Ninety-Four Million Postpaid PhonesWide moat

Verizon (VZ) — moat facet

Verizon's 94 million postpaid phones are the franchise, and they grew by less than half a percent in 2025 before the new chief executive bought growth back.

The asset that pays for everything is 94 million phones on monthly bills. Verizon had 93,517 thousand retail postpaid phone connections at the end of 2024, 93,868 thousand at the end of 20251 and 94,098 thousand on 30 June 20262. Total retail connections, including tablets, watches, prepaid and fixed wireless, were 146,953 thousand3.

Verizon retail postpaid phone net additions (thousands)58320243622025-9Q2 202555Q1 2026184Q2 2026Verizon Q4 2025, Q1 2026 and Q2 2026 results releases
From losing phones to adding them within a year.

The base is sticky because leaving is a chore. A family on one account with phones bought on instalments, a household broadband bill and a loyalty programme does not switch for a small saving. The 10-K reports that about 83% of Consumer's roughly 116 million wireless retail connections were postpaid4.

The base is also barely growing. Postpaid phone net additions were 583 thousand in 2024 and 362 thousand in 20255, well under 1% of the base. Under the new chief executive the pace improved: 55 thousand in the first quarter of 2026, "the first time the company generated positive first-quarter total postpaid phone net additions since 2013"6, and 184 thousand in the second quarter against a loss of 9 thousand a year earlier7. The 2026 guide is now the "upper half of the 750,000 to 1.0 million range"8.

That is the turnaround in one line. Its cost is argued on Revenue per Line Barely Moves and on Inside the Latest Quarter (Q2 2026).

The Consumer segment alone counted "96 million postpaid connections and 20 million prepaid connections" at the end of 20259, a figure that includes tablets, watches and fixed wireless alongside phones. The phones are the core, 94,098 thousand of them in June 202610, and the other devices are the extra lines that deepen each account.

A franchise this size does not need to grow fast, but it cannot shrink. If postpaid phone net additions for 2026 come in below 750 thousand, the bottom of the company's own range, the base will still be standing still at the price of a lower ARPA.

Moat trajectory: Widening

Postpaid phone net adds 184k in Q2 2026 against a loss of 9k.

The number that tests this moat
Reported
Postpaid phone net additions, latest quarter
184 thousand (Q2 2026), against minus 9 thousand in Q2 2025; 239 thousand in H1 2026

Whether the base grows again; a 2026 total below 750 thousand would miss the company's own range.

Source: Verizon Q2 2026 results release ↗
⚠ Threats to the moat
⚠ THREAT 01
Accounts Are Shrinking
Verizon lost 409 thousand postpaid accounts in a year while adding phones, so it is selling more lines to fewer households.
References
  1. ReportedVerizon had 93,517 thousand retail postpaid phone connections at the end of 2024, 93,868 thousand at the end of 2025 and 94,098 thousand on 30 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 - operating statistics: connections, net additions, churn, ARPA, Fios and fixed wireless. — FY2025 · publ. 30 January 2026 · source ↗
  2. ReportedVerizon had 93,517 thousand retail postpaid phone connections at the end of 2024, 93,868 thousand at the end of 2025 and 94,098 thousand on 30 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 - operating statistics: connections, net additions, churn, ARPA, upgrades and broadband. — Q2 2026 · publ. 24 July 2026 · source ↗
  3. ReportedTotal retail connections, including tablets, watches, prepaid and fixed wireless, were 146,953 thousand.
    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 ↗
  4. ReportedThe 10-K reports that about 83% of Consumer's roughly 116 million wireless retail connections were postpaid.
    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 ↗
  5. ReportedPostpaid phone net additions were 583 thousand in 2024 and 362 thousand in 2025, well under 1% of the base.
    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 ↗
  6. ReportedUnder the new chief executive the pace improved: 55 thousand in the first quarter of 2026, "the first time the company generated positive first-quarter total postpaid phone net additions since 2013", and 184 thousand in the second quarter against a loss of 9 thousand a year earlier.
    Verizon first-quarter 2026 results release, Form 8-K exhibit 99 - first-quarter postpaid phone net additions and the first guidance raise. — Q1 2026 · publ. 27 April 2026 · source ↗
  7. ReportedUnder the new chief executive the pace improved: 55 thousand in the first quarter of 2026, "the first time the company generated positive first-quarter total postpaid phone net additions since 2013", and 184 thousand in the second quarter against a loss of 9 thousand a year earlier.
    Verizon second-quarter 2026 results release, Form 8-K exhibit 99 - consolidated and segment results, operating statistics, cash flow, balance sheet and guidance - operating statistics: connections, net additions, churn, ARPA, upgrades and broadband. — Q2 2026 · publ. 24 July 2026 · source ↗
  8. ReportedThe 2026 guide is now the "upper half of the 750,000 to 1.0 million range".
    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 ↗
  9. ReportedThe Consumer segment alone counted "96 million postpaid connections and 20 million prepaid connections" at the end of 2025, a figure that includes tablets, watches and fixed wireless alongside phones.
    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 ↗
  10. ReportedThe phones are the core, 94,098 thousand of them in June 2026, and the other devices are the extra lines that deepen each account.
    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