Key Financial Data
- Total revenue: $33.8 billion (+1.5% year-over)
- Operating income: $8.1 billion (+36.8%)
- Net income: $5.06 billion (+48.2%)
- Diluted EPS: $1.17 (+50%)
- Operating expenses: $25.7 billion (-6.2%)
- Wireless service revenue: $21 billion (+2%)
- Fixed wireless customers: 5.4 million (+28%)
- Fios Internet customers: 7.3 million (+2.5%)
- Wireless subs, consumer: 146.1 million (+1%)
- Postpaid wireless subs, consumer: 125.9 million (+1.1%)
- Prepaid wireless subs, consumer: 19.1 million (+1.5%)
- Postpaid wireless subs, business: 31 million (+1.7%)
- Fios TV subs, consumer: 2.49 million (-9.1%)
- Fios TV subs, business: 49,000 (-12.5%)
- Read more coverage of Q3 2025 media earnings
Verizon’s top executive has been on the job for less than a month, and he’s already seen enough.
The telecommunications provider — the largest wireless company in America by subscriber share — has slowly allowed other competitors like T-Mobile and AT&T to chip away at its lead over time, and unless Verizon makes some quick, drastic changes, the company stands to lose more than bragging rights.
In a letter to employees on Wednesday, Verizon CEO Dan Schulman said the company needs to embrace a formula that entices customers with better service and offers, while adhering to a higher degree of spending discipline.
To that end, Verizon is reorienting the entirety of its business around a strategy that eliminates friction points for new and current customers and better competes on wireless and broadband pricing and service, while also focusing on long-term profitability, he said.
“Verizon will no longer be a hunting ground for competitors,” Schulman proclaimed. “We are going to compete more aggressively and increase our share of volumes across all business areas — in consumer and in business (services).”
For mobility, Schulman wants to see the numbers go up — more postpaid and prepaid subscribers joining Verizon, or any number of its partner or subsidiary businesses. The company has a handful of brands, including the low-cost service provider Visible and prepaid stalwart Tracfone, in addition to leasing access to its 4G LTE and 5G wireless networks to broadband providers like Comcast’s Xfinity and Charter’s Spectrum for their mobile phone offerings.
“To fund our investments in growth, we must significantly cut costs,” Schulman affirmed. “We will reduce our cost to serve, streamline our operating model and be much more capital efficient. Verizon will be a leaner, simpler and more agile business. That frees up resources to invest in growth while maintaining strong margins and cash flow.”
That statement strongly implied that Verizon is going to lay off workers at some point in the near future, though Schulman stopped short of saying that outright. Future pink slips could include some or all of Verizon’s in-store teams — rumors have persisted for months that the company was working to wind down some of its retail operations and push customers toward online-based activations and purchases, though Verizon has yet to make seismic changes in that regard. (T-Mobile is likely to be doing the same, according to employees who have spoken with The Desk in recent months.)
Verizon could also implement widespread job cuts when it completes its acquisition of Frontier Communications, a provider of fiber-based broadband connectivity. Earlier this week, Frontier said its deal with Verizon is expected to close in the first few months of 2026.
Stock Price
Schulman’s commitment to reorganize most of Verizon’s operation came on the same day that the company disclosed its third quarter (Q3) earnings, which were more positive than concerning.
During the three-month period that ended in September, Verizon earned $33.8 billion in overall revenue from its various businesses, an increase of 1.5 percent compared to last year.
Operating income rose significantly to $8.1 billion, up nearly 37 percent on a year-over basis, while net income jumped 48 percent to $5.1 billion.
Wireless service revenue also increased to $21 billion, a jump of just over 2 percent, while total wireless revenue climbed to $27.6 billion, up 3 percent.
Fixed wireless and Fios Internet additions helped Verizon’s broadband connections increase to 10.6 million, up 8.5 percent. Postpaid wireless churn was a blemish, increasing to 1.1 percent, and postpaid losses offset gains, with the company reporting a net loss of 7,000 accounts during Q3.
Verizon’s pay TV business also continued to shrink, dipping to 2.4 million consumer subscribers and 49,000 business customers. Residential Fios TV customers dropped 9 percent, while business TV connections decreased by 12.5 percent. In recent years, Verizon has pushed Fios Internet customers away from Fios TV by aggressively marketing alternatives like YouTube TV.
