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Verizon (VZ) ruffled a few feathers at the beginning of this year when it decided to continue down the path of hiking prices for its mobile services.
Shortly after ringing in the new year, Verizon announced in January that it was raising the monthly prices of its myPlan and New Verizon Plan wireless accounts due to “rising operational costs.”
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By March, it increased the price of its Verizon Mobile Protect Multi-Device plan and Verizon Mobile Secure Multi-Device plan by $8, which applied to wireless customers with four to 20 lines.
Related: Verizon announces generous offer, but customers should beware
While these significant pricing changes took place, many Verizon customers took to social media to air their frustrations about higher prices, with some threatening to switch phone providers.
Verizon appears to face the consequences of price hikes
Amid these threats, Verizon recently revealed in its first-quarter earnings report for 2025 that while its wireless revenues increased by 2.7% year-over-year during the quarter, generating $20.8 billion, it faced a net loss of 289,000 total postpaid phone customers.
In a note to investors, analysts at New Street Research said the loss in customers matches Verizon’s “worst result on record.”
During an earnings call on April 22, Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg admitted that recent price increases contributed to the dip in customers during the quarter.
Related: Verizon makes a desperate move to lure back fleeing customers
“We did have a slow start on postpaid phone net adds, largely driven by elevated churn due to recent price ups and pressure from federal government accounts,” said Vestberg.
Despite this loss, Verizon Consumer Group CEO Sam Path emphasized during the call that the company does not regret recent price hikes.
“We made a decision to price up certain cohorts in December and January, and they were the right trade-offs to make,” said Path. “It helped us lock the revenue for the rest of the year, and it was the right thing to do.”
Verizon issues stern warning
Vestberg also warned Verizon customers may soon see higher prices for mobile devices due to President Donald Trump’s tariffs. Tariffs are taxes companies pay to import goods from overseas, and the additional cost is often filtered down to consumers through increased prices.
“If we’re going to see those type of increases on handsets that we’ve heard, we are not planning to absorb those,” said Vestberg. “I mean, that needs to be passed onto the customers. That’s the only way to do it because that’s so much money.”