Frontier: $22 Billion for FibreNarrow moat

Verizon (VZ) — moat facet

Verizon paid about $22.3 billion, mostly assumed debt and plant, to put fibre and phones on one bill in 31 states, for revenue it says is under 5% of the total.

Verizon's other big bet of the decade, after C-Band, is a wire rather than a radio. It completed the acquisition of Frontier Communications on 20 January 2026 at $38.50 a share in cash1. The 10-Q puts it precisely: "Verizon paid approximately $ 9.8 billion in cash, inclusive of cash acquired of $ 335 million, and assumed approximately $ 12.9 billion of Frontier's debt measured at fair value"2. The 10-K gives aggregate consideration of about $22.3 billion3.

Frontier purchase price allocation, selected items ($M)16,698Property, plant and equipment7,795Goodwill2,897Other intangiblesVerizon Form 10-Q, Q2 2026, acquisitions note
Most of what was bought was cable in the ground.

The purchase price bought mostly plant. Of the purchase consideration, property, plant and equipment was $16,698 million, goodwill $7,795 million and other intangibles $2,897 million4. The deal "expanded our fiber broadband footprint to 31 U.S. states and Washington D.C."5, and the company says its fibre now reaches "over 30 million homes and businesses"6.

The strategy is convergence. A family with Verizon fibre and Verizon phones on one bill is harder to lose than a family with only phones; that is the logic of the "Verizon One converged offerings" the chief executive cites7. Fibre connections were 10,913 thousand in June 2026, up 43.3%, almost all from Frontier8.

For now it is small next to the company. Frontier and Starry revenue was "less than 5 %" of total operating revenue9, while the $22.3 billion price was about 11.5% of Verizon's market value10.

The price was paid in cash at closing: $38.50 for each Frontier share11. The cash paid, $9.8 billion including $335 million of cash acquired12, was funded in advance, which is why Verizon's cash stood at $19,048 million at the end of 202513 and fell to $1,752 million by June 202614.

Fibre is a narrow moat: a second company has little reason to dig the same street. Fibre net additions under 100 thousand a quarter in 2027 would mean the purchase added homes passed faster than customers.

Moat trajectory: Widening

Fibre connections 10.9M at June 2026, up 43.3%.

The number that tests this moat
Reported
Fiber broadband connections, latest quarter
10,913 thousand (30 June 2026), up 43.3% with Frontier; fiber net adds 155 thousand in Q2 2026

Whether the fibre bought is filling; net adds below 100 thousand a quarter would mean passings outrun customers.

Source: Verizon Q2 2026 results release ↗
⚠ Threats to the moat
⚠ THREAT 01
Goodwill of $7.8 Billion
Frontier added $7.8 billion of goodwill to a company that wrote off $5.8 billion of wireline goodwill in 2023.
References
  1. ReportedIt completed the acquisition of Frontier Communications on 20 January 2026 at $38.50 a share in cash.
    Verizon Form 8-K of 20 January 2026, Item 8.01 - completion of the Frontier Communications acquisition at $38.50 a share in cash. — January 2026 · publ. 20 January 2026 · source ↗
  2. ReportedThe 10-Q puts it precisely: "Verizon paid approximately $ 9.8 billion in cash, inclusive of cash acquired of $ 335 million, and assumed approximately $ 12.9 billion of Frontier's debt measured at fair value".
    Verizon Form 10-Q for the quarter ended 30 June 2026 - Frontier purchase accounting, buybacks, spectrum purchases and remaining performance obligations. — Q2 2026 · publ. 31 July 2026 · source ↗
  3. ReportedThe 10-K gives aggregate consideration of about $22.3 billion.
    Verizon Communications Inc. Form 10-K for fiscal 2025 (year ended 31 December 2025) - Item 1 business: services, networks, employees and the Frontier and Starry acquisitions. — FY2025 · publ. 17 February 2026 · source ↗
  4. ReportedOf the purchase consideration, property, plant and equipment was $16,698 million, goodwill $7,795 million and other intangibles $2,897 million.
    Verizon Form 10-Q for the quarter ended 30 June 2026 - Frontier purchase accounting, buybacks, spectrum purchases and remaining performance obligations. — Q2 2026 · publ. 31 July 2026 · source ↗
  5. ReportedThe deal "expanded our fiber broadband footprint to 31 U.S. states and Washington D.C.", and the company says its fibre now reaches "over 30 million homes and businesses".
    Verizon Communications Inc. Form 10-K for fiscal 2025 (year ended 31 December 2025) - segment note (Note 13) and MD&A segment results: Consumer and Business revenue, operating income and costs. — FY2025 · publ. 17 February 2026 · source ↗
  6. ReportedThe deal "expanded our fiber broadband footprint to 31 U.S. states and Washington D.C.", and the company says its fibre now reaches "over 30 million homes and businesses".
    Verizon fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 results release, Form 8-K exhibit 99 - full-year operating statistics, segment EBITDA, free cash flow 2020-2025 and 2026 guidance - operating statistics: connections, net additions, churn, ARPA, Fios and fixed wireless. — FY2025 · publ. 30 January 2026 · source ↗
  7. ReportedA family with Verizon fibre and Verizon phones on one bill is harder to lose than a family with only phones; that is the logic of the "Verizon One converged offerings" the chief executive cites.
    Verizon second-quarter 2026 results release, Form 8-K exhibit 99 - consolidated and segment results, operating statistics, cash flow, balance sheet and guidance - broadband statistics: fiber and fixed wireless connections and net additions. — Q2 2026 · publ. 24 July 2026 · source ↗
  8. ReportedFibre connections were 10,913 thousand in June 2026, up 43.3%, almost all from Frontier.
    Verizon second-quarter 2026 results release, Form 8-K exhibit 99 - consolidated and segment results, operating statistics, cash flow, balance sheet and guidance - broadband statistics: fiber and fixed wireless connections and net additions. — Q2 2026 · publ. 24 July 2026 · source ↗
  9. ReportedFrontier and Starry revenue was "less than 5 %" of total operating revenue, while the $22.3 billion price was about 11.5% of Verizon's market value.
    Verizon Form 10-Q for the quarter ended 30 June 2026 - Frontier purchase accounting, buybacks, spectrum purchases and remaining performance obligations. — Q2 2026 · publ. 31 July 2026 · source ↗
  10. Moat Explorer calcFrontier and Starry revenue was "less than 5 %" of total operating revenue, while the $22.3 billion price was about 11.5% of Verizon's market value.
    Moat Explorer calculation from Verizon's reported figures ($ millions unless stated; calendar years). Revenue and profit over the decade: revenue 2015-2025 (138,191 / 131,620) ^ (1/10) - 1 = about 0.5% a year; 138,191 / 131,620 - 1 = +5.0%; range 138,191 - 125,980 = about 12.2bn; 2027 revenue of 142bn would need (142 / 138.191) ^ (1/2) - 1 = about 1.4% a year; operating income 29,259 / 30,615 - 1 = -4.4%; net income 17,174 / 17,879 - 1 = -3.9%; diluted EPS 4.06 / 4.37 - 1 = -7.1%; total assets 404,258 / 244,175 - 1 = +65.6%. Segments 2025: Consumer share of segment operating income 29,628 / (29,628 + 2,532 = 32,160) = 92.1% (2024 29,484 / 31,542 = 93.5%; 2023 29,011 / 31,077 = 93.4%); Business share 2,532 / 32,160 = 7.9%; Q2 2026 Consumer 8,032 / (8,032 + 991 = 9,023) = 89.0%, Q2 2025 7,643 / (7,643 + 724 = 8,367) = 91.3%; Consumer operating margin 29,628 / 106,807 = 27.7%, Business 2,532 / 29,069 = 8.7%; Business share of segment revenue 29,069 / 135,876 = 21.4%; shared network and service costs 17,991 + 9,717 = 27,708, Business share 9,717 / 27,708 = 35.1%; Consumer share of segment EBITDA 43,801 / (43,801 + 6,644) = 86.8%; Consumer revenue 2025 106,807 / 102,904 - 1 = +3.8%, 2023-2025 106,807 / 101,626 - 1 = +5.1%; Consumer service revenue 80,617 / 77,127 - 1 = +4.5%; Consumer equipment 21,779 - 23,930 = -2,151, about 2.2bn below cost; Business revenue 29,069 / 30,122 - 1 = -3.5%; Enterprise and Public Sector 13,532 / 15,076 - 1 = -10.2%; Business Markets and Other 13,555 / 12,697 - 1 = +6.8%; Wholesale 1,953 / 2,313 - 1 = -15.6%; institutional and wholesale decline (15,076 - 13,532) + (2,313 - 1,953) = 1,904; Q2 2026 Consumer revenue 26,242 / 26,648 - 1 = -1.5%; Business revenue 7,155 / 6,973 - 1 = +2.6%; restatement 7,275 - 6,973 = 302 a quarter; mobility and broadband service revenue 2025 75,923 + 14,940 = 90,863. Customers: T-Mobile postpaid accounts 34,700 - 34,237 = 463 more than Verizon; T-Mobile 34,700 / 31,502 - 1 = +10.2%, 34,700 - 31,502 = 3,198; Verizon accounts 34,237 - 34,646 = -409, -1.2%; ARPA premium 168.35 / 152.91 - 1 = +10.1%; cable lines 10,187 + 12,540 = about 22.7 million; cable Q2 net adds 448 + 406 = 854 thousand, 854 / 184 = 4.6 times; Q2 net adds share 184 / (184 + 432 + 448 + 406 = 1,470) = 12.5%; fibre net adds 155 / 367 = 42%; annual churn at 0.92% a month 0.92 x 12 = 11.0%, about one customer in ten; 0.1 point on 94 million = about 94 thousand phones a month; prepaid churn 3.59 / 0.92 = 3.9 times; prepaid annual loss 1 - (1 - 0.0359) ^ 12 = 35.5%, average life 1 / 0.0359 = 27.9 months, a little over two years; revenue per postpaid line 170.62 / 3.67 = 46.49 (2025), 167.26 / 3.61 = 46.33 (2024); ARPA 2025 170.62 / 167.26 - 1 = +2.0%; ARPA Q2 2026 168.35 / 170.79 - 1 = -1.4%; ARPA H1 2026 167.50 / 170.30 - 1 = -1.6%; wireless service revenue 83,703 / 82,073 - 1 = +2.0%; wireless service share of revenue 83,703 / 138,191 = 60.6%; FWA revenue 2,940 / 2,139 - 1 = +37.4%; FWA revenue share 2,940 / 138,191 = 2.1%; fibre annualised 155 x 4 = 620 thousand; passings 2.0 / 30 = 6.7%; passings to fill 2,000 / 620 = 3.2 times. Spectrum and capital: C-Band 45.5 + 7.5 = 53.0bn; licences share of assets 158,159 / 410,186 = 38.6%; licences over goodwill 158,159 / 30,664 = 5.2 times; licences over equity 158,159 / 105,196 = 1.5 times; wireless service revenue per dollar of licences 83,703 / 157,039 = 0.53; spectrum bought June 2026 1.0 + 3.2 = 4.2bn; capex / revenue 17,011 / 138,191 = 12.3% (2025), 23,087 / 136,835 = 16.9% (2022); capex 17,011 / 23,087 - 1 = -26.3%; capex less depreciation 17,011 - 18,349 = -1,338; ROIC averages 2015-2019 (10.8 + 9.1 + 12.7 + 8.2 + 11.3) / 5 = 10.4%, 2021-2025 (8.7 + 7.3 + 5.0 + 7.0 + 7.1) / 5 = 7.0%; interest expense 6,694 / 5,524 - 1 = +21.2% (2023-2025); Q2 interest 1,985 / 1,639 - 1 = +21.1%; interest / operating income 6,694 / 29,259 = 22.9%. Cost, cash and capital returns: employees 89.9 / 99.6 - 1 = -9.7%; severance 533 + 1,733 + 1,715 + 397 = 4,378, about 4.4bn; adjusted EBITDA margin 49,997 / 138,191 = 36.2% (2025), 48,791 / 134,788 = 36.2% (2024); Q2 2026 operating income 7,179 / 8,172 - 1 = -12.2%; free cash flow Q2 6,426 / 5,167 - 1 = +24.4%; adjusted EPS less diluted EPS 4.71 - 4.06 = 0.65; phones sold below cost 28,976 - 25,470 = 3,506, about 3.5bn; dividends / free cash flow 11,481 / 20,126 = 57.0% (2025), 5,864 / 10,209 = 57.4% (H1 2026); dividends / net income 11,481 / 17,174 = 66.9%; dividends per share 2.735 / 2.230 - 1 = +22.6%, (2.735 / 2.230) ^ (1/10) - 1 = 2.1% a year; dividend cost a quarter 0.7075 x 4,155 = about 2,940; buyback average 3,500 / 72.047 = about $48.58 a share; shares 4,155 / 4,217 - 1 = -1.5%; free cash flow yield 21.53 / 193.94 = 11.1%; cash returned about (11.5 + 4.5) / 193.94 = 8.2% of market value; net unsecured debt 128,682 - 110,053 = 18,629; backlog 55.2 / 58.1 - 1 = -5.0%; backlog months 58.1 / 138.191 x 12 = about 5.0; device receivables 34,004 / 31,308 - 1 = +8.6%, allowance 1,628 / 1,315 - 1 = +23.8%; TracFone 3.5 + 3.0 = 6.5bn plus up to 0.65bn. Valuation: Frontier price / market value 22.3 / 193.94 = 11.5%; market value 193.94 / 253.94 - 1 = -23.6% (against end-2019), 193.94 / 188.06 - 1 = +3.1% (against end-2015); target 51.58 / 46.68 - 1 = +10.5%; year-end market value over net income 188.06 / 17.879 = 10.5 (2015), 217.61 / 13.127 = 16.6 (2016), 215.92 / 30.101 = 7.2 (2017), 232.30 / 15.528 = 15.0 (2018), 253.94 / 19.265 = 13.2 (2019), 243.11 / 17.801 = 13.7 (2020), 215.12 / 22.065 = 9.7 (2021), 165.47 / 21.256 = 7.8 (2022), 158.49 / 11.614 = 13.6 (2023), 168.34 / 17.506 = 9.6 (2024), 171.74 / 17.174 = 10.0 (2025); trailing twelve months to June 2026 revenue 138,191 - 67,989 + 68,693 = 138,895, net income 17,174 - 9,882 + 8,880 = 16,172, 193.94 / 16.172 = 12.0, 193.94 / 138.895 = 1.40 - dividends, buybacks, debt and valuation. — 2015-2026 · publ. September 2026 · source ↗
    Method: Arithmetic on figures reported in Verizon's Forms 10-K and 10-Q, quarterly results releases, the recast segment revenue 8-K, peer results releases (T-Mobile, AT&T, Comcast, Charter) and market data; operands shown in the source line.
  11. ReportedThe price was paid in cash at closing: $38.50 for each Frontier share.
    Verizon Form 8-K of 20 January 2026, Item 8.01 - completion of the Frontier Communications acquisition at $38.50 a share in cash. — January 2026 · publ. 20 January 2026 · source ↗
  12. ReportedThe cash paid, $9.8 billion including $335 million of cash acquired, was funded in advance, which is why Verizon's cash stood at $19,048 million at the end of 2025 and fell to $1,752 million by June 2026.
    Verizon Form 10-Q for the quarter ended 30 June 2026 - Frontier purchase accounting, buybacks, spectrum purchases and remaining performance obligations. — Q2 2026 · publ. 31 July 2026 · source ↗
  13. ReportedThe cash paid, $9.8 billion including $335 million of cash acquired, was funded in advance, which is why Verizon's cash stood at $19,048 million at the end of 2025 and fell to $1,752 million by June 2026.
    Verizon fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 results release, Form 8-K exhibit 99 - full-year operating statistics, segment EBITDA, free cash flow 2020-2025 and 2026 guidance - cash flow, capital spending, debt and 2026 guidance. — FY2025 · publ. 30 January 2026 · source ↗
  14. ReportedThe cash paid, $9.8 billion including $335 million of cash acquired, was funded in advance, which is why Verizon's cash stood at $19,048 million at the end of 2025 and fell to $1,752 million by June 2026.
    Verizon second-quarter 2026 results release, Form 8-K exhibit 99 - consolidated and segment results, operating statistics, cash flow, balance sheet and guidance - consolidated results and special items. — Q2 2026 · publ. 24 July 2026 · source ↗
Sources
Generated September 29, 2026