Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) stock price up 2.1% - should you buy? Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) rose 2.1% on Wednesday. The stock traded as high as $46.55 and last traded at $46.2050. 25,173,728 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 8% from the average session volume of 27,383,225 shares. The stock had previously closed at $45.24. Key stories impacting Verizon Communications. Here are the key news stories impacting Verizon Communications this week: * Verizon and Ericsson plan to roll out AI-native tools for automating Verizon's radio network. Field tests of one tool reportedly improved downlink throughput by up to 8.9% and uplink throughput by up to 8%, suggesting potential gains in network performance and operating efficiency. * Verizon is expanding private wireless service and upgrading stadium connectivity for the 2026 NFL season, including support for connected officiating and games at international venues. The initiative showcases potential enterprise and event-network applications, though its financial impact was not disclosed. * Verizon set pricing terms for its previously announced cash tender offers to buy up to $500 million in aggregate purchase price of five note series. This is a debt-management step; the announcement does not indicate a major change to the company's operating outlook. * SpaceX is working with Qualcomm on wireless hardware as it pursues a mobile network that could compete with established carriers, including Verizon. Reports also describe possible talks involving Boost Mobile, but no deal is confirmed. The prospect adds a longer-term competitive risk, even as building a nationwide network would require substantial investment and time. Wall street analyst weigh in. A number of brokerages have commented on VZ. Arete Research decreased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $71.00 to $62.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 1st. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Moffett Nathanson upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $45.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $51.05. Discover more Track Investments Plan Finances Verizon Communications price performance. The company has a market capitalization of $191.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 0.28. The business's 50-day moving average is $46.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $46.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 26th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $34.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.77 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 11.78% and a return on equity of 19.75%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.21 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 5.08 earnings per share for the current year. Verizon Communications dividend announcement. The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, October 9th were given a dividend of $0.7075 per share. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 9th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.19%. Insider activity at Verizon Communications. In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.00, for a total transaction of $47,300.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 98,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,251,238. This trade represents a 1.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 11,000 shares of company stock worth $516,373 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock. Institutional inflows and outflows. A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 9.5% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 335,851 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $15,442,000 after purchasing an additional 29,074 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 14.9% in the third quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 3,132,700 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $143,697,000 after purchasing an additional 406,529 shares during the last quarter. Leelyn Smith LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 10.7% in the third quarter. Leelyn Smith LLC now owns 81,901 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $3,757,000 after purchasing an additional 7,931 shares during the last quarter. Palisade Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 22.6% in the third quarter. Palisade Asset Management LLC now owns 53,659 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $2,461,000 after purchasing an additional 9,879 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Investment Management Corp VA ADV increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 22.4% in the third quarter. Investment Management Corp VA ADV now owns 6,332 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $290,000 after buying an additional 1,160 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock. About Verizon Communications. Verizon Communications Inc is a telecommunications company that provides wireless communications, broadband, and digital connectivity services. Through its consumer business, Verizon offers mobile voice and data plans, smartphones and other connected devices, home internet, fixed wireless access, and fiber-optic broadband services under the Fios brand. Verizon also serves businesses, government agencies, and other organizations with wireless connectivity, private networks, internet and data services, managed communications, cloud and security solutions, and Internet of Things services. Receive News & Ratings for Verizon Communications Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Verizon Communications and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.

Verizon and AT&T cut more than 8,000 jobs combined in the third quarter of 2026 as competition for telecom customers intensifies. Verizon ended the quarter with about 93,300 employees, down from 97,600 in the second quarter. In August, it sold 274 company-owned retail stores and laid off over 3,000 employees. AT&T ended with 127,150 employees, and its chief technology officer said the company will keep cutting staff as it invests in artificial intelligence. Both carriers face pressure from cable operators and Starlink. Comcast added 368,000 wireless customers in the quarter, and Starlink now serves about 4 million US broadband customers, according to New Street Research.

Verizon to roll out Ericsson's RIC for automated RAN control. Verizon has said it is preparing a nationwide rollout of a RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC) platform from Ericsson, giving it the ability to deploy AI-native applications known as rApps to improve network performance and operational efficiency. The RIC is an O-RAN Alliance specified element that sits in an Open RAN Service Management & Orchestration (SMO) [...]. Verizon has said it is preparing a nationwide rollout of a RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC) platform from Ericsson, giving it the ability to deploy AI-native applications known as rApps to improve network performance and operational efficiency. The RIC is an O-RAN Alliance specified element that sits in an Open RAN Service Management & Orchestration (SMO) framework, interfacing to O-RAN nodes. It can use data analytics and AI/ML to make decisions and actions to optimise the RAN. Ericsson supports the RIC version known as the Non-Real Time RIC via a platform it calls Ericsson Intelligent Controller. I t can support either Ericsson rApps, the AI-native app that run on on the platform, or those from third parties; a press statement said Verizon's rollout would host rApps developed both by Ericson and Verizon. One example of a Verizon rApp was a Connected Mode Inter-Radio Access Technology (IRAT) handover methodology developed by Verizon for Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) devices, managing handovers from LTE to standalone (SA) 5G. Ericsson rApps due to be tested include Cell Anomaly Detector, Root Cause Explainer and Anomaly General Optimizer A statement said, "Verizon plans to roll out the controller nationally this year, with further testing and deployment of rApps intended to improve network performance and operational efficiency." The latest phase of the collaboration follows live-network demonstrations in which the companies used AI to optimise Massive MIMO cell shaping and steer traffic across Verizon's network. According to the operator, the trials delivered "significant" gains in throughput and network efficiency, although it did not disclose specific performance figures. However, while it's clear that this is a win for Ericsson, the announcement still leaves outstanding questions as to Verizon's overall plan for automated RAN control. The news is impactful because Verizon has a sizeable Samsung Open vRAN deployment, perhaps accounting for about half of its network. What is not known is if the Ericsson RIC rollout will operate in Samsung RAN domains. The only public information around Samsung vRAN interfacing with a third party RIC came in this release in early 2025, which highlighted the deployment of a Samsung rApp onto a Qualcomm RIC. (Qualcomm's RIC sits within its Dragonwing RAN Automation Suite, a platform that was formerly known as Edgewize. The Edgewise name itself was a renaming of the Cellwize SON suite that Qualcomm on-boarded when it acquired Cellwize.) What is interesting here are the following questions: * Is the Ericsson RIC going to only sit within an Ericsson RAN environment, applying AI apps to only Ericsson RAN nodes - or is it going to be more horizontal across the whole network? (* TMN asked Ericsson if it can provide any clarification on this point but the company said it could not comment further at this time) * Is Samsung's SMO/RIC platform - known as Cognitiv NOS, going to have any applicability within Verizon's network? If not, what is the plan for introducing AI and automation to the Samsung parts of the network? * In both cases, what is the relationship to the Qualcomm, ex-Cellwize, Dragonwing RIC? * What is the market implication of Ericsson RAN automation platform dominance in the US? The company already provides a horizontal RAN management capability at AT&T, where it has been selected, famously, as sole Open RAN vendor. AI-driven optimisation is increasingly being positioned as a stepping stone towards autonomous network operations. For Ericsson, the agreement represents a further deployment of its Intelligent Automation Platform (EIAP), of which the EIC is a component. Ericsson says its rApp ecosystem now includes more than 100 applications from over 100 ecosystem members, providing operators with a growing range of options for automating network functions. GitOps for cloud-native core software. Also today, Ericsson said it now has GitOps-compliant packages and configuration management for all its cloud-native dual-mode 5G Core network functions (CNFs). The vendor said new model of deployment will become available for applications and products across its full core network portfolio "over time". Ericsson said the move demonstrates a shift from procedure-driven lifecycle and configuration management to declarative, automated workflows. Central to the GitOps methodology is the declaration of a desired network state. This declared state serves as the single source of truth, with Git providing version control and an automated reconciliation process ensuring that the actual network state aligns with the desired state. The first named operator to integrate this new software delivery and management capability is Ericsson's flagship network automation customer Swisscom. Running alongside its own automation practices, the collaboration has enabled it to achieve 60% reduction in upgrade time and 97% reduction in network service setup time, a press release stated. Swisscom has also shifted away from traditional monthly maintenance windows and manual overnight upgrades towards automated software delivery and change management during normal working hours. And it said it is now exploring additional areas where the new model can be applied, including the development of novel use-cases powered by AI-driven automation of tasks such as roaming partner configuration. The result is a more agile network, with speedier upgrades and a foundation in place for autonomous, AI-assisted operations. Philipp Bichsel, Executive Vice President Mobile Network & Services at Swisscom: "Ericsson's GitOps-based approach has helped us simplify and accelerate the operation of our cloud-native network. It has played a key role in Swisscom's development from a traditional telco to a TechCo focused on intelligent automation, cloud-native operations, and continuous software delivery. These investments will lead to more efficient operations, faster innovation, and measurable productivity gains, and our deep collaboration on this transformation demonstrates what is possible when strong, aligned partners work together toward a shared vision." The Ericsson statement said: "Ericsson is introducing Git-compatible software packages to enhance lifecycle management of core network software. Configuration and operationalization of these software updates may then be handled by existing capabilities such as those provided by Ericsson Orchestrator. This new approach will sit alongside other elements of Ericssons Intelligent Core offering, building on the company's extensive experience in cloud-native operations. It will line up with its CI/CD pipeline supporting In-Service Software Upgrade (ISSU), and facilitates alignment with the Ericsson Intelligent Automation Platform architecture by integrating with other Ericsson products for lifecycle and configuration management, including multi-vendor support."