Verizon's new CEO Dan Schulman has promised a big culture change at the carrier. No longer is Verizon going to put profits first at the expense of its customers. The executive said, "These will not be incremental changes. We will aggressively transform our culture, our cost structure, and the financial profile of Verizon in order to put our customers first, compete effectively, and deliver sustainable returns for our shareholders."
Verizon has a great opportunity to pick up T-Mobile subscribers leaving during the latter's transition to digital
This is potentially good news for Verizon subscribers and comes at a very opportune time for the company as there is dissension among both subscribers and reps at T-Mobile. The latter is making a difficult transition as it becomes a digital provider with its T-Life app handling most orders, upgrades, line management, payments, cancellations, and more. That means we should expect T-Mobile to close stores and layoff reps. The problem is that neither the carrier's reps nor its subscribers are happy using the T-Life app. This could leave Verizon with a massive opportunity to scoop up customers looking to run from T-Mobile.
Verizon's new CEO blames past price hikes for the carrier's high churn rate. | Image credit-Verizon
Schulman recently referred to Verizon's past history of raising prices blaming this strategy for the carrier's high churn rate. The churn rate is the percentage of subscribers, usually measured during a quarter, that leave a wireless provider for another wireless firm. Before releasing its fourth quarter numbers on Friday, Verizon had lost 347,000 postpaid phone subscribers on a net basis. Because these are a carrier's highest paying and most stable customers, this category is considered the gold standard for wireless firms.
Schulman admits Verizon's high churn rate is a result of its price hikes
During the fourth quarter of 2025, Verizon added 616,000 net postpaid phone subscribers, which means that Schulman's tenure as CEO is off to a good start although he took over on November 1st. That means that the good news is more of a coincidence this quarter than the result of anything that Schulman has brought to the company. Still, it is, as stated, a good start for him as CEO.
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During the earnings call that followed the release of fourth quarter earnings late last week, Schulman made a shocking admission by saying, "One of the reasons why we have such high churn rate, one of the reasons why we've been losing share over the last several years, is because we keep raising our pricing without corresponding value." That's a comment that you wouldn't expect many carrier CEOs to admit, and it is a sign that Schulman is serious about putting customers first.
Over the last three years, Verizon's churn increased by 25 basis points (.25%). Sounds small, but each basis point addition to churn reduces the number of net additions by 90,000. So, this .25% hike in Verizon's churn rate is equivalent to a loss of 2.25 million net additions over 36 months. Last year, Verizon instituted four separate rounds of price increases with some raising the price of monthly plans, and the others raising certain fees paid by subscribers.
Verizon's shares are moving closer to its 52-week high
Schulman says that Verizon won't rely on what he calls "empty price increases" to manipulate short-term revenue and earnings. The executive says that this is not the way to create a sustainable financial model or drive long term growth. While so far everything sounds great for Verizon subscribers, the carrier could still raise prices if doing so provides more value to its customers. In other words, if Verizon needs to raise its price in order to buy additional spectrum or equipment to improve its signal, Schulman might find it warranted.
Verizon expects to report 750,000 to 1 million net new postpaid phone subscribers for 2026, which would be two to three times as many as it reported in 2025. After surging on Friday, Verizon's shares are up 32 cents to $44.84 putting it within reach of the 52-week high of $47.35.
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Alan, an ardent smartphone enthusiast and a veteran writer at PhoneArena since 2009, has witnessed and chronicled the transformative years of mobile technology. Owning iconic phones from the original iPhone to the iPhone 15 Pro Max, he has seen smartphones evolve into a global phenomenon. Beyond smartphones, Alan has covered the emergence of tablets, smartwatches, and smart speakers.
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