VZ
Verizon Communications Inc.
VZ has lower modeled downside risk, despite its lower overall score.
ZD
Ziff Davis, Inc.
ZD has the edge over VZ overall, supported by stronger valuation.
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.
ZD Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Under pressure | |
| Healthy | |
| Stable | |
| Strong |
ZD's profitability and balance sheet are currently healthy, and its cash flow is stable, but its revenue is under pressure.
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.
ZD PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Current | 3.1x | $51.69 | — |
| Forward | 9x | $51.69 | — |
| Cheap | 12x | $199 | +285% |
| Fair | 26x | $438 | +748% |
| Expensive | 44x | $751 | +1352% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
ZD 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 |
VZ has the edge over ZD on the outlook, with more favorable valuation and revenue expectations.
ZD Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly deteriorating | |
| Growth | |
| Decline | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| High |
Analysts expect ZD's earnings to grow and its profitability to improve, but its revenue to decline.
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.
ZD Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $5.76 | -66% |
| Q3 2026 | $16.96 | +547% |
| Q2 2026 | $17.72 | +1007% |
| Q1 2026 | $1.18 | -33% |
| Q4 2025 | $1.15 | -19% |
| Q3 2025 | $2.62 | +110% |
| Q2 2025 | $1.60 | -5.3% |
| Q1 2025 | $1.75 | +37% |
| Q4 2024 | $1.42 | +60% |
ZD 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 has the edge over ZD 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 ZD on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
ZD Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $289.3M | -20% |
| Q2 2026 | $286.7M | -19% |
| Q1 2026 | $267.6M | -19% |
| Q4 2025 | $406.7M | -1.5% |
| Q3 2025 | $363.7M | +2.9% |
| Q2 2025 | $352.2M | +9.8% |
| Q1 2025 | $328.6M | +4.5% |
| Q4 2024 | $412.8M | +5.9% |
ZD's revenue has slid since its 2020 peak: $289M last quarter, down 20% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -12% | -19 points |
| Q2 2026 | -16% | -25 points |
| Q1 2026 | 1.1% | -9.6 points |
| Q4 2025 | 21% | +2.1 points |
| Q3 2025 | 7.8% | +16 points |
| Q2 2025 | 9.5% | +0.6 points |
| Q1 2025 | 11% | -0.7 points |
| Q4 2024 | 19% | -1.7 points |
ZD's operating margin was −12% last quarter, down 19 points from the same quarter a year ago, near the bottom of its range since 2019.
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.
ZD Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -$100.1M | -193% |
| Q2 2026 | $54M | +100% |
| Q1 2026 | -$3.2M | +$1.8M |
| Q4 2025 | $157.8M | +20% |
| Q3 2025 | $108.2M | +35% |
| Q2 2025 | $26.9M | +7.5% |
| Q1 2025 | -$5M | -111% |
| Q4 2024 | $131.1M | +99% |
ZD usually generates cash, though not every quarter: the latest was −$100M, but it generated $108M over 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 4.2B diluted shares, down 1.7% from a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $500M |
| Q2 2026 | $1B |
| Q1 2026 | $2.5B |
ZD Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -7.2% | -2.6M shares |
| 1 year | -17% | -6.8M shares |
| 3 years | -27% | -12.3M shares |
| 5 years | -31% | -14.8M shares |
| Available history | -32% | -15.7M shares |
ZD has the edge over VZ on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $92M |
| Q2 2026 | $121.5M |
| Q1 2026 | $51.6M |
| Q4 2025 | $60.6M |
| Q3 2025 | $44.4M |
| Q2 2025 | $33.9M |
| Q1 2025 | $34.9M |
| Q4 2024 | $1.2M |
ZD spent $326M buying back its own shares over the past year, up 185% from the year before.
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.
ZD Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -2.6x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2026 | -2.6x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2026 | 0.9x | Very low |
| Q4 2025 | 0.6x | Very low |
| Q3 2025 | 0.9x | Very low |
| Q2 2025 | 1.2x | Healthy |
| Q1 2025 | 1.3x | Healthy |
| Q4 2024 | 1.1x | Healthy |
ZD 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).
ZD Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 49.7 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 33.8 | Neutral |
ZD's weekly RSI is 50 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 34 (neutral).
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.
ZD PE vs Communication Services Sector
| Metric | ZD | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 3.1x | 16x | 82% below |
| PE % | 1 | 26 | 25 pts below |
ZD 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 ZD on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
ZD Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $54.9 | 5.9% below |
| 20 week MA | $54.7 | 5.4% below |
| 50 week MA | $45.9 | 13% above |
| 100 week MA | $42.1 | 23% above |
| 200 week MA | $52.4 | 1.3% below |
ZD's trend is mixed: it's above two of its five weekly moving averages, and 1.3% below 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.
ZD Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $81.8 | $84.9 | +3.8% |
| 2021 | $84.9 | $111.0 | +31% |
| 2022 | $111.0 | $78.0 | -30% |
| 2023 | $78.0 | $67.2 | -14% |
| 2024 | $67.2 | $55.4 | -18% |
| 2025 | $55.4 | $35.9 | -35% |
| 2026 YTD | $35.9 | $51.7 | +44% |
ZD has the edge over VZ on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.