Verizon’s Comeback Tries to Cut Through SpaceX Static

Verizon raised its full-year outlook after putting a big red checkmark on its third-quarter goals. The largest wireless provider in the US added more wireless customers this Q3 than it has during the same period for the past five years, beating analysts’ expectations by more than two times. Wall Street expected 195,300 new phone lines and Verizon notched 406,000 — the telco now expects to add up to 1.2 million phone lines this year.

Verizon’s comeback plan is crackling to life as it prepares to fend off SpaceX, which Bloomberg reported is scoping out 80,000 cell sites across the US. 

Can You Hear Me Now?

CEO Dan Schulman joined Verizon in late 2025 with a plan to stem years of customer losses. To keep customers from hanging up on the mobile carrier, Verizon rolled out new streamlined plans and a loyalty program. On the other end, Verizon bumped up the price on its most premium plan and its Netflix/Max streaming bundle. 

Opening new phone lines helped offset losses from equipment sales as budget-conscious customers skip upgrades to hang onto old phones for longer. Verizon’s operating revenue rose a tepid 1.5% in the third quarter, below analysts’ expectations. Schulman has other plans to grow its cash pile:

• Schulman aims to scrape together at least $5 billion in savings on operating expenses this year. To that end, Verizon has shed more than 16,000 workers since Schulman took the helm and sold off hundreds of corporate stores. 
• Verizon also announced Monday that it signed a deal valued at more than $2 billion to build out AI infrastructure for Amazon Web Services. The telco will supply Amazon’s cloud operation with dark fiber — meaning unused fiber optic cables, not Lacinato kale — that can handle high-speed AI workloads. The deal is similar to Verizon’s $1 billion agreement with Google earlier this year. 

On Hold: Schulman yesterday shrugged off competition from SpaceX. There’s no magic wand or shortcut for building a terrestrial network, Schulman said. SpaceX would need at least four to six years to establish a presence on par with what Verizon has today, according to the CEO — and the telco doesn’t plan to stand still in the meantime. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk replied to a post about Schulman’s timeline on X that SpaceX will only need two or three years. Until then, play some smooth-jazz hold music.