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VZ vs ASTS: Which Connectivity Stock Should You Invest In Now?
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Key Takeaways
ASTS is expanding coverage with the BlueBird 6 launch and plans for 45 to 60 satellite launches in 2026.
ASTS improved network flexibility by securing additional satellite spectrum for future service expansion.
Verizon posted steady growth, but competition and heavy debt continue to pressure margins.
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ - Free Report) and AST SpaceMobile (ASTS - Free Report) are both expanding their capabilities to augment the accessibility of wireless connectivity. As one of the leading wireless carriers in the United States, Verizon delivers communication services to a vast customer base across the public sector, small and medium businesses, as well as global enterprises. AST SpaceMobile is building the world’s first and only global cellular broadband network in space, accessible directly by standard smartphones (4G-LTE/5G devices) for commercial and government use, leveraging its extensive Intellectual Property and patent portfolio.
Per a report from Precedence Research, the global wireless connectivity market was valued at $118.32 billion in 2025. It is expected to reach $373 billion in 2034, with a compound annual growth rate of 13.64%. Let’s analyze in depth the competitive strengths and weaknesses of the companies to understand which of ASTS or Verizon is in a better position to maximize gains from these emerging market trends.
The Case for ASTS
ASTS has swiftly expanded its space-based connectivity infrastructure over the past several quarters. It has recently launched the BlueBird 6 satellite into orbit from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, India. BlueBird 6 now holds the record as the largest commercial communications array deployed in low Earth orbit, advancing the company’s goal of delivering space-based broadband connectivity directly to standard smartphones worldwide. The company is well on track to complete 45-60 satellite launches in 2026.
The company is benefiting from a growing client base in the public and private sectors. It has acquired 60 MHz of global S-Band spectrum priority rights. This is allowing the company to expand its subscriber capacity and bring several services to target markets.
The acquisition of Ligado Networks has enabled it to gain the spectrum rights to a 45MHz block of Ligado’s L-band spectrum in the United States and Canadian markets for more than 80 years. With the successful completion of the transaction, ASTS will be able to offer its cellular satellite services independently, reducing its reliance on carrier partners.
ASTS is also expanding its manufacturing footprint in the United States and Europe to support growing demand trends. The company’s multi-dimensional expansion strategy puts it in an advantageous position in the emerging space-based connectivity domain. However, fluctuating satellite material prices stemming from macro headwinds and geopolitical unrest raise uncertainty regarding the company’s top-line growth.
As of Sept. 30, 2025, it had $1.2 billion in cash and cash equivalents with $697.6 million in long-term debt. The company’s current ratio stands at 9.56. A current ratio higher than 1 indicates that ASTS is well positioned to fulfill its short-term debt obligations.
The Case for Verizon
Verizon is benefiting from solid momentum in the consumer segment. In the third quarter of 2025, wireless retail postpaid phone gross ads were 2.8 million, up 5.4% year over year. Wireless postpaid upgrades were 4.2 million, up 12% year over year. Service revenues were up 2.1% to $20.34 billion, while wireless equipment revenues improved 6.4% to $4.77 billion. Wireless retail postpaid phone churn was 0.91%. The company delivered 306,000 broadband net additions in the quarter. Its broadband user base increased 1.3 million year over year, reaching a total of 13.2 million subscribers. Verizon’s customer segmentation strategy, which categorizes different client groups, helps it deliver tailored solutions to different sectors. Such personalized offerings help in client retention and drive average revenue per account growth.
However, the company faces stiff competition from other major telecom operators such as AT&T, Inc. (T - Free Report) and T-Mobile, US Inc. (TMUS - Free Report) . The U.S. wireless market is highly saturated, with all the major players having network coverage exceeding 300 million people nationwide. One can only expand by taking away users from other companies. This makes the market highly price sensitive and drives up the customer retention costs.
AT&T has been rapidly expanding its fiber footprint with strategic acquisitions and infrastructure deployment. AT&T has also recently improved its 5G network with the spectrum acquisition and deployment from EchoStar. T-Mobile is also expanding its ultra-capacity 5G infrastructure worldwide. In the face of growing competition from T-Mobile and AT&T, Verizon often increases spending on discounts and promotional activities. This also strains the margin.
However, to gain a competitive edge, Verizon is expanding into other high-growth markets. Verizon’s Edge Transportation Exchange is a state-of-the-art mobile-network vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication platform for connected vehicles. The cutting-edge solution incorporates Verizon’s industry-leading 5G, LTE mobile networks and Verizon 5G Edge mobile edge compute to enable vehicles to communicate and share important data with each other. It is also working together with Kodiak AI to modernize the trucking industry by combining autonomous driving technology with advanced IoT and 5G connectivity. Such innovation augurs well for long-term growth.
As of Sept. 30, 2025, the company had $7.71 billion in cash and cash equivalents with $126.63 billion of long-term debt. Its debt-to-capital ratio stands at 58% compared to 54.8% for the industry. VZ’s current ratio is 0.74. A current ratio lower than 1 highlights that the company might face difficulties in its short-term debt obligations.
How Do Zacks Estimates Compare for VZ & ASTS?
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Verizon’s 2025 sales and EPS implies year-over-year growth of 2.24% and 1.96%, respectively. The EPS estimates have moved southward over the past 60 days.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AST SpaceMobile’s 2025 sales implies year-over-year growth of 1,141.96%, while that for EPS suggests a decline of 60.61%. The EPS estimates have remained unchanged over the past 60 days.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Price Performance & Valuation of VZ & ASTS
Over the past year, VZ has gained 1.9% compared to ASTS’ growth of 352.7%.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Verizon looks more attractive than AST SpaceMobile from a valuation standpoint. Going by the price/sales ratio, ASTS’ shares currently trade at 118.65 forward sales, significantly higher than 1.17 for VZ.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
VZ or AST SpaceMobile: Which is a Better Pick?
ASTS carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), while Verizon has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).
Verizon is expanding its network infrastructure and focusing on customer service to retain its user base. It is focusing on expanding its portfolio cater to other high-growth markets. However, its high debt burden limits its investment in other growth initiatives. Moreover, intensifying competition in the legacy telecom services market is straining margins. Space-based connectivity is gaining popularity worldwide. ASTS’ space-based network, once operational, can eliminate the issues of dead spots and lack of connectivity in rural and remote areas. Investors are betting big on this next-generation connectivity solution. ASTS is also benefiting from a growing partner base worldwide. Owing to these factors, AST SpaceMobile appears to be a better investment option at the moment.
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VZ vs ASTS: Which Connectivity Stock Should You Invest In Now?
Key Takeaways
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ - Free Report) and AST SpaceMobile (ASTS - Free Report) are both expanding their capabilities to augment the accessibility of wireless connectivity. As one of the leading wireless carriers in the United States, Verizon delivers communication services to a vast customer base across the public sector, small and medium businesses, as well as global enterprises. AST SpaceMobile is building the world’s first and only global cellular broadband network in space, accessible directly by standard smartphones (4G-LTE/5G devices) for commercial and government use, leveraging its extensive Intellectual Property and patent portfolio.
Per a report from Precedence Research, the global wireless connectivity market was valued at $118.32 billion in 2025. It is expected to reach $373 billion in 2034, with a compound annual growth rate of 13.64%. Let’s analyze in depth the competitive strengths and weaknesses of the companies to understand which of ASTS or Verizon is in a better position to maximize gains from these emerging market trends.
The Case for ASTS
ASTS has swiftly expanded its space-based connectivity infrastructure over the past several quarters. It has recently launched the BlueBird 6 satellite into orbit from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, India. BlueBird 6 now holds the record as the largest commercial communications array deployed in low Earth orbit, advancing the company’s goal of delivering space-based broadband connectivity directly to standard smartphones worldwide. The company is well on track to complete 45-60 satellite launches in 2026.
The company is benefiting from a growing client base in the public and private sectors. It has acquired 60 MHz of global S-Band spectrum priority rights. This is allowing the company to expand its subscriber capacity and bring several services to target markets.
The acquisition of Ligado Networks has enabled it to gain the spectrum rights to a 45MHz block of Ligado’s L-band spectrum in the United States and Canadian markets for more than 80 years. With the successful completion of the transaction, ASTS will be able to offer its cellular satellite services independently, reducing its reliance on carrier partners.
ASTS is also expanding its manufacturing footprint in the United States and Europe to support growing demand trends. The company’s multi-dimensional expansion strategy puts it in an advantageous position in the emerging space-based connectivity domain. However, fluctuating satellite material prices stemming from macro headwinds and geopolitical unrest raise uncertainty regarding the company’s top-line growth.
As of Sept. 30, 2025, it had $1.2 billion in cash and cash equivalents with $697.6 million in long-term debt. The company’s current ratio stands at 9.56. A current ratio higher than 1 indicates that ASTS is well positioned to fulfill its short-term debt obligations.
The Case for Verizon
Verizon is benefiting from solid momentum in the consumer segment. In the third quarter of 2025, wireless retail postpaid phone gross ads were 2.8 million, up 5.4% year over year. Wireless postpaid upgrades were 4.2 million, up 12% year over year. Service revenues were up 2.1% to $20.34 billion, while wireless equipment revenues improved 6.4% to $4.77 billion. Wireless retail postpaid phone churn was 0.91%. The company delivered 306,000 broadband net additions in the quarter. Its broadband user base increased 1.3 million year over year, reaching a total of 13.2 million subscribers. Verizon’s customer segmentation strategy, which categorizes different client groups, helps it deliver tailored solutions to different sectors. Such personalized offerings help in client retention and drive average revenue per account growth.
However, the company faces stiff competition from other major telecom operators such as AT&T, Inc. (T - Free Report) and T-Mobile, US Inc. (TMUS - Free Report) . The U.S. wireless market is highly saturated, with all the major players having network coverage exceeding 300 million people nationwide. One can only expand by taking away users from other companies. This makes the market highly price sensitive and drives up the customer retention costs.
AT&T has been rapidly expanding its fiber footprint with strategic acquisitions and infrastructure deployment. AT&T has also recently improved its 5G network with the spectrum acquisition and deployment from EchoStar. T-Mobile is also expanding its ultra-capacity 5G infrastructure worldwide. In the face of growing competition from T-Mobile and AT&T, Verizon often increases spending on discounts and promotional activities. This also strains the margin.
However, to gain a competitive edge, Verizon is expanding into other high-growth markets. Verizon’s Edge Transportation Exchange is a state-of-the-art mobile-network vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication platform for connected vehicles. The cutting-edge solution incorporates Verizon’s industry-leading 5G, LTE mobile networks and Verizon 5G Edge mobile edge compute to enable vehicles to communicate and share important data with each other. It is also working together with Kodiak AI to modernize the trucking industry by combining autonomous driving technology with advanced IoT and 5G connectivity. Such innovation augurs well for long-term growth.
As of Sept. 30, 2025, the company had $7.71 billion in cash and cash equivalents with $126.63 billion of long-term debt. Its debt-to-capital ratio stands at 58% compared to 54.8% for the industry. VZ’s current ratio is 0.74. A current ratio lower than 1 highlights that the company might face difficulties in its short-term debt obligations.
How Do Zacks Estimates Compare for VZ & ASTS?
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Verizon’s 2025 sales and EPS implies year-over-year growth of 2.24% and 1.96%, respectively. The EPS estimates have moved southward over the past 60 days.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AST SpaceMobile’s 2025 sales implies year-over-year growth of 1,141.96%, while that for EPS suggests a decline of 60.61%. The EPS estimates have remained unchanged over the past 60 days.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Price Performance & Valuation of VZ & ASTS
Over the past year, VZ has gained 1.9% compared to ASTS’ growth of 352.7%.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Verizon looks more attractive than AST SpaceMobile from a valuation standpoint. Going by the price/sales ratio, ASTS’ shares currently trade at 118.65 forward sales, significantly higher than 1.17 for VZ.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
VZ or AST SpaceMobile: Which is a Better Pick?
ASTS carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), while Verizon has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).
You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Verizon is expanding its network infrastructure and focusing on customer service to retain its user base. It is focusing on expanding its portfolio cater to other high-growth markets. However, its high debt burden limits its investment in other growth initiatives. Moreover, intensifying competition in the legacy telecom services market is straining margins. Space-based connectivity is gaining popularity worldwide. ASTS’ space-based network, once operational, can eliminate the issues of dead spots and lack of connectivity in rural and remote areas. Investors are betting big on this next-generation connectivity solution. ASTS is also benefiting from a growing partner base worldwide. Owing to these factors, AST SpaceMobile appears to be a better investment option at the moment.