Based on the aggregated intelligence of 170,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, telecom giant Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) has earned a respected four-star ranking.

With that in mind, let's take a closer look at Verizon's business and see what CAPS investors are saying about the stock right now.

Verizon facts

Headquarters (Founded)

New York (1983)

Market Cap

$100.8 billion

Industry

Integrated telecommunication services

Trailing-12-Month Revenue

$106.64 billion

Management

Chairman/CEO Ivan Seidenberg

President/COO Lowell McAdam

Return on Equity (Average, Past 3 Years)

13.8%

Cash/Debt

$14.7 billion / $61.2 billion

Dividend Yield

5.5%

Competitors

AT&T (NYSE: T)

Comcast (Nasdaq: CMCSA)

Sprint Nextel (NYSE: S)

Sources: Capital IQ (a division of Standard & Poor's) and Motley Fool CAPS.

On CAPS, 94% of the 4,740 members who have rated Verizon believe the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward. These bulls include fellow Fool Rich Smith (TMFDitty), who is ranked in the top 1% of our community, and joshy0077.

Just last week, Rich highlighted Verizon as a solid income opportunity: "GAAP earnings mask massive free cash flow at this steady-Eddy dividend payer. FIOS is an added bonus."

Currently, Verizon even sports a cheapish EV/EBITDA of 4.2. That represents a slight discount to competitors AT&T (6.3), Comcast (6.9), and Sprint (5.2).

CAPS member joshy0077 elaborates on the Verizon bull case:

Continued expansion of their LTE network, capturing market share from ATT (and now T-Mobile), and their superior customer service will keep VZ on the right track for a long time.

They've also got a rash of new phones coming out in the next few quarters, so expect greater sales of new 2-year agreements and extensions of existing agreements.

iPhone 5 (LTE?) and iPad 2/3 sales continue to grow.

What do you think about Verizon, or any other stock for that matter? If you want to retire rich, you need to put together the best portfolio you can. Owning exceptional stocks is a surefire way to secure your financial future, and on Motley Fool CAPS, thousands of investors are working every day to find them. CAPS is 100% free, so get started!