Verizon Stock’s Operating Margin Hits a Multi-Year High: Here’s What the Numbers Say About a $70 Target

Key Takeaways for Verizon Stock

• Verizon’s operating margin reached 25% in Q1 2026, the highest level in at least eight quarters, as operating income grew 10% year over year to $8.67 billion.
• Total revenues rose 3% year over year to $34.44 billion, while total operating expenses fell to $12.09 billion, the lowest in the eight-quarter data set.
• TIKR’s model values Verizon at around $70 by December 2030, implying roughly 45% total return from the current price of $48.

The operating margin recovery is already in the numbers. Use TIKR’s institutional-grade income statement data to trace exactly where Verizon’s cost structure is changing and whether the inflection is durable. Explore Verizon’s financials on TIKR for free →

Verizon Stock Posts Its Strongest Operating Margin in Years as the Turnaround Takes Hold

Verizon Communications (VZ) delivered its highest operating margin in at least eight quarters in Q1 2026, as a $5 billion cost transformation program drove operating income to $8.67 billion on revenues of $34.44 billion.

CEO Dan Schulman, who took over in October, has reorganized the company around 10 transformation work streams.

The quarter marked the first time since 2013 that Verizon posted positive postpaid phone net adds in Q1, adding 55,000 subscribers while cutting the cost of acquiring and retaining those customers by approximately 35% versus Q4.

Schulman framed the approach plainly in Q1 earnings call: “We are purposely shifting our mix towards durable recurring service revenues and away from low-margin, highly promotional activity.” Broadband continued to expand with 341,000 net adds, bringing the total subscriber base to approximately 16.8 million, supported by the Frontier Communications acquisition that closed in January.

The combination of subscriber momentum, lower promotional spending, and a broad operating expense reduction program is now flowing directly into the income statement.

Verizon’s cost transformation is compressing the gap between gross profit and operating income. Track each line of the income statement across eight quarters on TIKR to see how durable that compression is. Analyze Verizon’s cost structure on TIKR for free →

Verizon’s Operating Margin Hits a Multi-Year High as Cost Cuts Finally Outrun Revenue Pressure

Verizon’s operating margin expanded to 25% in Q1 2026, rising from 23% in the same period a year ago and recovering sharply from the 21% trough recorded in Q4 2025.

Operating income grew 10% year over year to $8.67 billion, the strongest year-over-year growth rate in the eight-quarter data set.

Total operating expenses fell to $12.09 billion in Q1 2026, down from $12.55 billion a year earlier and the lowest level in eight quarters.

Selling, general and administrative expenses declined to $7.20 billion, the lowest SG&A figure across the full data set, reflecting both the approximately 13,000-employee workforce reduction referenced on the earnings call and the structural pullback in promotional spending.

Gross profit reached $20.77 billion on a 60% gross margin, broadly consistent with the prior-year quarter, confirming that the margin expansion is being driven by operating expense discipline rather than any shift in cost of goods sold.

The gap between gross margin at 60% and operating margin at 25% has been narrowing, as SG&A has declined faster than gross profit has grown.

Verizon stock’s revenue also grew 3% to $34.44 billion, but the more important signal is that operating income grew at more than three times the revenue growth rate.

Verizon Leads AT&T and T-Mobile on Operating Margin in Q1 2026, but the Gap Has Been Closing

Verizon’s operating margin reached 25% in Q1 2026, its highest reading across the eight-quarter data set and above both AT&T at 23% and T-Mobile at 24% in the same period.

The more instructive story is the trajectory: Verizon’s margin compressed to 21% in Q4 2025, its weakest quarter in the comparison, while T-Mobile (TMUS) held 18% and AT&T (T) also posted 18% that same quarter, meaning all three carriers hit a trough simultaneously before recovering in Q1 2026.

Verizon’s Q1 2026 recovery to 25% was the sharpest sequential rebound of the three, outpacing T-Mobile’s move to 24% and AT&T’s return to 23%, a spread that suggests Verizon’s cost transformation is beginning to produce a structural advantage rather than a cyclical bounce.

TIKR’s $70 Target on VZ Stock Holds If the Margin Recovery Continues Through 2030

TIKR’s model values Verizon stock at approximately $70 by December 2030, implying around 45% total return from the current price of $48, or roughly 9% per year.

The path to that target is grounded in what the income statement already confirmed: operating expenses declining while revenues grow modestly, compressing the distance between gross profit and operating income.

For the TIKR target to be realized, the operating leverage observed in Q1 2026 needs to persist, meaning SG&A discipline holds as promotional amortization headwinds fade and the Frontier integration delivers on its $1 billion annual run-rate cost synergy target by 2028.

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Should You Invest in Verizon Communications Inc.?

The only way to really know is to look at the numbers yourself. TIKR gives you free access to the same institutional-quality financial data that professional analysts use to answer exactly that question.

Pull up Verizon Communications Inc. stock and you’ll see years of historical financials, what Wall Street analysts expect for revenue and earnings in the quarters ahead, how valuation multiples have moved over time, and whether price targets are trending up or down.

You can build a free watchlist to track Verizon Communications Inc. alongside every other stock on your radar. No credit card required. Just the data you need to decide for yourself.

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Is Verizon stock a buy right now?

Verizon posted its strongest operating margin in at least eight quarters in Q1 2026, with operating income up 10% year over year, and TIKR’s model points to around 45% total return from the current $48 price by 2030.

What did Verizon say about its 2026 guidance?

Management raised its 2026 adjusted EPS growth guidance to 5% to 6% and guided for the upper half of its 750,000 to 1 million postpaid phone net add range, citing Q1 as the revenue low point of the year.