Verizon Communications Inc. mostly known as Verizon is an American telecommunications company that operates in 150 global locations. The $291.73 billion (total assets) worth company as of 2019 is headquartered in New York City and it is incorporated in Delaware.
Verizon is one of the most celebrated companies across the world with a net income of $19.79 billion in 2019. The company generated a net income of $4.5 billion in the recent Q3 2020. Not just that, Verizon sits in the 20th position in Fortune 2019 ranking. The company generated $131.9 billion in annual revenue in 2019. The company offers advanced wireless and wireline products and services to people across different parts the world. In fact, Verizon’s business model is based on these wireless and wireline segments.
Okay enough said! Let us look at who owns one of the largest telecommunication companies in the world.
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History of Verizon
The leading telecommunication company, Verizon was formed on June 30, 2000, only after Bell Atlantic Corp. acquired GTE corp. In July 2000, the company entered NYSE under the symbol “VZ”.
The name Verizon was derived from the Latin name “Veritas” which means truth and “horizon”, which signifies forward-looking and visionary.
Although Verizon is formed in the 21st century, it has a long interesting history. The company has its roots in the 1980s. Okay, let’s get straight into its history. It all began in 1984 when the world’s leading telecommunications company AT&T was ordered to split itself into different pieces by the US government to break the monopoly. AT&T broke into seven companies referring to them as baby bells. One of the baby bells that came into existence in the same year was Bell Atlantic. The name was changed to Verizon with the merger of Bell Atlantic and GTE, one of the largest telecommunications companies in July 2000.
Verizon was first formed as Verizon Communications and both the leaders of Bell Atlantic and GTE shared management responsibility with Verizon. Verizon Wireless was launched in April 2000, after Bell Atlantic and Vodafone AirTouch had agreed to create a new wireless business with a single brand. However, with 55% shares, Verizon became the majority owner of Verizon Wireless and won management control.
Eventually, Verizon invested more than 58 billion in acquisitions as of 2017. The company bought a nationwide spectrum footprint along with 102 spectrum licenses for introducing fourth-generation Long Term Evolution (4G LTE) mobile broadband network in individual markets around the US. Thus it served 38 major metropolitan areas and covered almost one-third of all Americans.
The company’s 4G LTE covered around 312 million people in the US as of 2015. It also began field trials for 5G wireless technology in 2016 after it acquired Vodafone’s 45% indirect interest in Verizon Wireless for $130 billion. Verizon acquired full ownership of the US wireless industry leader with this transaction.
Who Owns Verizon?
Verizon, the leading American telecommunications company that offers wireless and wireline products and services to almost 150 countries in the world is owned by Verizon Communications Inc. The company has acquired multiple organizations to expand its coverage and lead the industry in developing many wireless and wireline technologies. Of course, it has served millions of people across North America and the other 39 countries in the world. However, it also sold its subsidiaries and shares to other companies for good reasons.
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Since the company joined the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) many top investors invested in the company. Thus the big shareholders in the company have control over the company. So, let’s see who holds the highest shares in Verizon Communications Inc.
With nearly 8.1% of shares, The Vanguard Group, Inc., is the largest shareholder of the company. The second-largest shareholder holds 7.5% and the third-largest shareholder holds 4.1% of the company’s shares. However, as none of the shareholders holds at least 50% of the total shares, no single individual owns the majority interest in the company.
Only the institutional investors own more than 50% of the company which makes them together the strong influencers in board decisions.
Besides these, the inside members (board members) own less than 1% which counts to $64 million worth of shares of the company. Thus the inside members also play a significant role in the company’s crucial decisions along with the major shareholders.
Hans Vestberg is the Chairman and CEO of the company.
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Coming to public stakes, the general public has a 33% stake in the company. Although this group doesn’t hold any power over the company, they play a part in determining the success of the company.
Verizon Acquisitions
Acquisitions play a crucial part in the success of Verizon. The company was created after the merger of Bell Atlantic and GTE, one of the largest mergers in U.S business history.
The company has acquired 22 companies and the approximate value of acquisitions count to $58 billion.
Let us see important acquisitions of Verizon.
- The company acquired GTE, the largest telecommunications company on July 27, 1998, for an undisclosed value.
- In December 2000, it acquired Verizon Avenue.
- Verizon acquired MCI in February 2005 for $8.4 billion and Inceptor, Inc., in 2006 for an undisclosed amount.
- On June 5, 2008, it acquired Alltel, a public relations company for $28.1 billion.
- On June 1, 2012, the company bought Hughes Telematics for $612 million.
- It bought AOL, a digital media company for $4.4 billion on May 12, 2015.
- In June 2017, Verizon acquired one of the popular search engines Yahoo for $4.4 billion.
All these acquisitions impacted the company’s diversification and enabled it to enter into markets and reach new audiences as well as generate new revenue.
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Bottom Line
As you have made it to the end, hope you have learned about the dominating telecommunications company across the world, Verizon, and who owns it. Being a large company, it has multiple shareholders, institutional investors, and inside members who hold power over the company’s decisions. Yet, it is surprising that none of the individuals holds the majority of interests in the company.
