Verizon Communications Inc ( VZ ) shares are trading higher Friday afternoon following this week’s release of stronger-than-expected third-quarter 2025 results and the unveiling of a new strategic plan.

VZ shares are trending higher. Check the fundamentals here.

What To Know: On Wednesday, the telecom giant reported adjusted earnings of $1.21 per share, beating the $1.19 analyst consensus and the $1.20 Street estimate. Total operating revenue for the quarter was $33.8 billion, also topping the $33.6 billion consensus expectation.

Investors were encouraged by “better than feared” subscriber metrics. The company added a total of 44,000 wireless retail postpaid phone customers, handily beating consensus forecasts of 28,000. This was driven by 51,000 net additions in its Business segment, which offset a loss of 7,000 in the Consumer segment. Broadband also showed strength, adding 306,000 new customers.

The report was the first under new CEO Dan Schulman, who outlined a “bold” plan to “aggressively transform” the company’s culture and cost structure, aiming to make Verizon “simpler, leaner and more agile”. The company reaffirmed its full-year 2025 financial guidance.

Benzinga Edge Rankings: A key statistic from Benzinga Edge rankings for VZ shows a low Momentum score of 20.42, compared to its Growth score of 37.78.

VZ Price Action: Verizon Communications ( VZ ) shares were up 2.11% at $39.79 at the time of publication on Friday, according to Benzinga Pro data.

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How To Buy VZ Stock

Besides going to a brokerage platform to purchase a share – or fractional share – of stock, you can also gain access to shares either by buying an exchange traded fund (ETF) that holds the stock itself, or by allocating yourself to a strategy in your 401(k) that would seek to acquire shares in a mutual fund or other instrument.

For example, in Verizon’s case, it is in the Communication Services sector. An ETF will likely hold shares in many liquid and large companies that help track that sector, allowing an investor to gain exposure to the trends within that segment.

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