Verizon Communications Inc.

What does Verizon own?
Verizon owns Verizon Wireless (the largest U.S. wireless carrier by revenue), Fios (fiber-optic internet and TV service), Visible (a digital-first prepaid wireless brand), Verizon Business (enterprise telecommunications), Verizon Connect (fleet management and IoT), and Frontier Communications (fiber-optic broadband, acquired in January 2026 for $9.1 billion). The company operates all of its brands directly.

Is Verizon publicly traded?
Yes. Verizon trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol VZ. The company is a component of both the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average. No parent company or controlling shareholder exists. Ownership is distributed among institutional investors, index funds, and individual shareholders.

When was Verizon founded?
Verizon Communications was formed on June 30, 2000, through the merger of Bell Atlantic and GTE. Bell Atlantic was one of the seven Regional Bell Operating Companies created after the breakup of AT&T in 1984. GTE was a major independent telecommunications company. The merger combined Bell Atlantic's East Coast presence with GTE's national footprint.

Who is Verizon's CEO?
Hans Vestberg serves as Chairman and CEO. He joined Verizon as Chief Technology Officer in 2016 and became CEO in 2018. Vestberg has focused the company on 5G deployment, fiber expansion, and network convergence. Under his leadership, Verizon won $52.9 billion in C-band spectrum auctions and completed the $9.1 billion Frontier acquisition.

What is Verizon's revenue?
For fiscal year 2024, Verizon reported revenue of $134.0 billion and adjusted EBITDA of $47.9 billion. In Q1 2026, revenue was $34.2 billion, up 0.7 percent year-over-year. The company guided to full-year 2026 adjusted EBITDA of $49.0 to $50.0 billion and adjusted EPS of $4.30 to $4.60.

How did Verizon acquire Frontier Communications?
Verizon announced the acquisition of Frontier Communications in September 2024 for $9.1 billion in cash. Frontier, a fiber-optic broadband provider with approximately 2.7 million fiber subscribers, operates in the Northeast and Midwest. The FCC approved the deal in December 2025 with conditions requiring Verizon to expand fiber deployment. The acquisition closed in January 2026 and contributed $1.1 billion in revenue in Q1 2026.

What is Verizon's market share?
Verizon has approximately 35 percent of the U.S. wireless market by retail connections, trailing T-Mobile's approximately 38 percent but ahead of AT&T's approximately 31 percent. Verizon focuses on premium postpaid customers and maintains the highest average revenue per user among the three major carriers.

Does Verizon pay a dividend?
Yes. Verizon pays an annual dividend of $2.86 per share, yielding approximately 6.5 percent as of mid-2026. The company has maintained its dividend for over 18 consecutive years and is considered a reliable dividend stock. Verizon's high dividend yield reflects its stable cash flow generation and mature business model.

Verizon Communications was formed on June 30, 2000, through the merger of Bell Atlantic and GTE. Bell Atlantic was one of the seven Regional Bell Operating Companies (RBOCs) created after the breakup of AT&T in 1984. GTE was a major independent telecommunications company with operations across the United States. The merger combined Bell Atlantic's strong East Coast presence with GTE's national footprint, creating a telecommunications company with both wireless and wireline operations.

The Verizon name was adopted from a combination of "veritas" (Latin for truth) and "horizon," reflecting the company's ambition in the newly deregulated telecommunications market. The company began trading on the NYSE under the ticker VZ on July 3, 2000.

Bell Atlantic had grown through acquisitions in the 1990s, including the acquisition of NYNEX in 1997, which expanded its presence in the Northeastern United States. The company had also acquired several wireless companies that became part of Verizon Wireless.

In 2000, Verizon formed Verizon Wireless as a joint venture with Vodafone, which held a 45 percent stake. Verizon bought out Vodafone's stake in 2014 for $130 billion, taking full ownership of Verizon Wireless. This was one of the largest telecommunications deals in history.

In 2006, Verizon acquired MCI for approximately $7.6 billion, strengthening its business services and long-distance capabilities. The company also began investing in fiber-optic infrastructure, launching Fios (Fiber Optic Service) to provide high-speed internet, TV, and phone services over a fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) network.

Throughout the 2010s, Verizon expanded its wireless network through major spectrum acquisitions. In 2011, the company purchased spectrum from a group of cable companies including Comcast, Time Warner Cable, and Bright House Networks for $3.6 billion. In 2017, Verizon acquired Yahoo for approximately $4.48 billion and combined it with AOL, which it had acquired in 2015 for $4.4 billion, to form a media subsidiary called Oath. The Oath venture struggled and was eventually written down. Verizon sold its media assets to Apollo Global Management in 2021 for $5 billion, rebranded as Yahoo Inc.

In 2021, Verizon won $52.9 billion in C-band spectrum auctions, committing to a massive 5G network expansion. The C-band spectrum gave Verizon mid-band 5G capacity, which offers a balance of speed and coverage that the company's initial millimeter-wave 5G lacked. The company began deploying C-band 5G in early 2022 and has since expanded coverage to cover more than 230 million people.

In 2024, Verizon announced the acquisition of Frontier Communications for $9.1 billion in cash. Frontier, a fiber-optic broadband provider with approximately 2.7 million fiber subscribers, operates in the Northeast and Midwest. The deal was approved by the FCC in December 2025 and closed in January 2026. The acquisition gives Verizon a significant fiber footprint and accelerates the company's strategy of converging wireless and wireline services.

In Q1 2026, Verizon reported its first quarterly results including Frontier. The Frontier segment contributed $1.1 billion in revenue. Verizon raised its full-year 2026 adjusted EBITDA guidance to $49.0 to $50.0 billion, up from $47.9 billion in 2025. The company also reaffirmed its capital expenditure guidance of $17.0 to $18.0 billion for 2026.

Verizon has committed to achieving net-zero emissions in its operations by 2035 and across its value chain by 2040. The company's science-based targets have been approved by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). Verizon has committed to sourcing or generating renewable energy equivalent to 50 percent of its total electricity consumption by 2025 and 100 percent by 2030.

The company has invested in renewable energy through power purchase agreements (PPAs), including solar and wind projects. Verizon's network infrastructure is energy-intensive, and the company has implemented energy-efficient technologies in its cell towers and data centers to reduce consumption. In 2024, Verizon achieved a 41.7 percent reduction in scope 1 and 2 emissions from a 2019 baseline.

On digital inclusion, Verizon operates the Verizon Forward program, which provides discounted internet service to low-income households through the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) and its successor programs. The company has connected more than 2 million households through these initiatives. Verizon also provides digital literacy training through its Innovative Learning program, which serves Title I schools in underserved communities.

Verizon maintains strict data privacy and security standards. The company publishes an annual Data Breach Investigations Report (DBIR), which is one of the most widely cited cybersecurity research publications in the industry. Verizon's privacy practices are governed by its privacy policy and comply with applicable federal and state regulations, including the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA).

• J.D. Power Wireless Network Quality Performance awards (multiple years, 2015 to 2025), recognizing Verizon's network reliability and call quality
• RootMetrics RootScore Report (multiple years), consistently ranking Verizon as the top or near-top network in the United States for overall network performance
• Dow Jones Sustainability Index inclusion (multiple years), recognizing Verizon's environmental, social, and governance performance
• Human Rights Campaign Corporate Equality Index (multiple years), recognizing Verizon's LGBTQ+ workplace equality policies
• Ethisphere World's Most Ethical Companies (multiple years), recognizing Verizon's ethics and compliance programs

Verizon operates in a heavily regulated industry and has faced scrutiny from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and state regulators.

Net Neutrality: Verizon has been at the center of the net neutrality debate. In 2014, Verizon successfully challenged the FCC's Open Internet Order in court, arguing that the FCC did not have authority to impose common carrier regulations on broadband providers. The court's ruling in Verizon v. FCC led the FCC to reclassify broadband as a Title II telecommunications service in 2015, establishing strong net neutrality rules. Those rules were repealed in 2017 under FCC Chairman Ajit Pai. The FCC reinstated net neutrality rules in 2024 under Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, but a federal appeals court stayed the rules in 2025. Verizon has generally opposed strict net neutrality regulations, arguing that flexible network management is necessary for efficient operations.

Data Privacy: Verizon has faced scrutiny over its data collection and advertising practices. In 2017, the FCC fined Verizon $1.35 million for failing to notify customers about its use of supercookies, tracking technology that could not be disabled by users. Verizon subsequently changed its practices to allow customers to opt out of tracking. The company has also faced questions about its cooperation with government surveillance programs under Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).

Labor Relations: Verizon has had contentious relationships with its unionized workforce. In 2016, approximately 40,000 Verizon workers represented by the Communications Workers of America (CWA) and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) went on strike for 45 days, one of the largest U.S. labor actions in recent years. The strike ended with a new four-year contract that included wage increases and job protections. Subsequent contract negotiations in 2019 and 2023 were resolved without strikes. Verizon employs approximately 30,000 union workers.

Frontier Acquisition Scrutiny: The $9.1 billion Frontier acquisition was reviewed by the FCC and the Department of Justice. Consumer advocates raised concerns that the deal could reduce competition in areas where Verizon and Frontier overlap. The FCC approved the deal in December 2025 with conditions requiring Verizon to maintain Frontier's service quality and expand fiber deployment to additional households. Verizon committed to extending fiber to at least 1 million additional locations within four years of closing.

Location Data Sales: In 2020, Verizon, along with AT&T and T-Mobile, faced scrutiny from the FCC for selling customer location data to third-party brokers. The FCC proposed fines against the carriers for failing to adequately protect customer location information. Verizon stated that it had stopped selling location data to third-party aggregators and implemented stricter data sharing controls.