Verizon Returned $59 Billion to Shareholders as 5-Year Total Return Lagged S&P 500
Updated
Updated · Trefis · Aug 13
Verizon Returned $59 Billion to Shareholders as 5-Year Total Return Lagged S&P 500
1 articles · Updated · Trefis · Aug 13
Summary
$59 billion flowed from Verizon to shareholders over the last 12 months, including $55.7 billion in dividends and just $3.5 billion in buybacks, while the stock traded near $46.98 and trailed the S&P 500.
$138.9 billion in revenue and a 21% operating margin funded that payout, but Verizon’s 5-year total return was only 16.4% versus 88% for the S&P 500, underscoring the cost of favoring cash returns over growth.
Revenue grew just 1.4% over the last year, and Verizon’s removal of activation and upgrade fees adds pressure to replace lost income in a mature wireless market.
Management is pitching a turnaround, lifting full-year free-cash-flow growth guidance to 9% to 10% and adding a Google fiber deal worth more than $1 billion tied to AI infrastructure.
Q3 and Q4 are the next tests: Verizon expects mobility and broadband service revenue growth to approach 3% and then about 4%, levels that would show whether the dividend-heavy strategy can coexist with faster core growth.