MCS
The Marcus Corporation
MCS has the edge over VZ overall, supported by stronger modeled upside and stronger fundamentals.
VZ
Verizon Communications Inc.
VZ's outlook is improving, though it still trails on the overall score.
MCS Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Healthy | |
| Healthy | |
| Strong |
MCS's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently healthy.
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.
MCS PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 31x | $27.22 | — |
| Cheap | 32x | $24.94 | -8.4% |
| Current | 34x | $27.22 | — |
| Fair | 42x | $33.12 | +22% |
| Expensive | 429x | $339 | +1145% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
MCS's PE is in its cheap range at 34x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 31x next year's earnings.
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 has the edge over MCS in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
MCS Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Stable | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| Low |
Analysts expect MCS's earnings to grow and its profitability to improve, with its 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.
MCS Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $0.87 | +10% |
| Q3 2026 | $0.79 | +216% |
| Q2 2026 | $0.71 | +54% |
| Q1 2026 | $0.44 | +$0.84 |
| Q4 2025 | $0.41 | +$0.65 |
| Q3 2025 | $0.25 | +$0.49 |
| Q2 2025 | $0.46 | +$1.13 |
| Q1 2025 | -$0.40 | -238% |
| Q4 2024 | -$0.24 | -167% |
MCS 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.
MCS Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $237.8M | +13% |
| Q2 2026 | $231.7M | +12% |
| Q1 2026 | $154.4M | +3.8% |
| Q4 2025 | $193.5M | +2.8% |
| Q3 2025 | $210.2M | -9.7% |
| Q2 2025 | $206M | +17% |
| Q1 2025 | $148.8M | +7.4% |
| Q4 2024 | $188.3M | +17% |
MCS has the edge over VZ on sales, with stronger typical year-over-year growth.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 13% | +1.9 points |
| Q2 2026 | 12% | +5.4 points |
| Q1 2026 | -12% | +1.3 points |
| Q4 2025 | 0.9% | +2.1 points |
| Q3 2025 | 11% | -3.3 points |
| Q2 2025 | 6.3% | +5 points |
| Q1 2025 | -14% | -1.7 points |
| Q4 2024 | -1.2% | -1.9 points |
MCS's operating margin was 13% last quarter, up 1.9 points from the same quarter a year ago, near the top of its range since 2019.
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's revenue has held roughly level: $34.3B last quarter, up 1.5% from the same quarter a year ago.
| 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 MCS on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
MCS Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $28.4M | +56% |
| Q2 2026 | $44M | +198% |
| Q1 2026 | -$21.9M | +$36.5M |
| Q4 2025 | $26.4M | -2.7% |
| Q3 2025 | $18.2M | +51% |
| Q2 2025 | $14.7M | -8.7% |
| Q1 2025 | -$58.3M | -$27.8M |
| Q4 2024 | $27.1M | +29% |
MCS generated $77M in free cash flow over the past year, more than ten times what it generated the year before.
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 MCS on cash flow, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
MCS Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +1.5% | +455K shares |
| 1 year | +1.1% | +329K shares |
| 3 years | -23% | -9.5M shares |
| 5 years | +0.3% | +100K shares |
| Available history | +1.1% | +352K shares |
MCS has 32M diluted shares, up 1.1% from a year ago.
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 MCS on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $500M |
| Q2 2026 | $1B |
| Q1 2026 | $2.5B |
MCS Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 0.8x | Very low |
| Q2 2026 | 1.2x | Healthy |
| Q1 2026 | 1.8x | Healthy |
| Q4 2025 | 1.6x | Healthy |
| Q3 2025 | 1.9x | Healthy |
| Q2 2025 | 1.8x | Healthy |
| Q1 2025 | 2.3x | Moderate |
| Q4 2024 | 1.4x | Healthy |
MCS has the edge over VZ on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
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's net debt is about 3.3 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), up from 2.8 years a year ago.
MCS Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 58.6 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 21.4 | Neutral |
MCS's weekly RSI is 59 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 21 (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).
MCS PE vs Communication Services Sector
| Metric | MCS | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 34x | 16x | 109% above |
| PE % | 23 | 26 | 3 pts below |
MCS is trading at 34x earnings, a 109% premium to 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 MCS on valuation relative to its sector.
MCS Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $27.3 | 0.4% below |
| 20 week MA | $27.1 | 0.6% above |
| 50 week MA | $21.3 | 28% above |
| 100 week MA | $19.2 | 42% above |
| 200 week MA | $17.1 | 59% above |
MCS's trend is up, with a small recent dip: it's below only its 8-week average, and 59% 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 has the edge over MCS on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
MCS Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $31.9 | $12.5 | -61% |
| 2021 | $12.5 | $17.9 | +44% |
| 2022 | $17.9 | $13.9 | -22% |
| 2023 | $13.9 | $14.6 | +4.8% |
| 2024 | $14.6 | $21.4 | +47% |
| 2025 | $21.4 | $15.4 | -28% |
| 2026 YTD | $15.4 | $27.2 | +77% |
MCS 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.