Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) has reached an important milestone for income investors in 2026. The company has now increased its dividend for 20 straight years, giving it a long record of returning cash to shareholders. What makes Verizon particularly interesting is the size of its yield. At around 6%, it ranks among the higher-yielding large-cap dividend stocks in the market. For investors who rely on dividends for income, that is hard to ignore.
Verizon raised its quarterly dividend to $0.7075 per share in January, taking the annualized payout to $2.83. At recent share prices, that works out to a yield of roughly 5.9%. The dividend growth itself is not particularly impressive. The latest increase was only 2.5%, which is broadly in line with the company’s recent history. Verizon is not the kind of dividend stock investors buy for rapid income growth. Its appeal is the combination of a high starting yield and a long record of modest increases.
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Free Cash Flow Remains the Key Support
The most important question for a stock with such a high yield is whether the business is generating enough cash to keep funding it. So far, Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)’s numbers provide some comfort. The company generated $20.1 billion in free cash flow in 2025 and paid roughly $11.5 billion in dividends during the year.
Cash generation has also improved in 2026. Verizon produced $10.2 billion of free cash flow during the first half of the year, up 16% from the same period last year. Second-quarter free cash flow rose 24.4% to $6.4 billion.
Management expects free cash flow to increase by 9%-10% in 2026. Adjusted EPS is also expected to come in between $4.99 and $5.04.That gives Verizon some room to support its dividend. The annual payout of $2.83 represents roughly 56% of expected adjusted EPS, which is not an alarming payout ratio for a mature telecom company.
Verizon’s Moat is Built on Scale
Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) does not have the type of economic moat associated with a company like Coca-Cola or Visa. Its advantage comes from something much more expensive to replicate: its network. Building and maintaining a nationwide wireless network requires billions of dollars, access to spectrum, and years of investment. The same is true for fiber infrastructure. That makes it extremely difficult for a new competitor to enter the market and challenge Verizon on the same scale.
The U.S. wireless market is also concentrated among a few major players. Verizon’s huge customer base, network infrastructure, spectrum holdings, and established brand give it an advantage that would be difficult for a newcomer to overcome.
The company is also expanding its broadband opportunity. Its acquisition of Frontier has significantly increased its fiber footprint, while fixed wireless is giving Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) another way to compete for broadband customers.
There are already signs that the business is gaining some momentum. Verizon added 184,000 postpaid phone customers in the second quarter and more than 1 million mobility and broadband customers during the first half of 2026.
The Biggest Concern is Not the Dividend Itself
The bear case starts with Verizon’s balance sheet. The company had about $136.5 billion of unsecured debt at the end of the second quarter, with net unsecured debt of roughly $128.7 billion. Its net unsecured leverage stood at 2.5 times adjusted EBITDA.
That is not necessarily a problem for a business with predictable recurring cash flows. Still, it leaves Verizon with less financial flexibility than a company carrying a much lighter debt load. The Frontier acquisition adds another layer to this concern. Verizon is targeting leverage of 2.0-2.25 times by 2027, but investors will want to see that actually happen. Growth is another limitation. Verizon expects mobility service revenue to remain fairly subdued in 2026, with mobility and broadband service revenue growth of only 2.5%-3%. That makes it difficult to see the dividend growing at a much faster pace anytime soon.
A High-Yield Stock, but Not a High-Growth One
Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)’s dividend story is fairly straightforward. The company offers a yield of close to 6%, has increased its dividend for 20 consecutive years, and is generating enough free cash flow to keep the payout well covered. Its economic moat also gives the business some protection. Verizon operates in an industry where scale matters, and its nationwide network and infrastructure would be extremely difficult and expensive to replicate. The trade-off is slower growth and a heavily leveraged balance sheet.
For investors looking for a high level of current income, Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) remains an attractive option. The stock is unlikely to deliver the kind of dividend growth offered by faster-growing companies, but that is not really the reason to own it. The attraction is the combination of a high yield, recurring cash flow, and a long dividend history.
At roughly 6%, Verizon’s yield provides a meaningful income stream while investors wait for the business to improve its growth profile and reduce leverage. That makes the stock worth considering for income-focused portfolios, provided investors are comfortable with the debt and limited dividend growth.
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