Verizon CommunicationsVZCOMMENTAug 04, 2016Stock price when the opinion was issued
As of Sep 11, 2026. Market Open.
A changed company. Older business model was volume-based, now has a bit more of an entrepreneurial spirit and is a bit more growthy. Cutting back on getting the customer at any price to a higher-quality customer. New focus is turning up in cashflow. Returning a lot of cash to investors, lots of buybacks.
Defensive play. Yield is 5.67%.
Unlike AT&T (T-N), it took a big risk by putting fibre in the ground. They bought AOL and part of Yahoo. Had a joint venture with Vodafone on the wireless side and bought them out. Thinks they’re trying to create a 3rd stream of revenue from advertising and tie it into their wireless business, and maybe their line business. Trading at about 17X earnings and feels the dividend is safe. You have to see if they can execute on Yahoo. Thinks you can own it and it will do well, but these are the risk factors. Dividend yield of 4.2%.