NCMI
National CineMedia, Inc.
NCMI offers stronger modeled upside, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
VZ
Verizon Communications Inc.
VZ has the edge over NCMI overall, supported by lower modeled downside and stronger fundamentals.
NCMI Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Weak | |
| Stable | |
| Strong |
NCMI's balance sheet is currently strong, and its revenue and cash flow are stable, but its profitability 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.
NCMI PE Valuation
NCMI 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.
NCMI Forward outlook
There aren't enough analyst estimates for NCMI to show an outlook.
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.
NCMI Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -$0.30 | -$0.15 |
| Q2 2026 | -$0.10 | +$0.11 |
| Q1 2026 | -$0.10 | +$0.09 |
| Q4 2025 | -$0.11 | +$0.12 |
| Q3 2023 | $31.89 | +$35.09 |
| Q2 2023 | $27.90 | +$31.90 |
| Q1 2023 | -$3.50 | +$3.20 |
| Q4 2022 | -$3.50 | +$2.60 |
NCMI is still losing money, but far less than before: $0.30 per share over the past year, against $11.70 at its worst in late 2021.
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 NCMI on earnings quality, reporting a profit while its opponent remains loss making.
NCMI Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $61.4M | -3.2% |
| Q2 2026 | $58.4M | +13% |
| Q1 2026 | $34M | -2.6% |
| Q4 2025 | $93.2M | +8% |
| Q3 2025 | $63.4M | +1.6% |
| Q2 2025 | $51.8M | -5.3% |
| Q1 2025 | $34.9M | -6.7% |
| Q4 2024 | $86.3M | -5% |
NCMI's revenue is growing: $61M last quarter, down 3.2% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -35% | -32 points |
| Q2 2026 | -22% | +1.3 points |
| Q1 2026 | -79% | -11 points |
| Q4 2025 | 26% | +2.5 points |
| Q3 2025 | -2.8% | +9.2 points |
| Q2 2025 | -23% | -6.2 points |
| Q1 2025 | -68% | -7.8 points |
| Q4 2024 | 23% | +0.6 points |
NCMI's operating margin was −35% last quarter, down 32 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 NCMI 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 NCMI on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
NCMI Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -$3.3M | -$1.3M |
| Q2 2026 | -$2.2M | +$4.4M |
| Q1 2026 | $17.8M | +236% |
| Q4 2025 | $6.1M | -78% |
| Q3 2025 | -$2M | +$600K |
| Q2 2025 | -$6.6M | -203% |
| Q1 2025 | $5.3M | -77% |
| Q4 2024 | $28.1M | +101% |
NCMI usually generates cash, though not every quarter: the latest was −$3M, but it generated $18M 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 NCMI on cash flow, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
NCMI Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +0.4% | +355K shares |
| 1 year | -0.3% | -260K shares |
| 3 years | +440% | +76.6M shares |
| 5 years | +1098% | +86.2M shares |
| Available history | +1109% | +86.3M shares |
NCMI has 94M diluted shares, about the same as a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | — |
| Q2 2026 | $200,000 |
| Q1 2026 | $1M |
| Q4 2025 | $3.3M |
| Q3 2025 | — |
| Q2 2025 | $9.9M |
| Q1 2025 | $8.8M |
| Q4 2024 | $2M |
NCMI spent $5M buying back its own shares over the past year, down 78% from the year before.
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 NCMI on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $500M |
| Q2 2026 | $1B |
| Q1 2026 | $2.5B |
NCMI Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -11.5x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2026 | -1.6x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2026 | -1.8x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2025 | -1.0x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2025 | -1.4x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2025 | -2.1x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2025 | -2.8x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2024 | -2.9x | Net Cash |
NCMI 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.
NCMI Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 29.4 | Oversold |
| Stochastic | 5.9 | Oversold |
NCMI's weekly RSI is 29 (oversold) and its Stochastic is 6 (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).
NCMI PE vs Communication Services Sector
| Metric | NCMI | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | N/A | 16x | — |
NCMI 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.
NCMI Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $1.92 | 11% below |
| 20 week MA | $2.69 | 37% below |
| 50 week MA | $3.19 | 47% below |
| 100 week MA | $4.24 | 60% below |
| 200 week MA | $4.33 | 61% below |
NCMI is in a downtrend: it's below all five of its weekly moving averages, and 61% 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 NCMI on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
NCMI Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $73.0 | $37.7 | -48% |
| 2021 | $37.7 | $28.6 | -24% |
| 2022 | $28.6 | $2.75 | -90% |
| 2023 | $2.75 | $4.14 | +51% |
| 2024 | $4.14 | $6.61 | +60% |
| 2025 | $6.61 | $3.92 | -41% |
| 2026 YTD | $3.92 | $1.70 | -57% |
NCMI has finished lower in four of the last six years. It's down 57% 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 NCMI on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.