IQ
iQIYI, Inc.
IQ offers stronger modeled upside, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
VZ
Verizon Communications Inc.
VZ has the edge over IQ overall, supported by stronger fundamentals and lower modeled downside.
IQ Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Under pressure | |
| Under pressure | |
| Under pressure | |
| Weak |
IQ's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently under pressure.
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.
IQ PE Valuation
IQ has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
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.
IQ Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| -- | |
| Losses shrinking | |
| Stable | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| Low |
Analysts expect IQ's losses to shrink, with revenue holding steady. However, they disagree widely on these estimates.
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.
IQ Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | -$0.13 | -1400% |
| Q1 2026 | -$0.11 | -375% |
| Q4 2025 | -$0.04 | -136% |
| Q3 2025 | -$0.07 | -132% |
| Q2 2025 | $0.01 | -96% |
| Q1 2025 | $0.04 | -87% |
| Q4 2024 | $0.11 | -63% |
| Q3 2024 | $0.22 | -21% |
IQ has swung to a loss: it lost $0.13 per share over the past year, after a profit the year before.
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 has the edge over IQ on earnings quality, reporting a profit while its opponent remains loss making.
IQ Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | $940.8M | -5.4% |
| Q1 2026 | $934.3M | -13% |
| Q4 2025 | $1B | +2.7% |
| Q3 2025 | $1B | -7.8% |
| Q2 2025 | $994.7M | -11% |
| Q1 2025 | $1.1B | -9.3% |
| Q4 2024 | $992.5M | -14% |
| Q3 2024 | $1.1B | -9.6% |
IQ's revenue has slid since its 2023 peak: $941M last quarter, down 5.4% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | -1.7% | -1 points |
| Q1 2026 | -3.7% | -8.4 points |
| Q4 2025 | 0.8% | -3.5 points |
| Q3 2025 | -1.8% | -5.1 points |
| Q2 2025 | -0.7% | -5.3 points |
| Q1 2025 | 4.8% | -7.2 points |
| Q4 2024 | 4.3% | -5.7 points |
| Q3 2024 | 3.3% | -6 points |
IQ's operating margin was −1.7% last quarter, down 1 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 IQ 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 IQ on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
IQ Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | $48M | +$53.1M |
| Q1 2026 | $16.5M | -65% |
| Q4 2025 | $0 | -100% |
| Q3 2025 | -$43.6M | -224% |
| Q2 2025 | -$5.1M | -109% |
| Q1 2025 | $47.5M | -65% |
| Q4 2024 | $71.1M | -23% |
| Q3 2024 | $35.2M | -72% |
IQ still generates free cash flow, though less than at its 2023 peak: $21M over the past year.
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 has the edge over IQ on cash flow, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
IQ Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.6% | -6M shares |
| 1 year | -0.4% | -4.1M shares |
| 3 years | -2% | -19.6M shares |
| 5 years | +744% | +846M shares |
| Available history | +31% | +229M shares |
IQ has 959M diluted shares, about the same as a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | — |
| Q1 2026 | — |
| Q4 2025 | — |
| Q3 2025 | — |
| Q2 2025 | — |
| Q1 2025 | — |
| Q4 2024 | — |
| Q3 2024 | — |
IQ hasn't bought back shares in the past year.
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 IQ on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $500M |
| Q2 2026 | $1B |
| Q1 2026 | $2.5B |
IQ Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | 58.6x | High |
| Q1 2026 | 27.0x | High |
| Q4 2025 | 11.8x | High |
| Q3 2025 | 3.0x | Elevated |
| Q2 2025 | 2.8x | Moderate |
| Q1 2025 | 2.5x | Moderate |
| Q4 2024 | 2.2x | Moderate |
| Q3 2024 | 0.6x | Very low |
IQ's net debt is more than 20 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), up from 2.8 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 IQ on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
IQ Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 39.7 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 13.5 | Oversold |
IQ's weekly RSI is 40 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 14 (oversold).
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).
IQ PE vs Communication Services Sector
| Metric | IQ | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | N/A | 16x | — |
IQ has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
VZ PE vs Communication Services Sector
| Metric | VZ | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 12x | 16x | 28% below |
| PE % | 58 | 26 | 32 pts above |
VZ is trading at 12x earnings, a 28% discount to the Communication Services sector's median of 16x.
IQ Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $0.95 | 6.3% below |
| 20 week MA | $1.05 | 15% below |
| 50 week MA | $1.33 | 33% below |
| 100 week MA | $1.71 | 48% below |
| 200 week MA | $3.11 | 71% below |
IQ is in a downtrend: it's below all five of its weekly moving averages, and 71% below 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 has the edge over IQ on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
IQ Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $21.5 | $17.4 | -19% |
| 2021 | $17.4 | $4.91 | -72% |
| 2022 | $4.91 | $4.65 | -5.3% |
| 2023 | $4.65 | $4.88 | +4.9% |
| 2024 | $4.88 | $2.08 | -57% |
| 2025 | $2.08 | $1.91 | -8.2% |
| 2026 YTD | $1.91 | $0.89 | -53% |
IQ has finished lower in five of the last six years. It's down 53% so far in 2026.
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 the edge over IQ on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.