Verizon

For the mobile network, see Verizon (mobile network). For the fiber-optic service, see Verizon Fios.
Not to be confused with Vierzon.

Verizon Communications Inc.
FormerlyBell Atlantic Corporation (1983–2000)
Company typePublic
ISINUS92343V1044
Industry
Predecessors
FoundedOctober 7, 1983; 41 years ago (1983-10-07) (as Bell Atlantic Corporation)
June 30, 2000; 24 years ago (2000-06-30) (as Verizon Communications)
Headquarters1095 Avenue of the Americas,
New York City, New York
,
U.S.
Area served
United States
Key people
Hans Vestberg (chairman & CEO)
Tony Skiadas (EVP & CFO)
Products
RevenueDecrease US$133.97 billion (2023)
Decrease US$22.877 billion (2023)
Decrease US$12.095 billion (2023)
Total assetsIncrease US$380.26 billion (2023)
Total equityIncrease US$93.799 billion (2023)
Number of employees
105,400 (2023)
Divisions
SubsidiariesYahoo (10%)
Verizon Fios
TracFone Wireless
Visible by Verizon
Websiteverizon.com
Footnotes / references
[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]

Verizon Communications Inc. (/vəˈraɪzən/ və-RY-zən), is an American telecommunications company headquartered in New York City.[3] It is the world's second-largest telecommunications company by revenue and its mobile network is the largest wireless carrier in the United States, with 114.2 million subscribers as of September 30, 2024.[10]

The company was formed in 1984 as Bell Atlantic as a result of the breakup of the Bell System into seven companies, each a Regional Bell Operating Company (RBOC), commonly referred to as "Baby Bells."[11] The company was originally headquartered in Philadelphia and operated in the states of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia.

In 1997, Bell Atlantic expanded into New York and the New England states by merging with fellow Baby Bell NYNEX. While Bell Atlantic was the surviving company, the merged company moved its headquarters from Philadelphia to NYNEX's old headquarters in New York City. In 2000, Bell Atlantic acquired GTE, which operated telecommunications companies across most of the rest of the country not already in Bell Atlantic's footprint. Bell Atlantic, the surviving entity, changed its name to Verizon, a portmanteau of veritas (Latin for "truth") and horizon.[12]

In 2015, Verizon expanded into content ownership by acquiring AOL,[13][14] and two years later, it acquired Yahoo! Inc.[15] AOL and Yahoo were amalgamated into a new division named Oath Inc.,[16] which was rebranded as Verizon Media in January 2019, and was spun off and rebranded to Yahoo! Inc. after its sale to Apollo Global Management.

As of 2016, Verizon is one of three remaining companies with roots in the former Baby Bells. The other two, like Verizon, exist as a result of mergers among fellow former Baby Bell members. SBC Communications bought the Bells' former parent AT&T Corporation and took on the AT&T name, and CenturyLink acquired Qwest (formerly US West) in 2011 and later became Lumen Technologies in 2020.

  1. ^ "Verizon Fact Sheet" (PDF). Retrieved July 26, 2020.
  2. ^ "CBS MarketWatch profile, Verizon Communications, Inc". Marketwatch.com. Archived from the original on October 31, 2011. Retrieved June 13, 2013.
  3. ^ a b McGeehan, Patrick (June 29, 2014). "Verizon to Return to Its Former Midtown Tower, but on a Smaller Scale". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on May 2, 2019. Retrieved February 27, 2019.
  4. ^ "Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) Income Statement". NASDAQ.com. Archived from the original on March 11, 2018. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
  5. ^ "Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) Balance Sheet". NASDAQ.com. Archived from the original on March 11, 2018. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
  6. ^ "Who We Are". www.verizon.com. Verizon. August 16, 2016. Archived from the original on March 11, 2018. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
  7. ^ "Verizon realigns organization structure to optimize growth opportunities in 5G era". Archived from the original on January 14, 2021. Retrieved March 2, 2022.
  8. ^ "Oath is now Verizon Media". January 7, 2019. Archived from the original on January 10, 2019. Retrieved January 27, 2019.
  9. ^ "Verizon Communications Inc. 2023 Annual Report (Form 10-K)". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. February 9, 2024.
  10. ^ "Financial and Operating Information". October 23, 2024. Retrieved October 23, 2024.
  11. ^ "Verizon | Company History". August 18, 2016. Archived from the original on November 24, 2011. Retrieved September 15, 2011.
  12. ^ "Verizon p;— Investor Relations — Company Profile — Corporate History". Archived from the original on November 24, 2011. Retrieved September 14, 2011.
  13. ^ Lunden, Ingrid (May 12, 2015). "In Big Media Push, Verizon Buys AOL For $4.4B [Memo From AOL CEO Tim Armstrong]". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on May 20, 2015. Retrieved February 27, 2019.
  14. ^ Fitchard, Kevin (June 24, 2015). "The real reason Verizon bought AOL". Fortune. Archived from the original on January 9, 2018. Retrieved February 27, 2019.
  15. ^ Goel, Vindu; de la Merced, Michael J. (July 24, 2016). "Yahoo's Sale to Verizon Ends an Era for a Web Pioneer". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on February 16, 2017. Retrieved February 27, 2019.
  16. ^ Chokshi, Niraj; Goel, Vindu (April 3, 2017). "Verizon Announces New Name Brand for AOL and Yahoo: Oath". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on April 4, 2017. Retrieved February 27, 2019.