Verizon

VZ

Market cap $182B

Verizon Communications, the largest U.S. wireless carrier by subscriber count, is reportedly planning to cut about 3,000 jobs. Most of the job cuts are tied to a significant shift in the company's retail store operations.

Every public company is subject to market forces and pricing disconnects. Opportunities are born when this happens to steady dividend payers. We discuss two picks offering attractive income streams and potential capital appreciation as market inefficiencies correct over time.

The company is leaning more heavily on the franchise model with its retail outlets. This is part of a broader initiative to juice growth.

The latest trading day saw Verizon Communications (VZ) settling at $43.88, representing a +2.45% change from its previous close.

Both retail and corporate jobs will be cut as part of these changes.

The company plans to divest itself of 274 of its retail stores to franchise owners. Most of Verizon's layoffs would come from the retail-store divestiture.

U.S. wireless carrier Verizon said ​it will sell ‌274 company-owned retail locations and cut ​about 500 ​corporate jobs as part ⁠of its ​ongoing restructuring.

In this bonus episode of The Morning Filter podcast, co-hosts Dave Sekera and Susan Dziubinski talk dividend stock investing. They unpack the performance of dividend stocks during the first half of 2026, including how the performance of dividend stocks stacked up against that of the broad market and which sectors drove the performance.

Verizon is reiterated as a "Buy," with an attractive valuation and a high 6.66% forward dividend yield. VZ raised its FY 2026 EPS guidance to $4.95–$4.99, supported by strong postpaid phone and broadband net adds. Despite competition risks and technical weakness, VZ's fundamentals remain solid, with $6.55 free cash flow per share over the past year.

Wages arrive on an employer's schedule. Dividends arrive on a corporate board's schedule and keep arriving whether markets are open or closed.