Verizon adds far more phone customers than expected, best in five years

Verizon had its best third quarter for new wireless customers in five years. The company added more than twice as many phone customers as analysts expected, according to Bloomberg Technology. The story's own title says Verizon also raised its forecast for 2026.

What changed

Analysts are the experts who study a company and predict its results. Verizon beat their guesses by a wide margin. In the wireless business, adding customers is the main way to measure whether a company is growing or losing ground to rivals.

The bigger picture

Dan Schulman is Verizon's chief executive. He is in the first year of a turnaround plan, which is a set of changes meant to fix a business that has been struggling. These results are a sign the plan is bearing fruit, as Bloomberg put it.

Who it affects

Anyone who pays Verizon a monthly bill is affected, along with people who pay its competitors. A company that is winning customers will want to keep doing so. That usually means more deals and sharper offers, from Verizon and from the rivals trying to hold on to their own customers.

What is not known yet

The material available does not say how many customers Verizon added, what its new forecast is, or what drove the jump. It also does not say whether any specific deals are coming. Those details would help show whether this is a lasting shift or a strong quarter.