Verizon Stock Rises After Earnings as Turnaround Plan Gathers Pace -- Barrons.com

By Jack Denton and George Glover

Verizon stock was rising on Friday after the wireless carrier reported better-than-expected earnings and raised its guidance, signaling to investors that CEO Dan Schulman's overhaul is starting to pay off.

Shares climbed 3.8% to $45.49 ahead of the opening bell. Futures tracking the S&P 500 were 0.2% higher.

Verizon reported second-quarter adjusted earnings of $1.30 a share, as revenue slipped 0.7% from a year ago to $34.3 billion. Analysts expected earnings of $1.28 a share on revenue of $35.2 billion, according to a FactSet poll.

The telecommunications company also raised its full-year guidance. It now expects to report adjusted earnings of $4.99 a share to $5.04 a share for 2026. At the midpoint, that's slightly above the $4.98 a share that Wall Street had been forecasting.

The earnings beat could be a sign that Verizon's high-stakes turnaround plan is working.

Schulman has outlined plans for the company to save $5 billion in operating expenses this year as a result of sweeping layoffs and other cuts, including selling corporate-owned retail stores.

This is breaking news. Read a preview of Verizon's earnings below and check back for more analysis soon.

Verizon is set to round out the Big Three telecommunications companies reporting earnings this week, and its cost-cutting push is likely to come into focus alongside potential competition risks from SpaceX.

Rivals AT&T and T-Mobile reported earlier this week, with both beating on earnings but missing on revenue. That sparked a mixed reaction: AT&T stock rallied, while T-Mobile traded in the red.

As Verizon stock has outperformed both this year, the company likely faces a higher bar when it reports before the open Friday.

Verizon is expected to report adjusted earnings of $1.28 a share on revenue of $35.2 billion in the second quarter, according to consensus estimates among analysts. The company reported earnings of $1.21 a share on revenue of $34.5 billion in the same period a year ago.

The company has been cutting costs aggressively in recent months as part of CEO Dan Schulman's transformation plan.

Since taking the helm in October, Schulman has overseen sweeping job cuts, including 13,000 layoffs -- the company's largest-ever -- in November, with a smaller round in May and a further 3,000 cuts earlier this month.

Schulman has outlined plans for Verizon to save $5 billion in operating expenses this year as a result of headcount reductions and other savings, including selling corporate-owned retail stores.

The push to cut costs has helped Verizon stock beat its peers. Shares in the company are up more than 9% this year, while AT&T stock has shed near 7% over the same period and T-Mobile US is down more than 10%.

Any more insight into cost efficiency measures still to come could be cheered by investors and send the stock higher after earnings, irrespective of the top- and bottom-line results.

Wall Street could do with some reassurance, with telecom stocks coming under intense pressure in recent months due to worries SpaceX's Starlink business could muscle in on wireless providers.

Write to Jack Denton at jack.denton@barrons.com

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July 24, 2026 07:17 ET (11:17 GMT)