OPTU
Optimum Communications, Inc.
OPTU offers stronger modeled upside, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
VZ
Verizon Communications Inc.
VZ has the edge over OPTU overall, supported by lower modeled downside and stronger fundamentals.
OPTU Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Weak | |
| Under pressure | |
| Weak |
OPTU's revenue is currently stable, but its profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are 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.
OPTU PE Valuation
OPTU 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.
OPTU Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| -- | |
| Losses growing | |
| Stable | |
| Stable | |
| Limited | |
| Low |
Analysts expect OPTU's losses to grow, with revenue holding steady. However, they disagree widely on these estimates.
VZ Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Growth | |
| Stable | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| High |
VZ has the edge over OPTU on the outlook, with more favorable earnings and profitability expectations.
OPTU Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -$15.63 | -$11.68 |
| Q2 2026 | -$8.86 | -$8.29 |
| Q1 2026 | -$8.40 | -$8.07 |
| Q4 2025 | -$3.99 | -$3.77 |
| Q3 2025 | -$3.95 | -$3.58 |
| Q2 2025 | -$0.57 | -$0.44 |
| Q1 2025 | -$0.33 | -3400% |
| Q4 2024 | -$0.22 | -283% |
OPTU lost $15.63 per share over the past year, and its loss has widened in each of the last seven quarters.
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 OPTU on earnings quality, reporting a profit while its opponent remains loss making.
OPTU Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $2B | -5.1% |
| Q2 2026 | $2B | -5.8% |
| Q1 2026 | $2.1B | -4% |
| Q4 2025 | $2.2B | -2.3% |
| Q3 2025 | $2.1B | -5.4% |
| Q2 2025 | $2.1B | -4.2% |
| Q1 2025 | $2.2B | -4.4% |
| Q4 2024 | $2.2B | -2.9% |
OPTU's revenue has slid since its 2021 peak: $2B last quarter, down 5.1% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -153% | -98 points |
| Q2 2026 | 8.2% | -6.3 points |
| Q1 2026 | -114% | -130 points |
| Q4 2025 | 18% | +3 points |
| Q3 2025 | -55% | -75 points |
| Q2 2025 | 14% | -7.9 points |
| Q1 2025 | 16% | -1.5 points |
| Q4 2024 | 15% | +2.1 points |
OPTU's operating margin was −153% last quarter, down 98 points from the same quarter a year ago, near the bottom 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 has the edge over OPTU 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 OPTU on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
OPTU Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -$267.9M | -$89.8M |
| Q2 2026 | -$91.9M | -423% |
| Q1 2026 | -$137.4M | +$31.2M |
| Q4 2025 | $199.4M | +300% |
| Q3 2025 | -$178.1M | -332% |
| Q2 2025 | $28.4M | +$69.4M |
| Q1 2025 | -$168.6M | -365% |
| Q4 2024 | $49.9M | -75% |
OPTU's free cash flow was −$298M over the past year, against −$268M 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 OPTU on cash generation, producing positive trailing cash flow while its opponent burns cash.
OPTU Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -37% | -164M shares |
| 1 year | -40% | -187M shares |
| 3 years | -38% | -173M shares |
| 5 years | -38% | -175M shares |
| Available history | -57% | -381M shares |
OPTU has the edge over VZ on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q4 2022 | — |
| Q3 2022 | — |
| Q2 2022 | — |
| Q1 2022 | — |
| Q4 2021 | — |
| Q3 2021 | $79.4M |
| Q2 2021 | $221.9M |
| Q1 2021 | $503.6M |
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 4.2B diluted shares, down 1.7% from a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $500M |
| Q2 2026 | $1B |
| Q1 2026 | $2.5B |
OPTU Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q4 2025 | 15.9x | High |
| Q3 2025 | 16.4x | High |
| Q2 2025 | 8.0x | High |
| Q1 2025 | 7.6x | High |
| Q4 2024 | 7.5x | High |
| Q3 2024 | 7.7x | High |
| Q2 2024 | 7.6x | High |
| Q1 2024 | 7.5x | High |
OPTU's net debt is about 16 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), up from 7.5 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's net debt is about 3.3 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), up from 2.8 years a year ago.
OPTU Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 38.2 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 33.9 | Neutral |
OPTU's weekly RSI is 38 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 34 (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).
OPTU PE vs Communication Services Sector
| Metric | OPTU | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | N/A | 16x | — |
OPTU 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.
OPTU Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $0.82 | 22% below |
| 20 week MA | $0.90 | 29% below |
| 50 week MA | $1.23 | 48% below |
| 100 week MA | $1.83 | 65% below |
| 200 week MA | $2.28 | 72% below |
OPTU is in a downtrend: it's below all five of its weekly moving averages, and 72% 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 OPTU on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
OPTU Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $27.2 | $36.0 | +33% |
| 2021 | $36.0 | $16.1 | -55% |
| 2022 | $16.1 | $4.39 | -73% |
| 2023 | $4.39 | $3.25 | -26% |
| 2024 | $3.25 | $2.41 | -26% |
| 2025 | $2.41 | $1.66 | -31% |
| 2026 YTD | $1.66 | $0.64 | -61% |
OPTU has finished five years in a row lower, and it's down 61% 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 OPTU on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.