So while many tech stocks were left on the back foot thanks to the arrival of China’s AI project, communications stock Verizon (VZ) is gaining on its own push for an artificial intelligence-centered future. Investors were on board, and shares were up nearly 3% in Monday afternoon’s trading.
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Verizon’s AI Connect plan brings together several key facets to serve as localized infrastructure for AI operations. It takes Verizon’s fiber service and 5G network operations, and incorporates edge computing tools and data center colocation measures, reports note, to product a larger whole that can accommodate AI workload operations.
The move represents a huge potential win for Verizon; word from Verizon Business Group CEO Kyle Malady notes that Verizon currently has a sales funnel measuring around $1 billion by itself just from using its current infrastructure to support AI tools. And with market analysts looking for AI infrastructure to be worth around $1 trillion in investment over the next 10 years, that represents a huge potential win if Verizon can get even a scrap of that.
Price Hikes on Surging Growth
Yet Verizon will not simply be counting on AI infrastructure to generate its revenue of the future. It also looks to its own steadily-growing pool of users for extra cash. In fact, not long ago, Verizon revealed it reached a five-year high for wireless subscriber growth rates. That is welcome news, though subscribers likely will not relish the price hike that Verizon is planning.
Verizon’s FiOS customers recently discovered a price hike of $5 a month, noted reports. This comes just two weeks after Verizon announced its last price hike. For FiOS customers—FiOS is Verizon’s fiber internet platform—they will be hit with what Verizon calls a “miscellaneous charges increase.” Though what that miscellaneous charge covers, or if it provides value to anyone outside Verizon, is unclear.
Is Verizon Stock a Good Buy Right Now?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus rating on VZ stock based on four Buys and eight Holds assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 2.97% rally in its share price over the past year, the average VZ price target of $46.05 per share implies 13.47% upside potential.
