Verizon Has 24.9% Upside, and Here’s the Undeniable Force to Buy Before July 24
Verizon's July 24 earnings report is shaping up as more than a routine quarterly update, and investors who understand what is quietly building beneath the surface may want to position before the open.
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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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Joel South covers large-cap stocks, dividend investing, and major market trends, with a focus on earnings analysis, valuation, and turning complex data into actionable insights for investors.
He brings more than 15 years of experience as an investor and financial journalist, including 12 years at The Motley Fool, where he served as an investment analyst, Bureau Chief, and later led the Fool.com investing news desk. He has also co-hosted an investing podcast and appeared across TV and radio discussing market trends.
