Wireless subscribers are staying longer and signing up faster, and the cash those customers generate has reached new highs. Adjusted EBITDA, the earnings figure that strips out interest, taxes, and accounting charges to show what the core business actually produces, came in at $13.7 billion at Verizon Communications (VZ) in the second quarter of 2026, up 7.2 percent year over year and the highest the company has ever reported. Free cash flow for the first half of 2026 reached $10.2 billion, a 16 percent gain from the same period in 2025.
Where the subscriber growth is coming from
Verizon added 184,000 postpaid phone net subscribers in Q2 2026. Postpaid is the monthly-bill model where customers pay after use; churn, the rate at which subscribers cancel, is the number carriers watch to gauge whether that revenue is durable. Verizon called this its best Consumer second-quarter postpaid phone result in five years.
Broadband added 348,000 net connections in the quarter, 12.3 percent more than in Q2 2025. The total breaks into 193,000 fixed wireless access connections, which deliver internet through the cellular network rather than a physical line, and 155,000 fiber broadband connections. Verizon's combined fixed wireless and fiber base now stands at approximately 17.1 million.
What the income statement actually shows
Total operating revenue came to $34.3 billion, down 0.7 percent year over year. Equipment revenue fell nearly 20 percent, a decline of more than $1.2 billion, as customers hold phones longer and Verizon deliberately reduced device subsidies.
Reported net income fell 22.9 percent to $3.9 billion, pulled down by $1.8 billion in pre-tax special items. The largest was a $746 million loss tied to classifying Verizon's international wireline connectivity and managed network services business as assets held for sale, an accounting step that signals an intent to dispose of those operations. Asset rationalization accounted for $258 million. Severance added $397 million more. Excluding those items, adjusted EPS was $1.30 in Q2 2026, up 6.6 percent from $1.22 in the same quarter of 2025.
Cash generation and the guidance raise
Second-quarter cash from operations reached $10.4 billion, up 16.3 percent year over year. Capital expenditures through the end of June totaled $8.2 billion. Total unsecured debt fell from $142.5 billion at the end of Q1 2026 to $136.5 billion at the end of Q2, bringing the net unsecured debt to adjusted EBITDA ratio to 2.5 times.
Verizon returned $9.4 billion to shareholders in the first half of 2026 and raised its full-year share repurchase target to up to $4.5 billion. The company also raised its full-year guidance for mobility and broadband service revenue, cash flow from operations, free cash flow, and adjusted EPS, the second consecutive quarter it has done so. Mobility and broadband service revenue growth is now projected to reach approximately 4.0 percent in the fourth quarter of 2026.