Verizon is changing its strategy.
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verizon‘s (NYSE:VZ) The strategy over the past few years has focused on capitalizing on rising prices to increase revenue. Several months have passed since CEO Dan Schulman took over, and the company’s strategy is undergoing major changes.
“One of the reasons why our churn rate is so high, and one of the reasons why we’ve been losing market share over the last few years, is because we keep raising prices without commensurate value,” Schulman said in the fourth-quarter results.
While a competitor, AT&T and T-Mobile has been consistently gaining new wireless subscribers, while Verizon has struggled with similar efforts. The company recorded a net decline in its wireless retail postpaid telephone subscriber base in the first three quarters of 2025.
The days of spurious price hikes appear to be over as Schulman refocuses his efforts on gaining subscribers and market share. After all, that’s good for investors.
Customers don’t like “empty price increases”
Over the past three years, Verizon’s churn rate has increased by 0.25 percentage points. This may seem small, but every 0.01 percentage point increase equates to 90,000 fewer net additions. Schulman made the calculations during the earnings conference and said that this increase in cancellations resulted in a decrease in net additions of approximately 2.25 million people.
Price increases played a large role, although they were not the only cause. Verizon has implemented four distinct price increases in 2025 alone, some of which impact monthly plans and others that impose additional fees. The problem was that these price increases weren’t providing enough new value to customers.
“We don’t rely on empty price increases to increase sales or profits in the short term,” Schulman said. “It’s not a sustainable financial model or a long-term growth driver.” Price increases aren’t completely off the table, but they would have to be justified given the value they provide Verizon customers.
Wireless revenue is expected to be flat this year as Verizon wraps up its previous price hikes, but the company expects to add between 750,000 and 1 million postpaid phones. For comparison, this is about two to three times the number the company added in 2025. Although revenue growth will take a hit in the short term, Verizon is laying the foundations for strong growth in the long term.
Is it time to buy Verizon stock?
After months of stagnation, Verizon stock soared on Friday as investors bought into the company’s turnaround strategy. The company’s additional guidance for postpaid internet telephony was certainly welcome and overshadowed its weak wireless revenue forecast.
Verizon still needs to execute on its plan and execute on its strategy, but the stock trades at less than 10 times analysts’ average 2026 earnings estimates. With a viable growth strategy in place, it’s never a bad time to bet on a turnaround.
Timothy Green has a position at AT&T. The Motley Fool recommends T-Mobile US and Verizon Communications. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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