Verizon (VZ) Stock Slips Amid Fresh Job Cuts and Downgraded Price Target

Key Highlights

Table of Contents

New workforce reduction announcement scheduled for Thursday from Verizon
CEO Daniel Schulman aims to achieve $5 billion in operating cost reductions by year-end 2026
BNP Paribas Exane lowered VZ price target from $46 to $44 while keeping neutral stance
Shares closed at $42.28 Tuesday, down 0.9%; total return of 9% year-to-date
Wall Street consensus rating of Hold with mean price target at $50.28

Verizon Communications is preparing to unveil additional workforce reductions Thursday morning, based on information from a company insider familiar with the situation. The precise scale of the layoffs remains undisclosed.

Shares of VZ closed Tuesday’s session at $42.28, representing a 0.9% decline for the day.

Verizon Communications Inc., VZ

The upcoming job cuts represent a continuation of the cost-cutting strategy CEO Daniel Schulman has pursued since assuming leadership in October 2025. Operational efficiency remains a central focus of his turnaround plan.

Verizon executed its largest workforce reduction in company history during November 2025, eliminating 13,000 positions. Additional cuts occurred in May 2026. The telecommunications giant concluded 2025 with a workforce of 89,900.

During a January earnings conference call, Schulman outlined Verizon‘s objective to achieve $5 billion in operating expense reductions throughout 2026, indicating that workforce cuts would account for a “substantial portion” of those savings.

During an internal company webcast in December, Schulman delivered a frank message to employees: “If we don’t have enough money to put back into our value proposition to customers, we are going to continue to shrink.”

He further acknowledged that customer satisfaction metrics were “not great” and admitted the telecom provider had surrendered market share during the previous five years.

Wall Street Lowers Expectations

BNP Paribas Exane also announced Tuesday it was reducing its VZ price target to $44 from $46, maintaining its neutral position. The revised target suggests approximately 4% potential upside from current trading levels.

The overall Street sentiment remains cautious. Nine analysts maintain Buy recommendations, while twelve advise holding the stock. The average target price across all analysts stands at $50.28.

Citigroup holds the most optimistic outlook, raising its target to $55 with a Buy rating in March. Morgan Stanley maintains an equal weight position with a $50 price objective.

Financial Performance and Strategic Moves

The company’s latest quarterly report revealed earnings per share of $1.28, surpassing analyst expectations of $1.21. However, revenue of $34.44 billion fell short of the $34.82 billion consensus forecast.

Year-over-year revenue growth reached 2.7%. Management’s full-year 2026 EPS outlook ranges from $4.95 to $4.99.

During the first quarter, Verizon secured a net gain of 55,000 postpaid phone subscribers, exceeding market projections.

The telecommunications giant completed its $20 billion Frontier Communications acquisition earlier this year. Certain Frontier workers received four-year protection from involuntary termination as a condition of regulatory approval.

Verizon introduced its new “Simplicity plan” featuring flat-rate pricing last month and has expanded artificial intelligence deployment in customer service operations to reduce expenses and enhance service quality.

Planned capital investment for 2026 falls between $16 billion and $16.5 billion, representing a decrease from prior years.

On a total return basis, VZ stock has gained 9% year-to-date, underperforming the S&P 500’s 10.5% advance during the identical timeframe.

The company is set to announce second-quarter financial results on July 24.