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Compare Stocks › T vs VZ

AT&T Inc. (T) vs Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ): Which Is the Better Buy in 2026?

As of 2026-06-19, T is undervalued at $22, with a DCF intrinsic value of $57 and a margin of safety of 62%. VZ is overvalued at $45, with an intrinsic value of $40 and a margin of safety of -14%. Of the two, T has the wider margin of safety.

T
AT&T Inc.
$22.01
VS
VZ
Verizon Communications Inc.
$45.37

Rewards

T
  • ★Free cash flow has grown at a 16.2% CAGR over the past 4 years, demonstrating strong earnings power growth.
  • ★Each dollar of retained earnings has created $14.89 of earning power — management is an exceptional capital allocator.
  • ★FCF yield of 12.7% is historically attractive — the business generates significant cash relative to its price.
VZ
  • ★Free cash flow has grown at a 23.7% CAGR over the past 4 years, demonstrating strong earnings power growth.
  • ★FCF yield of 10.4% is historically attractive — the business generates significant cash relative to its price.
  • ★PEG ratio of 0.88 suggests the stock is undervalued relative to its growth rate — paying less than 1x for each unit of earnings growth.

Risks

T
  • ⚠Altman Z-Score of 0.89 places the company in the distress zone — financial patterns resemble those of companies that experienced bankruptcy.
VZ
  • ⚠High leverage (1.84x net debt/equity) combined with thin interest coverage (-1.0x) poses financial risk.
  • ⚠Altman Z-Score of 1.24 places the company in the distress zone — financial patterns resemble those of companies that experienced bankruptcy.
  • ⚠Insiders have sold $3.5M worth of stock in the past 3 months — significant insider liquidation.

Key Valuation Metrics

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T
VZ
Valuation
$19.44B
Free Cash Flow
$19.61B
12.71%
FCF Yield
10.35%
7.24
Trailing P/E
11.07
8.64
Forward P/E
8.62
Quality & Moat
7.90%
ROIC
9.06%
18.37%
ROE
17.20%
59.41%
Gross Margin
58.91%
1.62
PEG Ratio
0.88
Balance Sheet Safety
1.16
Net Debt / Equity
1.84
N/A
Interest Coverage
N/A
3.33
Net Debt / EBITDA
3.77
4.95%
Dividend Yield
6.06%
T: 5Ties: 4VZ: 3
TVZ

Historical Fundamentals

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T

Price ÷ Earnings Per Share — how many years of current earnings you're paying for at today's price. Lower P/E may indicate undervaluation. The dashed forward point is the forward P/E — today's price ÷ analyst consensus EPS.

VZ

Price ÷ Earnings Per Share — how many years of current earnings you're paying for at today's price. Lower P/E may indicate undervaluation. The dashed forward point is the forward P/E — today's price ÷ analyst consensus EPS.

Price ÷ Earnings Per Share — how many years of current earnings you're paying for at today's price. Lower P/E may indicate undervaluation. The dashed forward point is the forward P/E — today's price ÷ analyst consensus EPS.

$1 Retained Earnings Test

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T
$1.91
created per $1 retained over 3 years
Value Creator
Σ Retained
$22.78B
Δ Market Cap
+$43.59B
Buffett's "$1 Test": For every $1 of earnings retained, has management created at least $1 of market value?
> $1 created per $1 retained = Value Creator · < $1 created = Value Destroyer
VZ
$0.50
created per $1 retained over 3 years
Mediocre Allocator
Σ Retained
$12.54B
Δ Market Cap
+$6.29B
Buffett's "$1 Test": For every $1 of earnings retained, has management created at least $1 of market value?
> $1 created per $1 retained = Value Creator · < $1 created = Value Destroyer

Buffett's "$1 Test": For every $1 of earnings retained, has management created at least $1 of market value?
> $1 created per $1 retained = Value Creator · < $1 created = Value Destroyer

Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) Analysis

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T
61.6% Margin of Safety
Price is 61.6% below estimated fair value
Current Price: $22.01
Fair Value: $57.31
Strongly undervalued
Undervalued
Fairly valued
Overvalued
Strongly overvalued
VZ
13.8% Overvalued
Price is 13.8% above estimated fair value
Current Price: $45.37
Fair Value: $39.87
Strongly undervalued
Undervalued
Fairly valued
Overvalued
Strongly overvalued

Reverse DCF — Market-Implied Growth

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T

What growth rate is the market pricing in at $22?

+2.5%
Market-Implied Owner Earnings Growth
Standard FCF implies +4.2%

The market implies +2.5% Owner Earnings growth, below historical trends — potential opportunity.

Standard FCF implies a more demanding +4.2%, reflecting heavy growth investment expected to generate future returns.

VZ

What growth rate is the market pricing in at $45?

+8.5%
Market-Implied Owner Earnings Growth
Standard FCF implies +7.3%

The market implies +8.5% Owner Earnings growth, above historical trends.

Standard FCF implies a demanding +7.3%, reflecting heavy growth investment.

Economic Moat Score

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T
57/100
Narrow Moat
70+ Wide · 40-69 Narrow · <40 None

Narrow moat with margin stability as the key competitive advantage. Improving roic consistency would strengthen the moat.

Composite score measuring competitive advantage durability across four dimensions: returns above cost of capital, pricing power stability, revenue predictability, and capital efficiency. Based on 4 years of fundamental data.
VZ
55/100
Narrow Moat
70+ Wide · 40-69 Narrow · <40 None

Narrow moat with margin stability as the key competitive advantage. Improving roic consistency would strengthen the moat.

Composite score measuring competitive advantage durability across four dimensions: returns above cost of capital, pricing power stability, revenue predictability, and capital efficiency. Based on 4 years of fundamental data.

Forensic Accounting

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T
-2.78
Unlikely Manipulator
Above -1.78 = likely manipulator · -2.22 to -1.78 = grey zone

M-Score Trend

Beneish's 8-variable model estimates the probability of earnings manipulation. An M-Score above -1.78 signals elevated risk — companies in this range have historically been 3-5× more likely to be manipulating earnings. Scores between -2.22 and -1.78 fall in a grey zone warranting further investigation.
VZ
-2.69
Unlikely Manipulator
Above -1.78 = likely manipulator · -2.22 to -1.78 = grey zone

M-Score Trend

Beneish's 8-variable model estimates the probability of earnings manipulation. An M-Score above -1.78 signals elevated risk — companies in this range have historically been 3-5× more likely to be manipulating earnings. Scores between -2.22 and -1.78 fall in a grey zone warranting further investigation.

Beneish's 8-variable model estimates the probability of earnings manipulation. An M-Score above -1.78 signals elevated risk — companies in this range have historically been 3-5× more likely to be manipulating earnings. Scores between -2.22 and -1.78 fall in a grey zone warranting further investigation.

Ownership Breakdown

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T
Insiders 0.1%Institutions 69.3%Retail & Other 30.6%
No. of Institutional Holders3,701
High insider ownership aligns management incentives with shareholders — a key signal in Buffett-style analysis. Institutional concentration can indicate smart-money conviction but also crowding risk.
VZ
Insiders 0.0%Institutions 70.4%Retail & Other 29.6%
No. of Institutional Holders4,047
High insider ownership aligns management incentives with shareholders — a key signal in Buffett-style analysis. Institutional concentration can indicate smart-money conviction but also crowding risk.

High insider ownership aligns management incentives with shareholders. Institutional concentration can indicate smart-money conviction but also crowding risk.

Insider Buying Activity

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T
0
Buys (3M)
0
Buys (12M)
No open market insider purchases found.
Open market purchases · includes direct & indirect ownership · excludes option exercises
VZ
0
Buys (3M)
0
Buys (12M)
No open market insider purchases found.
Open market purchases · includes direct & indirect ownership · excludes option exercises

Open market purchases · includes direct & indirect ownership · excludes option exercises.

Insider Selling Activity

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T
0
Sells (3M)
0
Sells (12M)
SABRINA SANDERS S
Officer
$41,348
@ $27.57 · 2025-05-28
Direct ownership only · excludes indirect, option exercises, planned (10b5-1) sales & derivatives
VZ
1
Sells (3M)
3
Sells (12M)
Total value (12M): $4.35M
HAMMOCK SAMANTHA
Officer
$3.50M
@ $47.83 · 2026-05-29
STILLWELL MARY-LEE
Officer
$428,450
@ $50.00 · 2026-03-02
RUSSO JOSEPH J.
Officer
$429,906
@ $44.88 · 2026-02-02
MALADY KYLE
Officer
$438,101
@ $43.81 · 2025-05-08
MALADY KYLE
Officer
$396,900
@ $44.10 · 2025-05-07
MALADY KYLE
Officer
$329,062
@ $43.87 · 2025-04-30
MALADY KYLE
Officer
$430,240
@ $43.02 · 2025-04-24
MALADY KYLE
Officer
$212,425
@ $42.48 · 2025-04-23
VENKATESH VANDANA
Officer
$437,939
@ $43.79 · 2025-02-25
MALADY KYLE
Officer
$261,623
@ $39.70 · 2025-02-04
MALADY KYLE
Officer
$319,080
@ $39.88 · 2025-02-03
MALADY KYLE
Chief Executive Officer
$453,155
@ $40.88 · 2025-01-29
MALADY KYLE
Officer
$809,800
@ $40.49 · 2025-01-28
MALADY KYLE
Officer
$810,800
@ $40.54 · 2025-01-27
Direct ownership only · excludes indirect, option exercises, planned (10b5-1) sales & derivatives

Direct ownership only · excludes indirect, option exercises, planned (10b5-1) sales & derivatives.

🎭 Mr. Market's Mood

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T
FearGreed
😨Fear(34/100)

"Market is pessimistic — investigate whether fears are temporary or structural"

Composite sentiment score based on 6 market signals. Inspired by Buffett's "Mr. Market" allegory — fear = potential opportunity, greed = potential risk. Must be used alongside fundamental analysis, not in isolation.
VZ
FearGreed
😐Neutral(51/100)

"Market is pricing this stock without strong emotion in either direction"

Composite sentiment score based on 6 market signals. Inspired by Buffett's "Mr. Market" allegory — fear = potential opportunity, greed = potential risk. Must be used alongside fundamental analysis, not in isolation.

Composite sentiment score based on market signals. Inspired by Buffett’s "Mr. Market" allegory — fear = potential opportunity, greed = potential risk. Must be used alongside fundamental analysis, not in isolation.

⚖️ Buffett Signal

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T
⚪Awaiting DCF Data

The Buffett Signal cross-references market sentiment with DCF valuation. Configure the DCF Analysis above to generate a signal.

DCF Margin of Safety: N/AMr. Market's Mood: Fear (34)
VZ
⚪Awaiting DCF Data

The Buffett Signal cross-references market sentiment with DCF valuation. Configure the DCF Analysis above to generate a signal.

DCF Margin of Safety: N/AMr. Market's Mood: Neutral (51)
View T Full AnalysisView VZ Full Analysis

Frequently Asked Questions: T vs VZ

Is AT&T Inc. or Verizon Communications Inc. more undervalued in 2026?▼

Based on our discounted cash flow model, T trades at a 61.6% margin of safety (intrinsic value $57 vs. price $22), compared to VZ's -13.8% margin of safety (intrinsic $40 vs. $45).

Which stock has a wider economic moat, AT&T Inc. or Verizon Communications Inc.?▼

T scores 57/100 (Narrow moat), while VZ scores 55/100 (Narrow moat). The moat score measures competitive advantage durability across ROIC consistency, margin stability, revenue predictability, and reinvestment efficiency.

Is AT&T Inc. in financial distress?▼

T's Altman Z-Score of 0.9 places it in the Distress zone, signaling elevated bankruptcy risk. VZ scores 1.2 (Distress zone). The Altman Z-Score is a five-factor model that predicts insolvency within two years; scores below 1.81 indicate significant distress.

Which company has better free cash flow, AT&T Inc. or Verizon Communications Inc.?▼

AT&T Inc. (T) generates a 12.7% free cash flow yield, compared to Verizon Communications Inc.'s 10.4%. A higher FCF yield means the business converts more of its market value into cash that can be returned to shareholders or reinvested.

Which stock has higher return on invested capital, AT&T Inc. or Verizon Communications Inc.?▼

VZ earns 9.1% ROIC versus T's 7.9%. A higher ROIC means the company generates more profit per dollar of capital employed, a hallmark of durable competitive advantage in Buffett-style analysis.

Which dividend is safer, AT&T Inc.'s or Verizon Communications Inc.'s?▼

T's dividend earns a safety score of 91/100 (Very Safe), compared to VZ's 84/100 (Very Safe). T has raised its dividend for 2 consecutive years.