The metrics driving Verizon’s turnaround

The telecom giant is in the midst of a multi-year transformation toward a leaner, AI-driven model. On the company’s Q1 earnings call Monday, Dan Schulman, chief executive since October, pointed to churn as “the clearest measure” of whether the company’s efforts are resonating.

Verizon, No. 30 on the Fortune 500, reported its first positive first-quarter postpaid phone net adds since 2013—a net addition of 55,000 postpaid phone subscribers. Postpaid customers, who pay monthly bills under contract, are considered the most valuable because they carry the largest bills and are less likely to switch providers.

Consumer postpaid phone churn was 90 basis points in Q1, a sequential improvement of 5 basis points from Q4, and improved further in March to below 85 basis points. “That is a significant improvement both sequentially from Q4 and within the quarter, and it reversed the upward pressure we had seen in churn over the past several years,” Schulman said.

Lowering churn makes Verizon’s “marketing dollars work harder because we are not simply replacing customers who leave; we are adding to a more stable base,” he said. The company is no longer predominantly reliant on expensive promotions to drive growth, instead focusing on a “disciplined, repeatable, and fiscally responsible” approach, he added.

Schulman, the former CEO of PayPal and previously Verizon’s lead independent director, succeeded Hans Vestberg. He was charged with steering Verizon’s next phase of customer focus and financial growth. Under Vestberg, Verizon struggled to articulate a clear strategy around market positioning, branding, and pricing, according to analysts.

Customer metrics take center stage

Schulman highlighted customer-centric metrics: churn, customer acquisition, and customer lifetime value (CLV). These metrics have evolved from marketing roots to become pivotal in finance and the bottom line.

“Our cost of acquisition [CAC] and retention in March was down approximately 35% relative to the end of Q4, and we expect to maintain a lower cost of acquisition and retention as we look forward,” Schulman said. “These trends in churn and unit economics are lifting our consumer lifetime value and are already flowing through to the bottom line and to our free cash flow,” he added.

Morningstar Equity Director Michael Hodel wrote in an analyst note Monday that although Verizon’s wireless customer churn remains elevated, reflecting the competitive environment, the company is “doing a much better job attracting new customers than a year ago.” Lower pricing has helped drive customer acquisition, Hodel said. Morningstar maintained its $53 fair value estimate and narrow economic moat rating.

Telecom CFOs track postpaid net adds, churn, CAC, and CLV as key drivers of revenue guidance and capital allocation. Verizon still lost more postpaid phone subscribers than it gained in the quarter, but only by 35,000, a 321,000 improvement from a year ago, CFO Tony Skiadas said on the call. The gains were driven by a healthier mix of genuinely new customers coming in and fewer existing ones walking out. “While there is more work to be done with customer experience, which is the largest component of our transformation plan, we’re pleased to see early signs of progress towards our goals,” he said.

Total operating revenue for Q1 was $34.4 billion, up 2.9% year-over-year. Adjusted EPS was $1.28, beating estimates, up 7.6% year-over-year, which is the highest growth rate in over four years. Consolidated net income was $5.1 billion, up 3.3%. Verizon raised its 2026 adjusted EPS growth forecast to 5%–6%. Its stock price gained around 1.5% at the close Monday, but it had risen as much as 4.5% earlier in the trading session. 

Schulman noted that there is still work ahead. “We entered 2026 with a clear set of priorities, a step function improvement in guidance, and a realistic plan,” he said. 

Sheryl [email protected]

Leaderboard

Giuseppe “Joe” Di Salvo was promoted to SVP and CFO of Avient Corporation (NYSE: AVNT), a materials solutions provider, effective June 1. He will succeed Jamie A. Beggs, who will be leaving Avient to pursue other opportunities. Di Salvo brings 25 years of financial experience, including nearly 15 years at Avient. He previously served as Avient’s corporate controller, VP of investor relations, and led treasury and financial planning and analysis. 

Mark Hancock, a co-founder and first CFO of PACS Group, Inc. (NYSE: PACS), a provider of post-acute healthcare platforms, will retire on June 30. Hancock co-founded PACS in 2013 alongside Jason Murray, PACS’s chairman. Under his leadership as CFO, PACS expanded to 323 facilities spread across 17 states. Hancock will continue to serve on PACS’s board of directors as vice chairman. Carey P. Hendrickson will succeed him as CFO. Hendrickson brings to PACS nearly four decades of financial leadership spanning public company CFO roles in health care, senior living, and media.

Big Deal

Senior executives are under mounting pressure to drive transformation without the time or expertise to execute at speed, according to global leadership advisory and executive search firm Heidrick & Struggles’ 2026 “High-End Independent Talent Report.” Pairing core teams with independent talent and interim leaders to sharpen execution and reduce risk is becoming a strong option, the report finds.

Since 2021, demand for interim C-suite leaders has surged 151%. Finance remains the anchor of interim leadership demand, with interim CFOs accounting for 51% of all interim leadership requests.

Overall, the most requested skills span finance, FP&A, project management, and PMO leadership, alongside strategy, technology, and transformation capabilities. Transaction-related requests grew 54% year over year — and M&A-specific project demand increased 60%. Meanwhile, 25% of all requests across business functions are related to digital, data, and AI.

The findings are based on the firm’s Business Talent Group’s proprietary data from North America and Europe of large and mid-market companies.

Going deeper

Overheard

“Mark Zuckerberg is building an AI version of himself that can sit in meetings in his place. Most people will never need that. What they need is quieter: an agent that sits in the tools they already use and helps them focus and follow through on the chaos of their work day.”

—Mukund Jha, the co-founder and CEO of Emergent, an AI app building platform, writes in a Fortune opinion piece.