Telephone and Data Systems vs Verizon
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KIRA’s take AI analyst
I put Telephone and Data Systems and Verizon side by side, using each one’s latest annual report. Here is what stands out:
- Verizon is the larger business, with $138.2B of revenue in fiscal 2025 against $1.2B for Telephone and Data Systems, about 113 times as much.
- Verizon grew revenue faster (2.5%, against −5.3%).
- Verizon kept more of each dollar of sales as operating profit (21.2% operating margin, against −7.9%).
- Telephone and Data Systems turned more of its sales into free cash flow (16.2% FCF margin, against 14.6%).
- Verizon earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (9.4%, against −1.5%).
- Investors pay more for each dollar of Telephone and Data Systems’s earnings: a P/E of 11.7x against 11.2x for Verizon.
Who comes out ahead
Of the 10 measures where higher (or lower) is clearly better, how many each company leads.
Telephone and Data Systems
TDS
2/10
FCF marginNet debt / EBITDA
Verizon
VZ
7/10
Revenue growth5-year growthOperating marginNet marginReturn on capitalReturn on equityShare count change
Side by side
Best in the row
| Latest fiscal year | TDS FY25 | VZ FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $4.1B | $179.8B |
| Revenue | $1.2B | $138.2B |
| Free cash flow | $199M | $20.1B |
| Net income | −$6.2M | $17.2B |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | −5.3% | 2.5% |
| 5-year growth | −25.1% | 1.5% |
| Share count change | 4.3% | 0.2% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | — | — |
| Operating margin | −7.9% | 21.2% |
| Net margin | −0.5% | 12.4% |
| FCF margin | 16.2% | 14.6% |
| Return on capital | −1.5% | 9.4% |
| Return on equity | −0.1% | 16.7% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | $62.6M | $139.1B |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 0.3x | 2.9x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $196M | $11.5B |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | 11.7x | 11.2x |
| Piotroski F-score | 5 | 5 |
Ten years
Revenue
Operating margin
Free cash flow
Return on capital
Each company's latest fiscal year; fiscal years end in different months. The best value in each row is highlighted where higher (or lower) is clearly better. Not investment advice.