DLX
Deluxe Corporation
DLX has the edge over VZ overall, supported by stronger valuation and stronger fundamentals.
VZ
Verizon Communications Inc.
VZ has lower modeled downside risk, despite its lower overall score.
DLX Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Healthy | |
| Healthy | |
| Weak |
DLX's profitability and cash flow are currently healthy, and its revenue is stable, but its balance sheet is weak.
VZ Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Under pressure |
VZ's profitability and cash flow are currently healthy, and its revenue is stable, but its balance sheet is under pressure.
DLX PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 6.6x | $26.69 | — |
| Cheap | 12x | $20.65 | -23% |
| Current | 16x | $26.69 | — |
| Fair | 17x | $29.15 | +9.2% |
| Expensive | 28x | $48.18 | +81% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
DLX has the edge over VZ in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
VZ PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 8.3x | $32.43 | -30% |
| Forward | 9x | $46.55 | — |
| Fair | 11x | $43.63 | -6.3% |
| Current | 12x | $46.55 | — |
| Expensive | 14x | $56.75 | +22% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
VZ's PE is in its fair range at 12x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 9.0x next year's earnings, in its cheap range.
DLX Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Growth | |
| Growth | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| High |
DLX has the edge over VZ on the outlook, with more favorable revenue expectations.
VZ Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Growth | |
| Stable | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| High |
Analysts expect VZ's earnings to grow and its profitability to improve, with its revenue holding steady.
DLX Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $4.05 | +137% |
| Q3 2026 | $1.71 | -6.6% |
| Q2 2026 | $2.17 | +68% |
| Q1 2026 | $2.26 | +81% |
| Q4 2025 | $1.80 | +53% |
| Q3 2025 | $1.83 | +48% |
| Q2 2025 | $1.29 | +50% |
| Q1 2025 | $1.25 | +62% |
| Q4 2024 | $1.18 | +100% |
DLX has the edge over VZ on earnings, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
VZ Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $5.19 | +32% |
| Q3 2026 | $3.93 | -16% |
| Q2 2026 | $3.85 | -10% |
| Q1 2026 | $4.11 | -2.1% |
| Q4 2025 | $4.06 | -1.9% |
| Q3 2025 | $4.68 | +103% |
| Q2 2025 | $4.29 | +61% |
| Q1 2025 | $4.20 | +57% |
| Q4 2024 | $4.14 | +51% |
VZ's earnings per share have fallen from their peak: $3.93 over the past year, against $5.34 in late 2021.
DLX Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $553.9M | +2.5% |
| Q2 2026 | $499.3M | -4.2% |
| Q1 2026 | $538.1M | +0.3% |
| Q4 2025 | $535.2M | +2.8% |
| Q3 2025 | $540.2M | +2.2% |
| Q2 2025 | $521.3M | -3.1% |
| Q1 2025 | $536.5M | +0.3% |
| Q4 2024 | $520.5M | -3.1% |
DLX's revenue grew through 2021 and has held roughly level since: $554M last quarter, up 2.5% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 9.5% | -4.5 points |
| Q2 2026 | 11% | -0.5 points |
| Q1 2026 | 13% | +4.4 points |
| Q4 2025 | 8.9% | -0.1 points |
| Q3 2025 | 14% | +6.2 points |
| Q2 2025 | 12% | +0.6 points |
| Q1 2025 | 9% | +0.7 points |
| Q4 2024 | 9% | -0.4 points |
DLX's operating margin was 9.5% last quarter, down 4.5 points from the same quarter a year ago.
VZ Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $34.3B | +1.5% |
| Q2 2026 | $34.3B | -0.7% |
| Q1 2026 | $34.4B | +2.9% |
| Q4 2025 | $36.4B | +2% |
| Q3 2025 | $33.8B | +1.5% |
| Q2 2025 | $34.5B | +5.2% |
| Q1 2025 | $33.5B | +1.5% |
| Q4 2024 | $35.7B | +1.6% |
VZ has the edge over DLX on sales, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 25% | +1.3 points |
| Q2 2026 | 21% | -2.7 points |
| Q1 2026 | 24% | +0.1 points |
| Q4 2025 | 14% | -7.1 points |
| Q3 2025 | 24% | +6.2 points |
| Q2 2025 | 24% | -0.2 points |
| Q1 2025 | 24% | +1 points |
| Q4 2024 | 21% | +19 points |
VZ has the edge over DLX on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
DLX Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $49M | +12% |
| Q2 2026 | $58.6M | +111% |
| Q1 2026 | $27.3M | +12% |
| Q4 2025 | $79.3M | +32% |
| Q3 2025 | $43.9M | -6.2% |
| Q2 2025 | $27.8M | +143% |
| Q1 2025 | $24.3M | +295% |
| Q4 2024 | $60.2M | -28% |
DLX has the edge over VZ on cash flow, with stronger typical year-over-year growth.
VZ Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $11.5B | +2.2% |
| Q2 2026 | $10.4B | +16% |
| Q1 2026 | $8B | +2.6% |
| Q4 2025 | $9.1B | -13% |
| Q3 2025 | $11.3B | +14% |
| Q2 2025 | $9B | -5.4% |
| Q1 2025 | $7.8B | +9.9% |
| Q4 2024 | $10.4B | +20% |
VZ's free cash flow has been positive every quarter for seven years: $39B over the past year, up 1.5% from the year before.
DLX Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +0.2% | +100K shares |
| 1 year | +2% | +904K shares |
| 3 years | +6.5% | +2.8M shares |
| 5 years | +8.1% | +3.5M shares |
| Available history | +8.1% | +3.5M shares |
DLX has 47M diluted shares, up 2% from a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q4 2021 | — |
| Q3 2021 | — |
| Q2 2021 | — |
| Q1 2021 | — |
| Q4 2020 | — |
| Q3 2020 | — |
| Q2 2020 | — |
| Q1 2020 | $14M |
VZ Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.2% | -10M shares |
| 1 year | -1.7% | -72M shares |
| 3 years | -1.3% | -55M shares |
| 5 years | +0.4% | +17M shares |
| Available history | +0.5% | +21M shares |
VZ has the edge over DLX on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $500M |
| Q2 2026 | $1B |
| Q1 2026 | $2.5B |
DLX Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 5.0x | High |
| Q2 2026 | 3.4x | Elevated |
| Q1 2026 | 3.5x | Elevated |
| Q4 2025 | 3.8x | Elevated |
| Q3 2025 | 3.8x | Elevated |
| Q2 2025 | 4.2x | High |
| Q1 2025 | 4.1x | High |
| Q4 2024 | 4.1x | High |
DLX's net debt is about 5.0 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), up from 3.8 years a year ago.
VZ Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 3.3x | Elevated |
| Q2 2026 | 3.4x | Elevated |
| Q1 2026 | 3.4x | Elevated |
| Q4 2025 | 2.9x | Moderate |
| Q3 2025 | 2.8x | Moderate |
| Q2 2025 | 3.0x | Moderate |
| Q1 2025 | 3.0x | Elevated |
| Q4 2024 | 3.0x | Elevated |
VZ has the edge over DLX on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
DLX Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 59.6 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 53.1 | Neutral |
DLX's weekly RSI is 60 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 53 (neutral).
VZ Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 50.9 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 44.6 | Neutral |
VZ's weekly RSI is 51 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 45 (neutral).
DLX PE vs Communication Services Sector
| Metric | DLX | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 16x | 16x | 5.3% below |
| PE % | 45 | 26 | 19 pts above |
DLX is trading at 16x earnings, in line with the Communication Services sector's median of 16x.
VZ PE vs Communication Services Sector
| Metric | VZ | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 12x | 16x | 28% below |
| PE % | 58 | 26 | 32 pts above |
VZ has the edge over DLX on valuation relative to its sector.
DLX Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $24.1 | 11% above |
| 20 week MA | $24.3 | 9.7% above |
| 50 week MA | $25.0 | 6.6% above |
| 100 week MA | $21.5 | 24% above |
| 200 week MA | $20.5 | 30% above |
DLX is in an uptrend: it's above all five of its weekly moving averages, and 30% above its 200-week average.
VZ Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $45.1 | 3.1% above |
| 20 week MA | $46.3 | 0.5% above |
| 50 week MA | $46.1 | 1.1% above |
| 100 week MA | $44.2 | 5.4% above |
| 200 week MA | $41.4 | 12% above |
VZ is in an uptrend: it's above all five of its weekly moving averages, and 12% above its 200-week average.
DLX Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $50.1 | $26.1 | -48% |
| 2021 | $26.1 | $31.6 | +21% |
| 2022 | $31.6 | $17.0 | -46% |
| 2023 | $17.0 | $21.5 | +26% |
| 2024 | $21.5 | $22.4 | +4.6% |
| 2025 | $22.4 | $22.7 | +1.1% |
| 2026 YTD | $22.7 | $26.7 | +18% |
DLX has the edge over VZ on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
VZ Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $61.5 | $58.8 | -4.4% |
| 2021 | $58.8 | $52.7 | -10% |
| 2022 | $52.7 | $38.4 | -27% |
| 2023 | $38.4 | $37.7 | -1.8% |
| 2024 | $37.7 | $39.9 | +5.9% |
| 2025 | $39.9 | $40.5 | +1.4% |
| 2026 YTD | $40.5 | $46.6 | +15% |
VZ has finished lower in four of the last six years. It's up 15% so far in 2026.