Verizon raises forecasts and signs $2 billion AI infrastructure deal with AWS
Verizon just raised its wireless subscriber forecasts for the year.
The short version
- It also signed a $2 billion AI infrastructure deal with Amazon Web Services, the cloud computing division of Amazon.
- That means stronger data networks are coming.
Verizon just raised its annual forecast for wireless subscriber additions and signed an artificial intelligence infrastructure deal worth more than $2 billion with Amazon Web Services, the cloud computing division of Amazon. For the third quarter, the telecom carrier reported nearly double the expected monthly-bill paying wireless subscriber gains at 406,000, crushing Visible Alpha expectations of 209,439.
Shares of the New York-based company rose 2.4% in premarket trading on Monday. Verizon now expects to add between 1.1 million and 1.2 million postpaid phone subscribers this year, up from earlier projections of 750,000 to 1 million. The company also raised its full-year adjusted earnings per share forecast to $5.04 to $5.06, from $4.99 to $5.04 earlier.
However, third-quarter revenue of $34.3 billion fell short of analyst estimates of $34.74 billion, according to LSEG data. Revenue was pressured by lower device upgrade volumes as customers held on to their phones longer after Verizon began cutting device subsidies. A year into CEO Dan Schulman's tenure, Verizon has pursued a broad overhaul of its business, restructuring operations and simplifying its wireless offerings.
It launched its Simplicity plan in June, introducing transparent pricing and unlimited data. Under its deal with Amazon's cloud unit, Verizon will provide high-capacity fiber-optic connectivity for AWS data centers, enabling faster data transfers to support growing AI computing workloads. Verizon in July also announced a more than $1 billion agreement with Google, the search and technology giant owned by Alphabet, to connect data centers using dark fiber, highlighting how rising AI demand is opening new revenue streams beyond traditional wireless and broadband services for telecom operators.
If your business relies on heavy cloud computing or fast data transfers, these massive fiber network upgrades mean stronger infrastructure backing up the services you use every day. Even when phone upgrades slow down, the fiber cables running underground are where the real money is moving.
Photo: Tony Webster, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
