Verizon offers you steady growth and income

Article Excerpt

This U.S. telecom giant recently agreed to acquire a leading provider of high-speed Internet services. That will let it bundle more services with its wireless plans and attract more users in a highly competitive market. Those new customers will also let the company keep raising your dividend, as it has each year for the past 18 years. VERIZON COMMUNICATIONS INC. $43 is a buy. The telecom provider (New York symbol VZ; Income Portfolio, Utilities sector, Shares outstanding: 4.2 billion; Market cap: $180.6 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.3; Dividend yield: 6.3%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.verizon.com) is the second-largest wireless carrier in the U.S. after AT&T (New York symbol T), with 144.7 million subscribers (consumers and businesses) as of September 30, 2024. It also sells traditional telephone lines, high-speed Internet and TV services. Verizon’s revenue fell 2.7%, from $131.87 billion in 2019 to $128.29 billion in 2020 due to COVID-19 disruptions. In 2021, the company sold its media operations (including Yahoo and AOL) to private equity firm Apollo Global…