What Happened?

Shares of telecommunications giant Verizon (NYSE:VZ) fell 8% in the afternoon session after the firm guided for weaker wireless subscriber growth in the first quarter (2025) due to "off-season promotions by competitors." Despite this, Verizon maintained its guidance for single-digit growth in annual phone upgrades, as it expected a rebound later in the year( 2025).

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What The Market Is Telling Us

Verizon’s shares are not very volatile and have only had 2 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful, although it might not be something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business. 

The biggest move we wrote about over the last year was 5 months ago when the stock dropped 5.6% on the news that the company reported third-quarter earnings with revenue falling below analysts' expectations partly due to a decline in wireless equipment sales. Other key metrics were in line to slightly below. Total postpaid phone net additions fell below consensus estimates, highlighting potential concerns about a weak upgrade cycle. There were other concerns, as management added that "growth in phone net additions were offset by reduced FWA (Fixed wireless access) volumes and losses in tablets, wearables, and other connected devices." Overall, this quarter could have been better.

Verizon is up 6.1% since the beginning of the year, and at $42.67 per share, it is trading close to its 52-week high of $46.49 from March 2025. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Verizon’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $778.31.

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