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Verizon Communications (VZ): analysis traps
Where its figures could mislead a reader, and what to check before taking them at face value · Data: Q3 2026, to Sep 30, 2026, filed Oct 29, 2026; rules v1.1
Verizon Communications (VZ): 0 rules of 10 triggered on the filings to Sep 30, 2026. 1 to review; 4 with insufficient data; 2 not applicable. Each is a question to verify, with the normal explanation that would produce the same figures.
Check these first
A precise DCF value = the true value To review · confidence high
The DCF's point value is 109.23 a share (price 45.69); 70% of it is the terminal value, a number about years no one has seen. Moving wacc by ±1 pt alone takes it from 80.88 to 161.27; across every method the research ran the range is -78 to 433. The value is a range; the decimals are not information.
Innocent reading: A stable, mature business with a narrow range of outcomes, where the point value is a fair summary.
Every rule
A01 FCF growth = the business improved Insufficient data
fewer than two fiscal years with operating cash flow and capital expenditure on file
A07 Stock compensation added back = no economic cost Insufficient data
fewer than two fiscal years of stock compensation and share counts on file
B02 Receivables growing = future cash is certain Insufficient data
fewer than five quarters with receivables and revenue on file (a year-over-year comparison needs five)
B08 Adjusted profit = economic profit Insufficient data
no reconciliation table read from the releases yet and fewer than three quarters with both an adjusted and a GAAP EPS
C02 Low net debt = no refinancing risk Not triggered confidence medium
$17.3B comes due within a year, 2.5× covered by cash and investments of $4.5B plus $39.0B of free cash flow.
The figures and how they are read
| Cash and investments | $4.5B |
| Debt | $158.2B |
| Net debt | $153.7B |
| Due within a year | $17.3B |
| Read from | the debt maturity table |
| Free cash flow, twelve months | $39.0B |
| Cash plus free cash flow | $43.5B |
| Coverage of what is due | 2.5 |
| Due in the second year | $9.6B |
| Balance sheet date | 2026-09-30 |
due within a year from the maturity table (else the current portion of debt), against cash and investments plus free cash flow over the last twelve months (zero if negative); no credit lines assumed
Source: FY2025 (debt maturities, cash and investments)
D03 EPS growth = profit growth Not triggered confidence high
EPS rose 7% and net income rose 5% in Q3 2026; the share count fell 1.7%: EPS growth follows profit growth.
The figures and how they are read
| Quarter | Q3 2026 |
| Quarter before | Q3 2025 |
| EPS, year before | $1.17 |
| EPS | $1.25 |
| Net income, year before | $5.0B |
| Net income | $5.2B |
| Diluted shares, year before | 4,233.0M shares |
| Diluted shares | 4,161.0M shares |
| EPS growth | +6.8% |
| Net income growth | +5.0% |
| Diluted shares: change | -1.7% |
| eps from profit | $0.06 |
| eps from share count | $0.02 |
EPS and net income against the same quarter a year earlier; the EPS bridge attributes the change to profit first, then to the share count (the order is fixed and disclosed)
Source: Q3 2026 (net income, diluted shares, EPS) · Q3 2025 (the same quarter a year earlier)
E02 Low P/E at a cyclical peak = undervalued Not triggered confidence medium
Net income of $16.9B is not at a cyclical high against the last eight years (median $17.8B, best $22.1B): the P/E of 11.3× is on a normal year.
The figures and how they are read
| market value | $190.1B |
| net income ttm | $16.9B |
| pe ttm | 11.30 |
| net income median fy | $17.8B |
| pe mid cycle | 10.70 |
| net income peak fy | $22.1B |
| years | FY2018 / 15528.0; FY2019 / 19265.0; FY2020 / 17801.0; FY2021 / 22065.0; FY2022 / 21256.0; FY2023 / 11614.0; FY2024 / 17506.0; FY2025 / 17174.0 |
| down years in window | 4 |
P/E on the trailing twelve months' net income against the P/E on the median net income of the last eight fiscal years (a mid-cycle stand-in); 'at a peak' = this year's profit at or above 90% of the best year and at least 1.3× the median
Source: Q3 2026 (net income, trailing twelve months)
E07 A precise DCF value = the true value To review confidence high
The DCF's point value is 109.23 a share (price 45.69); 70% of it is the terminal value, a number about years no one has seen. Moving wacc by ±1 pt alone takes it from 80.88 to 161.27; across every method the research ran the range is -78 to 433. The value is a range; the decimals are not information.
The figures and how they are read
| dcf value | 109.23 |
| price | 45.69 |
| terminal value share | +69.7% |
| swing by input | WACC / ±1 pt / 80.88 / 161.27; Revenue growth (each year) / ±5 pts / 81.17 / 142.89; Operating margin / ±3 pts / 91.12 / 127.33; Terminal growth / ±0.5 pt / 101.38 / 119.77 |
| range all methods | -78.01; 433.05 |
the DCF's point value against the share of it that is the terminal value and the value at each input moved by one step (growth ±5 pts, WACC ±1 pt, margin ±3 pts …); the range across every method the research ran
Source: 2026-11-08 (valuation research)
What would explain it innocently
- A stable, mature business with a narrow range of outcomes, where the point value is a fair summary
- The inputs that matter most are themselves well known (a regulated return, a long contract)
What to look for in the filing
- Which input you believe differs from the research's and why
- What the price implies for growth (the reverse DCF on the fair-value page)
What would show the trap does not apply
- The DCF's value is robust to the terminal growth and discount rate (the range's low end is still above the price)
- The company's cash flows over the next three years track the DCF's early years
Look again: next filing.
J06 A bank's low P/E and high profit = safe Not applicable
not a bank
J08 A REIT's low net income = the dividend is unsafe Not applicable
not a REIT
What the statuses mean
Triggered: the filings show the pattern; read the normal explanations and the missing evidence before concluding anything. To review: one quarter or a weak signal; a reader's judgement, not a pattern. Not triggered: the pattern is absent on these figures. Insufficient data: the filings read so far do not hold what the rule needs; this is not a clean bill. Not applicable: the rule is not meant for this kind of company (a bank's working capital, a loss-making quarter's EPS growth). Out of date: the latest filing is more than fifteen months old.
Severity is what the pattern could mean for cash, value or solvency; confidence is how reliable the inputs and the reading are. The two are kept apart.
Record a view
A reader's judgement, grounds, what would change it and the next review; kept in the browser (needs JavaScript).
Every rule and the companies it triggers on → Verizon Communications: cash flow → Earnings quality score →
Each rule reads the company's own filings by a fixed formula and says what would explain the same figures innocently. A triggered rule is a question to verify, not a finding of manipulation, and not a view on the stock. Missing data is shown as missing, never as clear. Not investment advice.