Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE:VZ) shares are up by about half a percent during Thursday’s premarket session as traders continue digesting the company’s Dow Jones Industrial Average exit and the expected one-time charges tied to its new international joint venture.
Here’s what investors need to know.
- Verizon Communications stock is showing positive momentum. Where are VZ shares going?
What Is Driving Verizon’s Recent Stock Movement?
Verizon recently began trading outside the Dow Jones Industrial Average after being replaced by Alphabet, a shift that can trigger mechanical selling from index-tracking funds. Separately, Verizon agreed to combine its international wireline connectivity and managed network services business with BT Group Plc in a 50-50 joint venture.
Verizon said it will contribute its international business and make a $625 million cash payment (distributed to BT), while also flagging charges that include a second-quarter loss of $700 million to $800 million tied to held-for-sale accounting.
The company also expects severance charges of $350 million to $450 million and asset rationalization charges of $200 million to $300 million, mainly tied to exiting certain real estate and network assets.
Verizon Stock: Key Technical Levels To Watch
From a longer-term trend perspective, Verizon is still trading below its key moving averages, sitting 7.6% under the 20-day SMA, 9.6% under the 50-day SMA, 11.9% under the 100-day SMA, and 5.1% under the 200-day SMA. That alignment keeps the burden of proof on bulls until price can reclaim at least the 200-day area and then start working back toward the 50-day/100-day zone.
Momentum also leans soft: MACD is below its signal line and the histogram is negative, which points to upside pressure fading versus the prior upswing. In plain terms, when MACD is below its signal line, rallies tend to struggle to follow through unless momentum flips back in buyers’ favor.
The moving-average structure is mixed: the 20-day SMA is below the 50-day SMA (bearish near-term), but the 50-day SMA remains above the 200-day SMA after the golden cross in February. Traders will also note the recent swing low in April and swing high in May as the most relevant reference points for whether the stock is building a base or just chopping inside a broader downtrend.
- Key Resistance: $48.50 — a nearby ceiling where rebounds can stall, sitting above the 50-day SMA ($46.73) and 100-day SMA ($47.94)
- Key Support: $39.00 — a nearby floor where buyers previously stepped in, close enough to matter if the stock retests the lower end of its recent range
How Verizon Generates Revenue and Its Market Position
Wireless services drive about 75% of Verizon’s total service revenue and nearly all of its operating income, so the market typically treats the stock as a read-through on U.S. wireless pricing, churn, and network investment cycles. The company serves about 94 million postpaid and 20 million prepaid phone customers on its nationwide network, making it the largest U.S. wireless carrier.
On the wireline side, Verizon’s local networks in the Northeast reach about 30 million homes and businesses, including about 20 million served by the Fios fiber-optic network. It also closed its acquisition of Frontier Communications in January, adding networks that reach another 15 million locations, including 9 million with fiber, supporting a base of about 11 million broadband customers.
That mix helps explain why the BT joint venture headlines matter: reshaping the international wireline connectivity and managed network services footprint can change the earnings "shape" near term (via charges) while potentially simplifying the longer-term story around the core U.S. wireless and fiber buildout.
Verizon Earnings Preview: What Analysts Expect for July 2026
Looking further out, the next major catalyst for the stock arrives with the July 24, 2026 (confirmed) earnings report.
- EPS Estimate: $1.28 (Up from $1.22 YoY)
- Revenue Estimate: $35.34 Billion (Up from $34.50 Billion YoY)
- Valuation: P/E of 10.2x (Indicates value opportunity relative to peers)
Analyst Consensus & Recent Actions: The stock carries a Buy rating with an average price target of $50.68 (high: $58.00; low: $44.00) across 18 analysts. Recent analyst moves include:
- Freedom Broker: Initiated with Hold (Target $53.00) (June 12)
- JP Morgan: Neutral (Raises Target to $52.00) (April 30)
- Morgan Stanley: Equal-Weight (Raises Target to $50.00) (April 28)
What Would $1,000 Invested in Verizon Be Worth Today?
$1,000 invested in Verizon Communications on July 2, 2021 would have been worth $745 on July 1, 2026 — a -25.5% return over the period, excluding dividends. The stake swung between $544 and more than $1,000, ending well below its 2021 peak.
After starting on July 2, 2021, the position hit an early high on July 15, 2021 before sliding to its period low on October 13, 2023. It recovered from that trough but still finished the five-year stretch below where it began, with a maximum drawdown of -45.8%.
On an annualized basis, Verizon Communications returned -5.7% over the holding period, lagging the S&P 500’s 11.6% annualized gain and the Nasdaq 100’s 15.3% annualized gain. Among peers listed, AT&T Inc. was the closest comparator, with an annualized return of -6.8%.
Verizon Communications has a market capitalization of about $175.9 billion. The stock carries a P/E of 10.2 and a dividend yield of 6.74%.
Verizon’s Benzinga Edge Rankings: Strengths and Weaknesses
Below is the Benzinga Edge scorecard for Verizon Communications, highlighting its strengths and weaknesses compared to the broader market:
- Momentum: Weak (Score: 17.15) — The stock’s trend has lagged, which lines up with price sitting below key moving averages.
- Quality: Neutral (Score: 40.37) — A middle-of-the-road quality read suggests fundamentals aren’t the main tailwind right now.
- Value: Neutral (Score: 41.85) — The score implies the valuation case is present but not screamingly cheap versus the broader market.
- Growth: Neutral (Score: 41.09) — Growth is not the primary driver of the thesis, so technical levels can matter more for timing.
The Verdict: Verizon Communications’s Benzinga Edge signal reveals a neutral-to-weak profile with the biggest drag coming from Momentum. For longer-term investors, that often means waiting for a cleaner trend reversal (like reclaiming the 200-day and holding it) before treating rebounds as more than tactical bounces.
Verizon Stock Price Action: Thursday Premarket Update
VZ Stock Price Activity: Verizon Communications shares were up 0.45% at $42.18 during premarket trading on Thursday, according to Benzinga Pro data.
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