Full Breakdown
Verizon Beats Q3 Estimates, Raises Outlook and Secures $2 B AI Infrastructure Deal
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Q3 Results and AI Partnership
On October 26, Verizon announced that third-quarter revenue reached $34.3 billion, a 1.5 % year-over-year increase but below analyst expectations of $34.74 billion. Adjusted earnings per share rose 8.3 % to $1.31, surpassing the roughly $1.27 consensus. The carrier also reported net income of $5.3 billion and a record adjusted EBITDA of $13.8 billion (Verizon, via Coinpaper).
In the same release, Verizon disclosed a commercial framework with Amazon Web Services (AWS) valued at more than $2 billion to expand high-capacity fiber-optic connectivity for AI workloads. A separate agreement with Google, worth over $1 billion, will link data centers using dark fiber (Reuters; Coinpaper).
Subscriber Growth and Plan Simplification
Verizon added 406,000 postpaid phone subscribers in the quarter, nearly double analysts’ estimate of 209,439 and far exceeding the 44,000 added in the same period a year earlier. An additional 137,000 postpaid accounts and 314,000 broadband net additions were recorded, marking the strongest postpaid performance in more than a decade. The surge follows the June launch of the “Simplicity” plan, which offers transparent pricing and unlimited data.
Financial Outlook and Guidance
The company lifted its full-year adjusted earnings-per-share forecast to $5.04–$5.06, up from the prior range of $4.99–$5.04. It also raised its expected annual postpaid additions to 1.1 million–1.2 million, revising the earlier 750,000–1 million outlook. Free-cash-flow growth for the year is now projected at 11.5 %–12 %, after a 12.1 % rise to $7 billion in the quarter.
Strategic Context and Market Position
A year into CEO Dan Schulman’s tenure, Verizon has pursued a broad restructuring, cutting device subsidies and focusing on simplified wireless offerings. The AI infrastructure deals are positioned as new revenue streams beyond traditional wireless and broadband services, reflecting rising demand for generative and agentic AI workloads (Reuters; Coinpaper). Nonetheless, analysts note that Verizon faces intense competition in the wireless market and must balance infrastructure investment with debt reduction.