TMUS vs VZ Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
T-Mobile and Verizon represent the growth and value ends of the US wireless market. T-Mobile is the subscriber growth engine — taking market share consistently and building a 5G network that is outperforming Verizon in independent speed tests. Verizon is the more income-oriented carrier with a premium brand and expanding broadband strategy, but has been on the wrong end of the subscriber gain/loss equation for several years.
T-Mobile is the better growth investment for investors who believe its 5G network advantage and Un-carrier value proposition will continue taking wireless share; Verizon suits income investors who want maximum dividend yield and believe the network quality premium will sustain in the long run.
VZ holds the edge across 3 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. VZ leads on both 1-year return (+8.41%) and forward P/E (9.14x vs 13.53x for TMUS), a relatively favorable combination of momentum and valuation. On fundamentals, TMUS is growing revenue faster (10.60%), while VZ maintains the higher operating margin (25.19%) — a classic growth-versus-profitability split. Analyst consensus implies meaningfully more upside for TMUS (+37.92%) than for VZ (+7.89%).
- →want the fastest-growing US wireless carrier with the leading 5G mid-band coverage footprint
- →believe Sprint synergies and fixed wireless broadband expansion will sustain free cash flow compounding
- →prefer growth over near-term yield — TMUS has historically reinvested rather than paying high dividends
- →value management's track record of consistently delivering against ambitious operational targets
- →prioritize maximum dividend yield from the US's largest wireless carrier
- →believe Verizon's network quality premium will retain high-value subscribers despite share losses
- →see value in the Frontier acquisition as a long-term broadband expansion catalyst
- →prefer the stability of an income-oriented telecom over a faster-growing but less yield-focused carrier
| Metric | TMUS | VZ |
|---|---|---|
| AI score | 51.0 | 40.7 |
| AI rank | #403 | #1026 |
| Latest close | $181.67 | $45.37 |
| 1M return | -6.07% | -4.96% |
| 6M return | -8.88% | +10.98% |
| 1Y return | -17.96% | +8.41% |
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | TMUS | VZ |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $8.22K (-17.8%) started 2025-06-18 | $10.89K (+8.9%) started 2025-06-18 |
| 5Y ago | $13.04K (+30.4%) started 2021-06-21 | $13.56K (+35.6%) started 2021-06-21 |
| 10Y ago | $44.93K (+349.3%) started 2016-06-20 | $24.29K (+142.9%) started 2016-06-20 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
| Metric | TMUS | VZ |
|---|---|---|
| Market cap | $204.64B | $200.89B |
| Trailing P/E | 20.07 | 11.73 |
| Forward P/E | 13.53 | 9.14 |
| Price/Sales | 3.38 | 1.36 |
| EV/Revenue | 3.57 | 2.84 |
| Analyst target | $260.81 | $51.90 |
| Target upside | +37.92% | +7.89% |
| Metric | TMUS | VZ |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growth | 10.60% | 2.90% |
| Earnings growth | -12.00% | 4.30% |
| EPS growth | -12.00% | +4.30% |
| FCF margin | +12.31% | +14.09% |
| Operating margin | 24.01% | 25.19% |
| Profit margin | 11.65% | 12.46% |
| ROIC proxy | 18.02% | 17.20% |
| Return on equity | 18.02% | 17.20% |
| Dividend yield | 2.16% | 5.88% |
| Beta | 0.30 | 0.22 |
| Debt/equity | 218.57 | 192.04 |
| Current ratio | 1.09 | 0.64 |
| Quick ratio | 0.70 | 0.51 |
Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.
| Period | Metric | TMUS | VZ |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growth | -17.79% | +8.88% |
| CAGR | -17.82% | +8.89% | |
| Sharpe ratio | -0.85 | 0.29 | |
| Max drawdown | 31.66% | 14.78% | |
| Max daily drop | 3.97% | 5.11% | |
| Max wkly drop | 7.87% | 8.75% | |
| 5Y | Growth | +27.54% | +2.81% |
| CAGR | +4.99% | +0.56% | |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.14 | -0.07 | |
| Max drawdown | 35.12% | 38.38% | |
| Max daily drop | 11.22% | 7.50% | |
| Max wkly drop | 11.17% | 12.88% | |
| 10Y | Growth | +339.39% | +34.49% |
| CAGR | +15.96% | +3.01% | |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.53 | 0.03 | |
| Max drawdown | 35.12% | 41.21% | |
| Max daily drop | 11.22% | 7.50% | |
| Max wkly drop | 14.58% | 12.88% |
| Category | TMUS | VZ |
|---|---|---|
| Company | T-Mobile US, Inc. | Verizon Communications Inc. |
| Sector | Communication Services | Communication Services |
| Industry | Telecom Services | Telecom Services |
| Core business | T-Mobile is the US wireless market leader in postpaid subscriber additions, having executed a dramatic market share gain through the Sprint merger (2020) and aggressive 'Un-carrier' pricing and value propositions. Its 5G network coverage — built on the 2.5 GHz mid-band spectrum acquired with Sprint — is widely regarded as the most comprehensive and highest-performing in the US. T-Mobile is now expanding into broadband (fixed wireless access), enterprise wireless, and international via partnerships. | Verizon is the US's largest wireless carrier by total connections, with a network quality reputation built over decades supporting premium pricing. It is executing a broadband expansion strategy through Fios fiber in the Northeast, fixed wireless access (FWA) via its C-band 5G spectrum, and the pending Frontier Communications acquisition to expand its national fiber footprint significantly. |
| Investor focus | Investors track postpaid phone net adds (T-Mobile has led the industry for several consecutive years), average revenue per user (ARPU) expansion as it moves up-market, fixed wireless access broadband additions, and Sprint merger synergy delivery. | Investors track postpaid phone net adds and churn trends, ARPU, fixed wireless access broadband additions, and the Frontier acquisition integration impact on fiber revenue and debt. |
- →Industry-leading 5G mid-band coverage giving T-Mobile a meaningful network performance advantage
- →Consistent #1 postpaid phone net adds across multiple years demonstrating durable market share gains
- →Sprint merger synergies exceeded original targets, delivering higher-than-expected free cash flow
- →Premium network quality reputation retains high-value postpaid customers who accept higher ARPU
- →C-band 5G spectrum provides fixed wireless competitive positioning in markets without fiber
- →Frontier acquisition will expand national fiber footprint to 25M+ locations
- →Market share gains may slow as the low-hanging fruit of disaffected AT&T and Verizon customers has been captured
- →Fixed wireless broadband market share could face competition as Verizon and AT&T expand fiber
- →Founder CEO Mike Sievert faces the challenge of sustaining growth after the transformative Sprint integration
- →Consistent postpaid phone net add losses to T-Mobile for multiple years
- →High dividend payout ratio constraining reinvestment capacity
- →Frontier acquisition adds near-term debt and integration execution risk
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