Verizon Communications Inc (VZ)

A Telecom Giant Mid-«Reboot»

Verizon Communications needs no introduction to American consumers — it's one of the «Big Three» US wireless carriers alongside T-Mobile and AT&T. But 2026 is anything but «business as usual» for this ~$188 billion market-cap giant. Since October 2025, Verizon has been undergoing what new CEO Dan Schulman calls a «full reboot» — a drastic transformation spanning operating costs, organizational structure, and product strategy.

Dan Schulman: From PayPal to Verizon

Dan Schulman took over as Verizon CEO in October 2025, bringing a track record as former PayPal CEO known for cost discipline and margin focus. Almost immediately after taking the helm, he launched aggressive cost cuts — more than 13,000 jobs cut within weeks, with cumulative reductions reaching ~16,600 jobs over 9 months. Verizon's workforce has shrunk from ~100,000 to ~87,000 employees. The overarching target: $5 billion in operating expense savings by the end of 2026.

A significant portion of these savings comes from replacing human labor with AI systems for customer service and digital sales — the «AI stack» is expected to be substantially complete by July 2026 and fully implemented by November 2026.

The Frontier Communications Acquisition: Schulman's Biggest Bet

The single biggest capital allocation decision of the Schulman era is the acquisition of Frontier Communications, which officially closed on January 20, 2026. The deal was valued at ~$9.8 billion in cash plus ~$12.9 billion of assumed Frontier debt (~$22.7 billion total deal value). As a result, Verizon's fiber footprint expanded to ~30 million passings (homes and businesses) across 31 states plus Washington DC. Frontier has been rebranded «Frontier, a Verizon Company».

The strategic logic is straightforward: combine mobility (wireless) with fiber (home broadband) so that customers subscribing to both services are harder to churn away, while lifting ARPU (average revenue per user). Verizon now offers a $15/month discount on home internet for customers who also bundle mobile — a strategy directly competing with AT&T and T-Mobile's own fiber build-outs.

Segment Breakdown

• Mobility (Wireless): Verizon's core business — but under pressure from subscriber losses to rivals (see the CANSLIM and Financials sections for churn data).
• Broadband/Fiber (now including Frontier): The most notable growth segment post-acquisition, and the core of the bundling strategy.
• Business (Verizon Business Group): Includes an emerging AI/hyperscaler connectivity opportunity Verizon describes as potentially «multibillion dollar» — but still early-stage and unproven.

For Q2 2026, combined mobility + broadband service revenue came in at ~$23.4 billion, up 2.8% YoY — modest growth driven more by broadband/bundling than organic wireless subscriber growth.

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