VZ
Verizon Communications Inc.
VZ has slightly lower modeled downside risk, despite its lower overall score.
WDC
Western Digital Corporation
WDC has the edge over VZ overall, supported by stronger modeled upside and stronger fundamentals.
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.
WDC Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong |
WDC's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently strong.
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.
WDC PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 9.9x | $255 | -18% |
| Forward | 11x | $311 | — |
| Current | 12x | $311 | — |
| Fair | 19x | $487 | +56% |
| Expensive | 63x | $1,618 | +420% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
WDC has the edge over VZ in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
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.
WDC Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Moderate | |
| Moderate |
WDC has the edge over VZ on the outlook, with more favorable revenue expectations.
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.
WDC Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $28.81 | +12% |
| Q3 2026 | $25.84 | +276% |
| Q2 2026 | $24.28 | +371% |
| Q1 2026 | $16.75 | +268% |
| Q4 2025 | $9.97 | +187% |
| Q3 2025 | $6.87 | +655% |
| Q2 2025 | $5.15 | +$7.76 |
| Q1 2025 | $4.55 | +$9.61 |
| Q4 2024 | $3.47 | +$10.69 |
WDC has the edge over VZ on earnings, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
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's operating margin was 25% last quarter, up 1.3 points from the same quarter a year ago, near the top of its range since 2019.
WDC Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $4.4B | +55% |
| Q2 2026 | $3.7B | +44% |
| Q1 2026 | $3.3B | +45% |
| Q4 2025 | $3B | -30% |
| Q3 2025 | $2.8B | -31% |
| Q2 2025 | $2.6B | -31% |
| Q1 2025 | $2.3B | -34% |
| Q4 2024 | $4.3B | +41% |
WDC's revenue is growing: $4.4B last quarter, up 55% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 47% | +19 points |
| Q2 2026 | 42% | +16 points |
| Q1 2026 | 36% | +2.5 points |
| Q4 2025 | 30% | +10 points |
| Q3 2025 | 28% | +10 points |
| Q2 2025 | 26% | +20 points |
| Q1 2025 | 33% | +25 points |
| Q4 2024 | 20% | +27 points |
WDC has the edge over VZ on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
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.
WDC Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $1.4B | +130% |
| Q2 2026 | $1.3B | +90% |
| Q1 2026 | $978M | +158% |
| Q4 2025 | $653M | +128% |
| Q3 2025 | $599M | +$661M |
| Q2 2025 | $675M | +170% |
| Q1 2025 | $379M | +$418M |
| Q4 2024 | $287M | +$529M |
WDC has the edge over VZ on cash flow, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
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 WDC on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $500M |
| Q2 2026 | $1B |
| Q1 2026 | $2.5B |
WDC Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +0.3% | +1M shares |
| 1 year | +2.1% | +8M shares |
| 3 years | +19% | +61M shares |
| 5 years | +22% | +68M shares |
| Available history | +29% | +86M shares |
WDC has 384M diluted shares, up 2.1% from a year ago, despite $3B in buybacks over the past year.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $1B |
| Q2 2026 | $672M |
| Q1 2026 | $752M |
| Q4 2025 | $615M |
| Q3 2025 | $553M |
| Q2 2020 | — |
| Q1 2020 | — |
| Q4 2019 | — |
WDC spent $3B buying back its own shares over the past year.
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.
WDC Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -0.1x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2026 | -0.1x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2026 | -0.1x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2025 | 0.8x | Very low |
| Q3 2025 | 0.8x | Very low |
| Q2 2025 | 0.8x | Very low |
| Q1 2025 | 1.3x | Healthy |
| Q4 2024 | 1.9x | Healthy |
WDC has the edge over VZ on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
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).
WDC Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 41.5 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 11.2 | Oversold |
WDC's weekly RSI is 41 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 11 (oversold).
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.
WDC PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | WDC | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 12x | 28x | 57% below |
| PE % | 28 | 35 | 7 pts below |
WDC has the edge over VZ on valuation relative to its sector.
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 WDC on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
WDC Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $360.8 | 14% below |
| 20 week MA | $438.4 | 29% below |
| 50 week MA | $380.4 | 18% below |
| 100 week MA | $226.8 | 37% above |
| 200 week MA | $133.7 | 133% above |
WDC has pulled back, but its long-term trend is still up: it's below its 8-, 20- and 50-week averages, but 133% above its 200-week average.
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.
WDC Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $47.0 | $37.7 | -20% |
| 2021 | $37.7 | $46.2 | +23% |
| 2022 | $46.2 | $23.1 | -50% |
| 2023 | $23.1 | $39.6 | +71% |
| 2024 | $39.6 | $45.9 | +16% |
| 2025 | $45.9 | $181.5 | +296% |
| 2026 YTD | $181.5 | $311.2 | +71% |
WDC has the edge over VZ on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.