Verizon Posts Big Wireless Gain, Plans $25 Billion Buyback

Verizon Communications Inc. reported its biggest gain in mobile phone subscribers since 2019 and announced plans to buy back as much as $25 billion in shares, signaling turnaround efforts under new Chief Executive Officer Dan Schulman are starting to bear fruit.

The biggest wireless provider in the US added 616,000 new subscribers in the fourth quarter, beating analysts’ estimates of 420,500, and it added 372,000 broadband customers. The share buybacks are planned over the next three years and include at least $3 billion in 2026, Schulman said.