A Verizon Communications wireless executive on Tuesday warned that first quarter wireless subscriber additions could be "soft" amid intensified competition. Verizon stock tumbled on the comments as shares in AT&T and T-Mobile US also fell.
Speaking at a Deutsche Bank conference, Verizon Wireless executive Frank Boulben said "As far as we are concerned, we have a tough compare year-on-year. So, gross adds this quarter are going to be probably soft."
Boulben is chief revenue officer for Verizon's consumer wireless unit.
He said industrywide promotional activity stayed robust after the holiday shopping season ended in December.
"So, we've seen an elevated level of competitive intensity in the (first) quarter," Boulben said, according to a FactSet transcript. "We continue to have a disciplined approach. It's been a challenging quarter from a competitive intensity standpoint.
In addition, Verizon made a regulatory filing on Tuesday that stated it expects more existing customers to disconnect services in Q1 amid recent pricing actions by competitors.
In the regulatory filing, Verizon said it expects Q1 postpaid phone gross additions that are flat to slightly down from the prior-year period.
On the stock market today, Verizon stock tumbled more than 6% to 43.61. AT&T stock fell more than 3% to 26.36. T-Mobile stock dipped more than 2% to near 259.22.
In the first quarter of 2024, Verizon said it lost 68,000 postpaid wireless phone customers, a closely watched financial metric. Analysts had predicted a Q1 loss of 92,000 postpaid phone subscribers — customers that spend the most monthly. Verizon lost 158,000 postpaid consumer subscribers but added 90,000 business postpaid subscribers.
Verizon Stock Technical Ratings
With Tuesday's loss, Verizon stock has gained 8% in 2025. Shares in AT&T have advanced 16% while T-Mobile is up about 17%
In September, Verizon agreed to buy Frontier Communications for $20 billion in cash. The deal is expected to close in early 2026.
In addition, Verizon stock holds a Relative Strength Rating of only 88 out of a best-possible 99, according to the IBD Stock Checkup.
Meanwhile, Verizon stock holds an Accumulation/Distribution Rating of A-minus. This rating analyzes price and volume changes in a stock over the past 13 weeks of trading. The rating, on an A+ to E scale, measures institutional buying and selling in a stock. A+ signifies heavy institutional buying; E means heavy selling. Think of the C grade as neutral.
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