communications has shown significant improvement in its financial performance, making it an attractive option for income investors, particularly due to its robust free cash flow growth, accelerating earnings, and an improving underlying business. Group 1: Financial Performance - Verizon's shares increased by 11.83% following its Q4 update, reflecting positive investor sentiment [2][3] - The company reported free cash flow of $20.1 billion for 2025, an increase from $19.8 billion in the previous year, with guidance projecting a further growth of at least 7% to $21.5 billion in 2026 [3][4] - Adjusted earnings per share (EPS) are projected to be between $4.90 and $4.95 in 2026, indicating a year-over-year growth of 4% to 5% [5][6] Group 2: Business Improvement - Verizon's underlying business is showing noticeable improvement, with the highest quarterly postpaid phone net additions since 2019 [6][8] - Wireless services revenue rose by 1.1% to $21 billion in Q4, while wireless equipment revenue increased by 9.1% year over year to $8.2 billion [8] - The company has successfully reduced its net unsecured debt to $110.1 billion at the end of Q4 2025, down from $113.7 billion the previous year [8] Group 3: Strategic Moves - The acquisition of Frontier Communications, set to close on January 20, 2026, is viewed as a pivotal step in Verizon's turnaround strategy, significantly expanding its fiber footprint to over 30 million homes and businesses [9]