Verizon Communications Inc.: Verizon Communications Inc. is a telecommunications company founded in 2000. It reported $138.2B in FY2025 revenue and is led by Dan Schulman.
Verizon Communications Inc. Company Timeline
Bell Atlantic and GTE completed their merger on June 30, 2000. The deal mattered because it created a communications company with enough scale to fund national wireless, broadband, enterprise, and data-service ambitions rather than remain tied to local voice markets. [source]
Fios pushed Verizon into fiber-to-the-home service in selected markets. The investment was expensive, but it gave the company a faster broadband product than DSL and a better answer to cable internet providers. [source]
Lowell McAdam became CEO in 2011 after leading Verizon Wireless. His appointment reflected the company's shift toward wireless as the main source of growth and value. His tenure later included the full Verizon Wireless buyout and the AOL-Yahoo media experiment.
Apple and Verizon Wireless announced that iPhone 4 would be available on the Verizon network in February 2011. The launch ended AT&T's exclusive hold on the iPhone in the U.S. [source]
Verizon completed the acquisition of Vodafone's 45% interest in Verizon Wireless. The transaction gave the company full control over wireless strategy, capital spending, and cash flow, while also increasing the importance of debt discipline. [source]
In 2015, Verizon began its push into digital media by acquiring AOL, followed by Yahoo's operating business in 2017. The strategy aimed to combine mobile distribution with advertising technology and content. It failed to create a durable competitor to dominant digital ad platforms and was later unwound.
Hans Vestberg became CEO in 2018 and refocused Verizon on 5G, network virtualization, fixed wireless access, and infrastructure. His leadership moved Verizon away from media ownership and toward core connectivity. Subscriber momentum, however, remained a concern by the end of his tenure.
Verizon agreed to sell Verizon Media, including AOL and Yahoo assets, to Apollo funds for $5 billion while retaining a minority stake. The sale mattered because it marked a retreat from digital media and refocused the company on connectivity. [source]
The TracFone deal expanded Verizon's reach in prepaid and value wireless. It gave the company access to customers outside its traditional premium postpaid base, but also brought Lifeline and consumer-protection obligations. [source]
Verizon reported $134.0 billion in 2023 revenue, down from 2022. The result showed the pressure of mature wireless growth, equipment cycles, and competition. It increased focus on fixed wireless access, broadband bundles, and premium plan monetization.
Verizon reported $134.8 billion of total operating revenue in 2024, slightly above 2023. The modest increase showed stabilization but not a major acceleration. Investors continued to watch whether network investment could translate into better subscriber growth and stronger service revenue.
Dan Schulman became CEO in October 2025 after serving on the Verizon board. The transition mattered because the company was trying to regain customer momentum in mobility and broadband while preparing for Frontier integration. [source]
Verizon reported $138.2 billion in 2025 total operating revenue, up about 2.5% from $134.8 billion in 2024. The result showed modest growth in a mature telecom market and put focus on whether broadband and wireless account gains could offset competitive pressure. [source]
Frontier became part of Verizon on January 20, 2026. The combination expanded the fiber platform to approximately 30 million passings, strengthening the company's mobile-home broadband convergence strategy while adding integration work. [source]
What Is the History of Verizon Communications Inc.?
On June 30, 2000, two men who'd spent their careers inside the American telephone system signed papers that created something neither of their companies could have become alone. Ivan Seidenberg, the Bell Atlantic lifer who'd climbed from cable splicer to CEO, and Charles R. Lee, the GTE chairman who'd turned a patchwork of independent phone companies into something resembling a national operator, merged their businesses into Verizon Communications. The name was a branding consultant's invention, veritas plus horizon, but the logic was industrial: wireless was exploding broadband was coming, and neither Bell Atlantic's dense East Coast footprint nor GTE's scattered national presence had the scale to fund what came next.
The early years were unglamorous. Two companies with different billing systems, different union contracts, different network architectures, and different corporate cultures had to become one while simultaneously keeping 63 million phone lines working. Customers don't notice when a merger goes well. They notice immediately when a call drops or a bill arrives wrong. Seidenberg, who became the dominant leader, made a decision that looked obvious in retrospect but wasn't at the time: wireless would be the center of gravity, not an appendage to the landline business.
That was a break from how most telephone executives thought in 2000. The institutional reflex was to protect regulated wireline revenue, the predictable, monopoly-adjacent cash flow that had sustained Bell companies for decades. Seidenberg treated wireless differently. He poured capital into coverage and reliability, building a network reputation that could justify premium pricing. The 'Can you hear me now?' campaign wasn't just advertising. It was a business model declaration: we'll spend more on towers and spectrum than anyone else, and we'll charge more because of it.
The first real proof came in 2005 with Fios. Most telephone incumbents were content to squeeze a few more years out of copper DSL while cable companies ate their broadband lunch. Seidenberg authorized a fiber-to-the-home buildout that cost billions and covered only select Northeast and Mid-Atlantic markets. It was geographically limited and financially painful, but it showed something about the company's character: when the choice was between protecting legacy economics and building the next network, Verizon would build.
Then came the deal that defined everything. In February 2014, Verizon closed its $130 billion acquisition of Vodafone's 45% stake in Verizon Wireless. One hundred and thirty billion dollars. The largest bond offering in corporate history at that point. Wall Street debated whether the debt load would cripple the company. But Seidenberg's successor, Lowell McAdam, understood that owning 55% of your most valuable asset while a British conglomerate owned the rest was intolerable. Full ownership meant full control over capital allocation, pricing, and network strategy.
What followed was a detour. McAdam bought AOL for $4.4 billion in 2015 and Yahoo's operating business for $4.5 billion in 2017, chasing a theory that mobile distribution plus advertising technology could challenge Google and Facebook. It couldn't. The media assets never achieved the data scale or product velocity needed to compete in digital advertising. By 2021, Verizon sold the whole thing to Apollo for $5 billion, roughly breaking even on purchase price while having burned years of management attention.
Hans Vestberg arrived as CEO in 2018 with an engineer's clarity. He'd run Ericsson. He understood networks. His mandate was simple: stop pretending to be a media company, start being the best infrastructure company. He committed to 5G with an initial bet on millimeter wave spectrum, blazing fast but limited in range, then pivoted hard toward C-band mid-band spectrum after spending $45 billion in the 2021 FCC auction. Fixed wireless access emerged as an unexpected win: using 5G signals to deliver home broadband without laying fiber to each house.
The current chapter opened in October 2025 when Dan Schulman, the former PayPal CEO, took over. Three months later, Verizon closed its $20 billion acquisition of Frontier Communications, adding fiber access to nearly 30 million homes across 31 states. The company born from telephone-company consolidation is now attempting something its founders would recognize: building the biggest, most reliable network in America. The difference is that 'network' now means mobile, fiber, and fixed wireless woven together into a single household relationship.
Early Challenges
Verizon's early test was integration. The 2000 Bell Atlantic-GTE merger combined different networks, billing systems, labor structures, regulatory obligations, and customer bases just as wireless and broadband were becoming central to telecom competition. Management had to protect legacy phone revenue while funding the wireless and fiber investments that would define the next two decades. The 2005 Fios launch showed the company was willing to spend on fiber rather than rely only on copper lines, and the later Verizon Wireless buyout confirmed that mobile service had become the core asset.
2014: Full ownership of Verizon Wireless
In February 2014 Verizon closed its $130 billion purchase of Vodafone's 45% stake in Verizon Wireless, ending the joint venture formed in 2000. Verizon gained all of the wireless unit's cash flow but funded the deal partly with about $49 billion of new bonds.
2015-2021: The media detour
Verizon bought AOL for about $4.4 billion in 2015 and Yahoo's operating business for about $4.5 billion in 2017, combining them as Oath. The unit took a $4.6 billion goodwill write-down in 2018 and was sold to Apollo funds in 2021.
2018: Back to the network
Hans Vestberg became CEO in August 2018 and reorganized the company into Consumer, Business and Media groups, with 5G and fiber as the investment priorities. That plan led to the media exit and the $45.5 billion C-band spectrum purchase in 2021.
Fixed wireless home internet
Verizon launched 5G Home in four cities in 2018 and expanded fixed wireless access nationally from 2020, selling broadband over its wireless network outside the Fios footprint. Fixed wireless became its main source of broadband subscriber growth before the Frontier acquisition.
Verizon Communications Inc.: Expert Analysis
Editor's Note
The 2014 Vodafone buyout and the 2026 Frontier purchase do the most to explain Verizon's balance sheet today: the first bought all of the wireless cash flow, the second added fiber outside the Fios footprint.
Strategic Insight
Verizon's record shows a clear split. Deals that deepened the network, such as the 2014 Vodafone buyout and the 2021 C-band spectrum purchase, strengthened the core business. Moves outside connectivity did not: AOL and Yahoo were written down and sold to Apollo funds in 2021, and the BlueJeans video service was shut down. The Frontier acquisition sits on the network side of that line, which is why its success will be judged on fiber build-out and mobile bundling rather than on new lines of business.
Verizon Communications Inc.: Founders
Charles R. Lee
Charles R. Lee was chairman and CEO of GTE when it agreed in 1998 to merge with Bell Atlantic. When the deal closed on June 30, 2000, he became Verizon's chairman and co-CEO alongside Ivan Seidenberg. Seidenberg became sole CEO in 2002, and Lee remained chairman until 2004.
Ivan Seidenberg
Ivan Seidenberg began at New York Telephone in 1966, led NYNEX into its 1997 merger with Bell Atlantic, and was Bell Atlantic's CEO when the GTE deal was struck. As Verizon's CEO from 2002 to 2011, he oversaw the launch of Fios fiber service and the 2006 purchase of MCI, which became the core of Verizon Business. Lowell McAdam succeeded him.
How Does Verizon Communications Inc. Make Money?
Verizon is a toll collector on American connectivity. Every month, tens of millions of postpaid wireless customers pay a plan fee for access to a network built on spectrum Verizon bought from the federal government. That's the core of the business, not devices, not media, not enterprise consulting. Monthly wireless bills.
The Consumer segment produces most of the company's revenue. Break that apart and you find three layers. First, wireless service revenue: the monthly plan fees from postpaid and prepaid customers. This is the highest-margin, most predictable stream. Postpaid churn runs below 1% monthly, meaning once someone signs up, they tend to stay. Verizon structures its unlimited plans in tiers, Welcome Unlimited at the bottom, Unlimited Ultimate at the top, with each step up adding hotspot data, better streaming quality, international roaming, and device upgrade eligibility. The spread between tiers is $15-20 per line per month, and the entire myPlan architecture exists to nudge customers upward.
Second layer: equipment revenue. Verizon sells iPhones and Samsung Galaxies, but this isn't really a retail business. It's a financing operation. Customers pay for $1,000+ devices over 36 monthly installments, which locks them into the network for three years without technically being a 'contract.' Equipment margins are thin, sometimes negative after trade-in credits, but the retention value is large. A family of four with three phones on installment plans faces $2,000+ in remaining device payments if they want to switch carriers.
Third layer: broadband. Fios fiber serves the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic. Fixed wireless access, using 5G and LTE signals to deliver home internet without a cable, has grown quickly, and Verizon counted about 17.1 million FWA and fiber connections after Q2 2026. The January 2026 Frontier acquisition took Verizon's fiber footprint to about 30 million passings.
The Business segment sells private networking, managed security, SD-WAN, unified communications, and IoT connectivity to enterprises and government agencies. These are multi-year contracts with higher margins than consumer wireless but slower growth.
The financial architecture is simple but demanding. Verizon generated $37.1 billion of cash from operations in 2025 and $20.1 billion of free cash flow after capital spending on towers, fiber, spectrum deployment and small cells. That free cash flow has to cover the dividend, interest on a large debt load carried since the Vodafone buyout, and now the Frontier integration. Investors mostly own Verizon for the dividend rather than growth, and a market value of roughly $207 billion in September 2026 is about 1.5 times fiscal 2025 revenue.
Revenue Streams
- Wireless service: monthly postpaid and prepaid plan fees, the largest and most predictable stream
- Equipment: phone and device sales, mostly on installment plans, which fell sharply in 2026 as upgrade promotions were cut
- Broadband: Fios, Frontier fiber and 5G fixed wireless home internet
- Business services: enterprise, public-sector and wholesale connectivity, security and IoT
What Products and Services Does Verizon Communications Inc. Offer?
Verizon Wireless Postpaid Plans (Wireless service)
Verizon's core consumer product is monthly postpaid wireless access for phones, tablets, watches, and connected devices. Premium plan tiers bundle data, hotspot access, roaming features, and optional perks to raise account value.
myPlan (Wireless service plans)
myPlan is Verizon's modular consumer plan architecture that lets customers add entertainment, travel, cloud, or other perks to a base wireless plan. It supports premium pricing while giving customers more visible control over add-ons.
Fios Internet (Fiber broadband)
Fios is Verizon's fiber-to-the-home broadband service, launched to compete with cable internet and replace slower copper-based access in selected markets. It remains a central product for mobile-home bundling where Verizon has fiber coverage.
Verizon 5G Home Internet (Fixed wireless broadband)
Verizon 5G Home Internet uses wireless network capacity to deliver home broadband without a fiber or cable line to the residence. It has become one of Verizon's most important growth products against cable broadband providers.
Verizon Business Private 5G (Enterprise connectivity)
Private 5G services give enterprises dedicated wireless networks for factories, logistics facilities, campuses, ports, and venues. The product aims to convert Verizon's 5G investment into higher-value business contracts.
Verizon Business Managed Network Services (Enterprise services)
Verizon sells managed connectivity, security, WAN, IoT, and communications services to large enterprises, public-sector customers, and global organizations. These services are valued for reliability, compliance support, and operational continuity.
Visible by Verizon (Digital prepaid wireless)
Visible is Verizon's app-based prepaid wireless brand, designed for customers who want simpler pricing and digital-only support. It helps Verizon compete in lower-price segments without diluting the premium Verizon flagship brand.
TracFone Wireless Brands (Prepaid wireless)
TracFone gives Verizon a larger prepaid and value wireless platform, including brands that serve cost-conscious and Lifeline-eligible customers. The acquisition broadened Verizon's reach beyond its traditional postpaid base.
Frontier Fiber (Fiber broadband)
Frontier became part of Verizon in January 2026, expanding Verizon's fiber access to almost 30 million homes and businesses. The asset strengthens Verizon's mobile and broadband convergence strategy.
What Is Verizon Communications Inc.'s Competitive Advantage?
Verizon's advantages are physical and contractual rather than technological. It holds licensed low-band, millimeter-wave and C-band spectrum, including the C-band licenses it bought for about $45.5 billion in the 2021 FCC auction. Licensed spectrum cannot be used by rivals unless they buy or lease it, and new auctions are infrequent.
The second asset is the wireline footprint. Fios already gave Verizon fiber in parts of the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, and the Frontier acquisition that closed on January 20, 2026 lifted total fiber passings to about 30 million homes and businesses. That matters because a household buying both broadband and mobile from one carrier has more reasons to stay.
Third, Verizon Business sells managed networks, private 5G, IoT connectivity and security services to large enterprises and public-sector customers, where contracts run for years and switching involves migration work.
The limits are real. T-Mobile's 2020 Sprint merger gave it a deep mid-band spectrum position, AT&T is building its own fiber footprint, and cable operators resell wireless service over Verizon's network through MVNO agreements, which lets them bundle mobile with broadband without owning towers.
Who Are Verizon Communications Inc.'s Main Competitors?
Verizon's main national wireless rivals are AT&T and T-Mobile US. T-Mobile used the Sprint spectrum to build a large mid-band 5G network and led the industry in postpaid phone additions for several years, which pushed Verizon to rely more on promotions and device offers. AT&T follows a similar wireless-plus-fiber plan and overlaps with Verizon in some of the markets Frontier brought in.
Cable companies are the other front. Comcast's Xfinity Mobile and Charter's Spectrum Mobile run on Verizon's network under wholesale agreements, so Verizon earns wholesale revenue while those brands compete for its retail customers. Verizon's response is convergence: sell Fios, Frontier fiber or 5G Home Internet together with mobile service, so that cable's mobile discount is less attractive to a household that already gets broadband from Verizon.
In Q2 2026 Verizon reported 184,000 postpaid phone net additions and 348,000 broadband net additions, a better result than in 2024 and early 2025, when the company was losing postpaid phone customers.
What Companies Has Verizon Communications Inc. Acquired?
| Year | Company | Value | Strategic Purpose | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Vodafone Verizon Wireless stake | $130.0B | Verizon acquired Vodafone's 45% stake to gain full ownership of Verizon Wireless. The joint venture structure had previously limited flexibility, while full ownership aligned Verizon around wireless a | The deal achieved its strategic goal because Verizon gained direct control of the business that generated its strongest recurring revenue and customer loyalty. The cost was financial use, which has co |
| 2015 | AOL | $4.4B | Verizon bought AOL to obtain advertising technology, digital media inventory, video distribution capabilities, and a management team led by Tim Armstrong. The strategic idea was to combine Verizon's m | The acquisition did not create the durable advertising platform Verizon wanted. AOL became part of Oath and later Verizon Media, but the business could not match the scale or targeting power of Google |
| 2016 | Fleetmatics | $2.4B | Verizon acquired Fleetmatics to strengthen its telematics, fleet management, and mobile workforce software offerings for small and midsize businesses. The deal was meant to expand Verizon's internet o | Fleetmatics fit Verizon's enterprise connectivity strategy better than the media deals because it served businesses that needed mobile asset tracking and workforce management. The market remained comp |
| 2017 | Yahoo operating business | $4.5B | Verizon acquired Yahoo's operating business to add search, email, news, finance, sports, advertising technology, and large consumer audiences to its AOL-based media effort. The purchase price was redu | Yahoo gave Verizon recognizable media properties but did not solve the larger strategic problem. The combined AOL-Yahoo business lacked the growth, data advantage, and ad-market power to compete with |
| 2020 | BlueJeans Network | $500M | Verizon acquired BlueJeans during the pandemic-era surge in video conferencing demand. The goal was to add collaboration software to Verizon Business and pair secure meetings with enterprise connectiv | BlueJeans failed to gain meaningful share against Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Cisco Webex, and Google Meet. Verizon later discontinued the platform, making the acquisition a reminder that enterprise distri |
| 2021 | TracFone Wireless | $6.2B | Verizon acquired TracFone to increase its prepaid wireless scale, broaden its reach in value-oriented segments, and bring a large MVNO customer base onto Verizon's owned network economics. The deal al | The acquisition expanded Verizon beyond its premium postpaid base, but it also brought regulatory obligations and compliance scrutiny tied to low-income service programs. TracFone remai |
| 2026 | Frontier Communications | $20.0B | Verizon acquired Frontier to expand its fiber footprint and accelerate a national mobile and broadband convergence strategy. The deal added fiber access to almost 30 million homes and businesses acros | The deal is coherent because it strengthens Verizon's core connectivity platform rather than pushing into unrelated media or software. The acquisition still carries integration, capital, |
Verizon Communications Inc.: Controversies & Legal Issues
2011, Challenge to FCC net neutrality rules
Verizon challenged the FCC's open internet rules, arguing that the agency had exceeded its authority. Critics said the case showed that large broadband providers wanted greater power to manage or prioritize internet traffic.
Outcome: The legal and policy battle helped shape later U.S. Net neutrality regulation. The issue remains politically active, and Verizon now operate in a market where federal and state broadband rules can change.
2016, Unique identifier privacy criticism
Verizon faced privacy criticism over tracking practices tied to unique identifiers used in mobile advertising. Privacy advocates argued that customers had not received clear enough disclosure or control over how their browsing behavior could be used.
Outcome: Verizon paid regulatory penalties and changed privacy disclosures and opt-in practices. The episode became a warning against assuming that telecom customer data could be monetized like internet-platform data.
2017, Yahoo breach liabilities during acquisition
Verizon renegotiated its Yahoo acquisition after Yahoo disclosed vast data breaches affecting user accounts. The controversy exposed Verizon to legal, reputational, and integration risk before the media strategy had even begun operating across large volumes.
Outcome: The purchase price was reduced to about $4.48 billion, and Yahoo and Verizon agreed to share certain liabilities. Verizon later combined Yahoo with AOL and ultimately sold the media business to Apollo.
2021, TracFone Lifeline compliance scrutiny
Verizon's acquisition of TracFone brought scrutiny over Lifeline program obligations and protections for low-income wireless customers. Consumer advocates and regulators questioned whether prepaid customers would retain affordable service access after the deal.
Outcome: The FCC approved the transaction with conditions, and Verizon made commitments tied to Lifeline participation and customer protections. Compliance remains important because prepaid and subsidized-service customers are more closely watched by regulators.
Who Leads Verizon Communications Inc.?
Ivan Seidenberg
CEO (2000 to 2011)
Ivan Seidenberg led the formation era, when Verizon had to integrate Bell Atlantic and GTE while deciding which assets deserved the most capital. His defining decisions were to prioritize Verizon Wireless, make network reliability the company's brand promise, and launch Fios fiber in 2005 to challenge cable broadband. He accepted heavy upfront investment because he believed future telecom economics would belong to companies with superior access networks, not merely legacy phone lines. The measurable outcome was a stronger premium wireless reputation, a fiber beachhead in key markets, and a str
Lowell McAdam
CEO (2011 to 2018)
Lowell McAdam led Verizon through the smartphone and LTE scale era. His most important decision was the 2014 purchase of Vodafone's 45% stake in Verizon Wireless for $130 billion, which gave Verizon full control of its most valuable business but also added major debt. He also pursued AOL and Yahoo to build a mobile advertising and digital media platform, a strategy that later proved weak against Google and Facebook. McAdam's tenure produced strategic control of wireless, but it also left a mixed legacy: a powerful core asset paired with expensive diversification bets that successors had to unw
Hans Vestberg
CEO (2018 to 2025)
Hans Vestberg led Verizon as a network-first CEO after serving as the company's technology chief and previously running Ericsson. He refocused the company on 5G, C-band spectrum, network virtualization, mobile edge computing, fixed wireless access, and the divestiture of Verizon Media. His decisions moved Verizon away from the AOL-Yahoo media experiment and back toward infrastructure. The measurable outcome was a stronger 5G and broadband platform, including millions of fixed wireless access connections, but subscriber momentum lagged rivals at key moments. His era ended with Dan Schulman's ap
Dan Schulman
CEO (2025, present)
Dan Schulman became CEO in October 2025 with a mandate to restore customer momentum, simplify operations, and turn Verizon's network assets into clearer commercial wins. His early agenda emphasized customer trust, faster decision-making, accountability, and integration of the Frontier fiber acquisition. Verizon also announced plans to reduce its workforce by more than 13,000 positions, signaling a major cost and culture reset. The first measurable evidence was stronger Q4 2025 mobility and broadband net additions, including 616,000 postpaid phone net additions. Schulman's long-term test is whe
How Is Verizon Communications Inc. Growing?
Under Dan Schulman, who became CEO in October 2025, Verizon's plan rests on three levers.
Broadband and convergence
Verizon had about 17.1 million fixed wireless access and fiber connections after Q2 2026. Fixed wireless uses spare 5G capacity to serve homes outside the fiber footprint, while Frontier gives Verizon fiber in markets where it previously had none. The goal is to sell mobile lines to those broadband households.
Wireless on value, not subsidies
Verizon has reduced its reliance on handset promotions. In Q2 2026 equipment revenue fell nearly 20% while mobility and broadband service revenue grew 2.8%, which is the mix management wants.
Cost and capital returns
Verizon announced more than 13,000 job cuts in November 2025. FY2025 cash from operations was $37.1 billion and free cash flow $20.1 billion. After Q2 2026 the company raised full-year guidance for a second quarter in a row and set a buyback target of up to $4.5 billion for 2026, alongside the dividend.
What Are the Biggest Risks Facing Verizon Communications Inc.?
- Price competition: T-Mobile, AT&T and cable MVNOs compete hard for postpaid customers, and subscriber gains can reverse if promotions intensify.
- Frontier integration: Verizon must move Frontier's customers and systems onto its own platforms and keep converting copper lines to fiber.
- Debt and capital needs: the Vodafone buyout, C-band spectrum and the Frontier deal left Verizon with a large debt load that competes with network spending, dividends and buybacks for cash.
- Execution after job cuts: removing more than 13,000 roles lowers costs but can affect service quality and morale.
- Regulation: spectrum policy, broadband rules, privacy enforcement and Lifeline obligations from the TracFone deal all shape what Verizon can do.
Verizon Communications Inc.: Quick Reference Q&A
Q: When was Verizon formed?
A: On June 30, 2000, through the merger of Bell Atlantic and GTE.
Q: Who is Verizon's CEO?
A: Dan Schulman, who succeeded Hans Vestberg in October 2025.
Q: What was Verizon's FY2025 revenue?
A: $138.2 billion of total operating revenue, with $17.2 billion of net income attributable to Verizon.
Q: How many people does Verizon employ?
A: About 89,900 full-time equivalent employees at the end of 2025.
Q: Where does Verizon trade?
A: On the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq under the ticker VZ.
Q: What did the Frontier deal add?
A: The acquisition closed on January 20, 2026 and brought Verizon's fiber footprint to about 30 million passings.
Table of Contents
Verizon Key Facts
| Company | Verizon |
|---|---|
| Annual revenue change | +2.5% (FY2024–FY2025) |
| Financials | $138.2B (FY2025, last reviewed October 2026) |
| Market Cap | $206.7B |
| FY2025 net income | $17.2B |
| Last reviewed | By Swet Parvadiya, Founder & Editor - October 2026 |
| Founded | 2000 |
| Founder(s) | Charles R. Lee, Ivan Seidenberg |
| CEO | Dan Schulman |
| Headquarters | New York, New York, United States |
| Industry | Telecommunications |
| Employees | 89,900+ |
| Ticker | VZ |
Verizon Company Profile: Revenue, Business Model & Strategy
"Verizon Communications Inc. is a telecommunications company founded in 2000. It reported $138.2B in FY2025 revenue and is led by Dan Schulman."
Verizon Communications Inc. is an American telecommunications company formed in 2000 from the merger of Bell Atlantic and GTE. It reported revenue of $138.2 billion for fiscal year 2025. It is led by CEO Dan Schulman, who succeeded Hans Vestberg in October 2025.
Revenue
$138.2B
Founded
2000
Recorded annual revenue change
Verizon had $134.8B of annual revenue in FY2024 and $138.2B in FY2025. Revenue rose 2.5% between those fiscal years.
Source for FY2025Compare Verizon With
Explore Verizon In Depth
Detailed research across every dimension of Verizon — history, financials, leadership, and strategy.
Company History
Bell Atlantic and GTE created Verizon in 2000 to compete at national scale as telecom shifted toward wireless, broadband, and enterprise data.
Full Verizon history →Revenue & Financials
Verizon had $138.2B in revenue for fiscal year 2025. Data covers 10 fiscal years. Market capitalization stands at approximately $207B.
Verizon financials →Founders
Verizon was founded by Charles R. Lee, Ivan Seidenberg in 2000. Explore each founder's background, motivations, and their role in building the company.
Verizon founders →CEO & Leadership
Verizon is currently led by Dan Schulman. Explore the full CEO history — leadership transitions, tenures, and the strategic decisions of each chief executive.
Verizon CEO history →Business Model
Verizon Communications operates a telecommunications and connectivity infrastructure model, monetizing nationwide wireless and wireline networks across consumer and enterprise segments.
How Verizon makes money →Acquisitions
Verizon has completed 7 documented acquisitions. Explore the full acquisition history and strategic rationale behind each deal.
Verizon acquisitions →Competitive Strategy
Schulman's plan has three parts. First, win and keep wireless customers on value rather than handset subsidies: simpler plans, a loyalty program and Verizon One bundles, with equipment revenue allowed to fall as upgrade…
Verizon strategy →Related Company Comparisons
Our analysts compile business strategy profiles from public financial filings, press releases, and analyst reports. Each profile is reviewed for accuracy before publication by our editorial desk and updated on a rolling basis.
Sources & References
- [1]SEC EDGAR: Verizon filings search (10-K, 8-K)
- [2]Verizon Corporate Website
- [3]Verizon 2025 revenue figure: VERIZON COMMUNICATIONS INC annual report (Form 10-K, SEC EDGAR, filed 2026-02-17)
- [4]sec.gov
- [5]verizon.com
- [6]verizon.com
- [7]verizon.com
- [8]en.wikipedia.org
- [9]sec.gov
- [10]sec.gov
- [11]sec.gov
- [12]sec.gov
Financial data on this page is sourced from SEC EDGAR filings, official earnings releases, and verified press statements. Revenue figures are reviewed and updated periodically. Read our full data methodology ->
Primary source: www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/732712/000073271226000007/vz
Editorial Methodology
We use company filings, annual reports, company statements and press reports, with primary sources preferred where available. Each financial row shows its recorded source. Full-year figures are separated from annualized run-rates, partial periods and forecasts; unaudited figures carry a label. Source detail varies by company, so check the linked material when the reporting basis matters.
Public companies may provide filings and annual reports. Private-company figures may come from statements or press coverage. A missing figure stays missing, and a source link should identify where its number came from.
We organize company records and review claims for strategic context, source quality and clarity. Pages show a review date where one is recorded.
Technical checks flag inconsistent figures and missing links. Editorial review of the underlying source remains necessary for claims those checks cannot verify.
Frequently Asked Questions About Verizon
What is Verizon Communications and what core telecommunication services does it provide?
Verizon Communications Inc. is one of the world's largest telecommunications and technology service providers, offering wireless voice and data communications, fiber-optic broadband Internet (Fios), fixed wireless access (FWA 5G Home), enterprise networking, security, and global communications infrastructure.
Where is Verizon headquartered and across what markets does it operate?
Verizon is headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, and operates across nationwide retail, consumer, and commercial markets in the United States while maintaining enterprise and wholesale carrier networks connecting multinational clients in over 150 countries.
How is Verizon structured between consumer and enterprise operating divisions?
Verizon is structured into two primary operating segments: Verizon Consumer Group (VCG), which manages retail postpaid and prepaid wireless, Fios broadband, and residential 5G home internet, and Verizon Business Group (VBG), which delivers enterprise networking, cloud connectivity, cybersecurity, IoT, and public sector communications.
What is Verizon 5G Ultra Wideband and how is it deployed across network bands?
Verizon 5G Ultra Wideband comprises high-capacity mid-band C-Band spectrum (3.7-3.98 GHz) and high-frequency millimeter wave (mmWave 28/39 GHz) spectrum, delivering multi-gigabit speeds, low latency, and large capacity to millions of mobile users, homes, and connected businesses.
What is Verizon Fios and how does it differentiate from legacy cable broadband?
Verizon Fios is a 100% fiber-optic network delivering symmetrical gigabit-speed upload and download internet, television, and digital phone services directly to homes and offices (FTTH), offering superior reliability, latency, and throughput compared to traditional coaxial cable architectures.
How many subscribers and wireless connections does Verizon support across the United States?
Verizon reported about 146.9 million wireless retail connections in early 2026 across its postpaid and prepaid customer base, including consumer smartphone lines, business fleets, connected IoT devices, and Fixed Wireless Access broadband accounts.
What role does Verizon play in emergency response and public sector connectivity?
Verizon provides dedicated mission-critical public safety communications through Verizon Frontline, delivering priority network access, mobile cell sites (COWs and COLTs), tactical satellite assets, and secure incident response connectivity to thousands of first responder agencies.
What is Verizon's ticker symbol and where are its public shares traded?
Verizon Communications Inc. trades publicly on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and the Nasdaq Stock Market under the ticker symbol VZ and is a core component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) and S&P 500 index.
How was Verizon formed?
Verizon was formed in 2000 through the merger of Bell Atlantic Corp. and GTE Corp.
Where is Verizon headquartered?
Verizon Communications is headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City.
Related Competitor Intelligence
Compare market positioning with top industry peers
Explore Related Pages for Verizon
Related Competitor Intelligence
Compare market positioning with top industry peers
Explore Verizon
Core profile pages, founders and related research hubs for this company.