Verizon Has 24.9% Upside, and Here’s the Undeniable Force to Buy Before July 24

Verizon (NYSE:VZ | VZ Price Prediction) is one of the most compelling income setups on the board right now, and the July 24 earnings report is the trigger that converts a +6% yielder into a +24% total-return story. The setup favors longs into the earnings report.

The Valuation Alone Closes the Case

Trading around $42.34 as of July 14, Verizon trades at a trailing P/E of 10 and a forward P/E of 8 against a PEG of 0.789. Analyst consensus target sits at $51.90, and our 247 model prints $52.47, a 24.78% upside with a 0.9 confidence score. Of 26 covering analysts, zero carry a sell rating. A beta of 0.238 means you collect that upside without stomach-churning volatility.

The Income Case Is Already Paid Up

Verizon’s 6.68% dividend yield is backed by 19 consecutive years of increases. The 2026 free cash flow guide is $21.5 billion or more, growing roughly 7% off 2025, with at least $3 billion in buybacks planned ($2.5 billion already executed in Q1). That is durable coverage. For retirees comparing yield-plus-buyback shareholder return against Treasuries, the payout stack here beats duration-locked fixed income.

July 24 Is the Catalyst

Verizon has beaten in 5 of its last 6 quarters with zero misses. The average earnings-day move is +3.54%, and the average 30-day post-report gain is +5.51%. Q1 2026 delivered $1.28 adjusted EPS, up 7.6% year over year, plus the first positive Q1 postpaid phone net additions since 2013. Management raised full-year adjusted EPS guidance to $4.95 to $4.99. Polymarket assigns an 89% probability that Q2 revenue clears $34.5 billion. T-Mobile US (NASDAQ:TMUS) is the loud comparable.

Head-to-Head: VZ Wins Against T-Mobile

The head-to-head math is not close. Verizon’s forward P/E of 8 and EV/EBITDA of 7.47 are a fraction of TMUS’s growth-stock multiple (forward P/E near 21), and Verizon’s 6.49% yield dwarfs TMUS’s sub-1.5% payout. You get the same fiber-plus-5G exposure at a value multiple with a covered, growing dividend stacked on top. Add Verizon’s 10.8 million fiber broadband connections, up 41.9% YoY post-Frontier, and the growth gap narrows fast.

Verizon’s setup looks compelling ahead of the July 24 open.

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