VZ
Verizon · Communication Services · Integrated Telecommunication Services
$50.15
52w 38.39 – 51.68
20y monthly, adjusted
Mkt cap
$208.4B
P/E
12.0
P/FCF
5.5
FCF yield
18.1%
ROE
16.2%
Shldr yield
5.6%
div 5.6% + bb 0.0%
What today's price assumes
At $208.4B, the market is pricing in -10.5% annual free-cash-flow growth for the next decade (10% discount rate, 2.5% terminal growth). Over the last ten years, FCF actually grew 5.7% per year — expectations look undemanding relative to history.
Simple DCF per-share range: $136 · $155 · $193 (4% / base / optimistic growth). An estimate, not a target.
Historical multiple lens
At its own median P/OCF of 3.7× across 19 years, VZ would trade near $33/share (25th–75th percentile: $16–$38); it trades at 5.6× today.
Assumes the historical multiple regime persists — re-ratings can be permanent.
Growth record
Compound annual growth rates from as-filed 10-K data, split-adjusted
Rev 3y
+0.3%
Rev 5y
+1.5%
Rev 10y
+0.5%
EPS 5y
−1.1%
EPS 10y
−0.7%
FCF 5y
−2.3%
FCF 10y
+5.7%
Fundamentals
Fiscal 2007–2025, from SEC filings
Revenue
Net income
Free cash flow
Diluted shares (lower is better)
Margins
Capital returned (dividends + buybacks)
Cash vs long-term debt
Quarterly
Discrete quarters from 10-Q filings; Q4 derived as fiscal year minus Q1–Q3. OCF is unwound from the year-to-date figures 10-Qs report. Compare to the same quarter a year ago — most businesses are seasonal.
Revenue by quarter
Net income by quarter
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY | Net income | YoY | EPS | OCF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q2'26 | $34.3B | −0.7% | $3.8B | −23.3% | 0.92 | $10.4B |
| Q1'26 | $34.4B | +2.9% | $5.0B | +3.4% | 1.20 | $8.0B |
| Q4'25 * | $36.4B | +2.0% | $2.3B | −53.2% | 0.56 | $9.1B |
| Q3'25 | $33.8B | +1.5% | $5.0B | +49.7% | 1.17 | $11.3B |
| Q2'25 | $34.5B | +5.2% | $5.0B | +8.9% | 1.18 | $9.0B |
| Q1'25 | $33.5B | +1.5% | $4.9B | +6.0% | 1.15 | $7.8B |
| Q4'24 * | $35.7B | +1.6% | $5.0B | — | 1.18 | $10.4B |
| Q3'24 | $33.3B | −0.0% | $3.3B | −30.6% | 0.78 | $9.9B |
| Q2'24 | $32.8B | +0.6% | $4.6B | −1.2% | 1.09 | $9.5B |
| Q1'24 | $33.0B | +0.2% | $4.6B | −6.3% | 1.09 | $7.1B |
| Q4'23 * | $35.1B | −0.3% | −$2.7B | −141.1% | -0.65 | $8.7B |
| Q3'23 | $33.3B | −2.6% | $4.8B | −2.8% | 1.13 | $10.8B |
| Q2'23 | $32.6B | −3.5% | $4.6B | −10.6% | 1.10 | $9.7B |
Track record
Compound annual growth by period. For debt and share count, negative is the good direction.
| Series | 3y | 5y | 10y | 15y |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | +0.3% | +1.5% | +0.5% | +1.7% |
| Operating cash flow | −0.0% | −2.3% | −0.5% | +0.7% |
| Free cash flow | −0.0% | −2.3% | +5.7% | +5.4% |
| EPS (diluted) | −7.1% | −1.1% | −0.7% | +10.6% |
| Equity | +4.6% | +8.8% | +19.5% | +1.3% |
| LT debt | −0.3% | +2.5% | +3.1% | +7.8% |
| Diluted shares | +0.2% | +0.4% | +0.3% | +2.7% |
| Stock price | +20.6% | +4.6% | +5.1% | +7.6% |
$100, 3 years ago
$175vs $176 in SPY
20.6% vs 20.7%/yr
$100, 5 years ago
$125vs $181 in SPY
4.6% vs 12.6%/yr
$100, 10 years ago
$164vs $412 in SPY
5.1% vs 15.2%/yr
$100, 15 years ago
$299vs $813 in SPY
7.6% vs 15.0%/yr
The $1 test — market value created per $1 of earnings retained (Buffett's hurdle: at least $1)
Last 5 years
$0.60
$20.7B created / $34.6B retained
Last 10 years
$0.80
$65.5B created / $81.7B retained
Quality & capital discipline
Cash-based returns and how management deploys capital
Cash ROIC
15.1%
OCF ÷ (equity + debt)
OCF / EV yield
11.4%
MC vs 10× OCF
0.55
≤1 = priced under 10× OCF
Debt / FCF
3.8y
SBC / FCF
—
Owner earnings
$37.1B
OCF − capex − SBC
OE yield
18.1%
Share count 5y
+2.1%
per year; negative = buybacks
Capital intensity
79.2%
net PP&E ÷ revenue
Sales efficiency
$1.48
new PP&E per $1 new revenue, 5y
Growth engine (5y): reinvested 29.7% of operating cash flow at an incremental return of -8.3% — an organically fundable growth rate of about -2.5% per year (growth ≈ reinvestment rate × incremental ROIC).
Checklist
16 of 25 checks pass · 64%. Checks with structurally missing inputs are excluded.
Growth & Consistency
3/7
- fail
Revenue growth
1.5% · 5y CAGR ≥ 5%
- fail
EPS growth
-1.1% · 5y CAGR ≥ 5%
- fail
FCF growth
-2.3% · 5y CAGR ≥ 5%
- pass
Revenue rises consistently
7 of 9 · up in ≥ 7 of last 10 years
- pass
FCF consistently positive
10 of 10 · positive in ≥ 8 of last 10 years
- pass
Profitable every year
10 of 10 · net income > 0 in ≥ 8 of last 10
- fail
Cash flow keeps up with sales
-2.3% vs 1.5% · OCF CAGR ≥ 0.9× revenue CAGR
Profitability
6/6
- pass
Net margin
12.4% · ≥ 8%
- pass
Operating margin
21.2% · ≥ 10%
- na
Gross margin stable or rising
— · no drop > 2 pts over 3y
- pass
Return on equity
16.2% · ≥ 12%
- pass
Cash ROIC
15.1% · ≥ 12%
- pass
FCF margin
26.9% · ≥ 5%
- pass
Earnings back their cash
OCF $37.1B vs NI $17.2B · OCF ≥ net income (latest FY)
Balance Sheet
2/5
- fail
Debt payable from cash flow
3.8y · LT debt ≤ 3× FCF
- fail
Cash cushion
14% · cash ≥ 50% of LT debt
- pass
Leverage
1.32 · LT debt ≤ 1.5× equity
- pass
Equity positive and compounding
$105.7B · equity > 0 and grew over ~5y
- fail
Interest burden
23% · interest ≤ 15% of operating income
Capital Allocation
1/3
- fail
Share count flat or shrinking
2.1% · ≤ +0.5%/yr over ~5y
- na
Stock comp restrained
— · SBC ≤ 15% of FCF
- pass
Distributions funded by FCF
31% · dividends + buybacks ≤ 100% of FCF
- fail
Repurchases are a habit
0 of 10 · buybacks in ≥ 5 of last 10 years
Valuation Discipline
4/4
- pass
FCF yield
18.1% · ≥ 3%
- pass
Earnings multiple
12.0 · P/E ≤ 25
- pass
Price asks less than history delivered
-10.5% vs 5.7% · implied FCF growth ≤ historical FCF CAGR
- pass
Shareholder yield
5.6% · dividends + buybacks ≥ 2% of market cap
Red flags
Mechanical checks — a flag is a question to investigate, not a verdict
Shareholder dilution
Diluted share count has grown by more than 2% per year over ~5 years.
Financial data
As filed in 10-Ks; per-share figures split-adjusted. $ in millions.
| FY | Revenue | Gross profit | Op income | Net income | EPS | OCF | CapEx | FCF | Dividends | Buybacks | SBC | Cash | LT debt | Equity | Shares |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 138,191 | — | 29,259 | 17,174 | 4.06 | 37,137 | — | 37,137 | 11,481 | — | — | 19,048 | 139,532 | 105,741 | 4,231 |
| 2024 | 134,788 | — | 28,686 | 17,506 | 4.14 | 36,912 | — | 36,912 | 11,249 | — | — | 4,194 | 121,381 | 100,575 | 4,223 |
| 2023 | 133,974 | — | 22,877 | 11,614 | 2.75 | 37,475 | — | 37,475 | 11,025 | — | — | 2,065 | 137,701 | 93,799 | 4,215 |
| 2022 | 136,835 | — | 30,467 | 21,256 | 5.06 | 37,141 | — | 37,141 | 10,805 | — | — | 2,605 | 140,676 | 92,463 | 4,204 |
| 2021 | 133,613 | — | 32,448 | 22,065 | 5.32 | 39,539 | — | 39,539 | 10,445 | — | — | 2,921 | 143,425 | 83,200 | 4,150 |
| 2020 | 128,292 | — | 28,798 | 17,801 | 4.30 | 41,768 | — | 41,768 | 10,232 | — | — | 22,171 | 123,173 | 69,272 | 4,142 |
| 2019 | 131,868 | — | 30,378 | 19,265 | 4.65 | 35,746 | — | 35,746 | 10,016 | — | — | 2,594 | 100,712 | 62,835 | 4,140 |
| 2018 | 130,863 | — | 22,278 | 15,528 | 3.76 | 34,339 | 16,658 | 17,681 | 9,772 | — | — | 2,745 | 105,873 | 54,710 | 4,132 |
| 2017 | 126,034 | — | 27,425 | 30,101 | 7.36 | 24,318 | 17,247 | 7,071 | 9,472 | 0 | — | 2,079 | 113,642 | 44,687 | 4,089 |
| 2016 | 125,980 | — | 29,249 | 13,127 | 3.21 | 21,689 | 17,059 | 4,630 | 9,262 | 0 | 400 | 2,880 | 105,433 | 24,032 | 4,086 |
| 2015 | 131,620 | — | 33,060 | 17,879 | 4.37 | 39,027 | 17,775 | 21,252 | 8,538 | 5,134 | 300 | 4,470 | 103,240 | 17,842 | 4,093 |
| 2014 | 127,079 | — | 19,599 | 9,625 | 2.42 | 30,631 | 17,191 | 13,440 | 7,803 | — | 300 | 10,598 | 110,536 | 13,676 | 3,981 |
| 2013 | 120,550 | — | 31,968 | 11,497 | 4.00 | 38,818 | 16,604 | 22,214 | 5,936 | 153 | 400 | 53,528 | 89,658 | 95,416 | 2,874 |
| 2012 | 115,846 | — | 13,160 | 875 | 0.31 | 31,486 | 16,175 | 15,311 | 5,230 | — | 700 | 3,093 | 47,618 | 85,533 | 2,862 |
| 2011 | 110,875 | — | 12,880 | 2,404 | 0.85 | 29,780 | 16,244 | 13,536 | 5,555 | — | 500 | 13,362 | 50,303 | 85,908 | 2,839 |
| 2010 | 106,565 | — | 14,645 | 2,549 | 0.90 | 33,363 | 16,458 | 16,905 | 5,412 | — | 500 | 6,668 | 45,252 | 86,912 | 2,833 |
| 2009 | 107,808 | — | 15,978 | 4,894 | 1.72 | 31,390 | 16,872 | 14,518 | 5,271 | 0 | 500 | 2,009 | 55,051 | 84,143 | 2,841 |
| 2008 | 97,354 | — | 2,612 | -2,193 | -0.77 | 27,452 | 17,133 | 10,319 | 4,994 | 1,368 | 400 | 9,782 | 46,959 | 78,791 | 2,849 |
| 2007 | 93,469 | — | 15,578 | 5,521 | 1.90 | 26,839 | 17,538 | 9,301 | 4,773 | 2,843 | — | 1,153 | — | 82,869 | 2,902 |
Some concepts are structurally absent for certain industries (banks report no gross profit or capex). Missing ≠ zero.