Ray Sheffer

Sprint is cutting down on operating costs to manage high capital expenditures. But marginal cash flows aren’t alleviating Sprint’s liquidity concerns.

Verizon (VZ) will report its 1Q15 results on April 21, 2015. It’s the largest US telecom company. It had a market capitalization of $200.08 billion as of April 13, 2015.

In the US and around the world, the telecom industry is regulated because market forces can’t maintain competition within the highly capital-intensive industry.

Post-paid users pay telecom companies periodically. The users pay after they received the service. They typically subscribe to plans for a fixed term.

Investors often use different metrics to determine telecom companies’ relative valuation. Telecom is a capital-intensive industry with high fixed costs.

Investors that like the US telecom industry’s fundamentals—for example, stable cash flows and high dividend yield—may invest in telecom ETFs.

Adjusted revenue from IP-based strategic services grew by 14.3% YoY in 4Q14. Adjusted consumer wireline revenue increased by 2.4% during the quarter.

The launch of Apple’s iPhone 6 in September, just before the holiday season, was a key driver for Sprint’s increased promotional efforts during fiscal 3Q14.

At the end of 1Q16, Suddenlink and Cablevision had ~1.6 million and ~3.1 million customer relationships, respectively.

An improving broadband proposition with higher Internet speeds should positively affect Cablevision (CVC), considering the competitive dynamics in its industry.

California is the only state where the merger between Charter Communications, Time Warner Cable, and Bright House Networks has yet to be approved. It could be approved as early as May 12.

On a YoY (or year-over-year) basis, Suddenlink’s revenue rose ~6.7% to reach ~$0.63 billion in 1Q16.

Telecom companies compete directly with cable companies—particularly in wired voice, data, and TV services. They compete in the residential and small business segments.

We mentioned how wireless phones communicate with cell towers on a frequency band. The band is called a spectrum. It’s the most valuable resource for a wireless company.

Media networks face stiff competition for acquisition and distribution of content. Quality and exclusivity add to competition across the media value chain.

The biggest global telecom company by market capitalization was AT&T as of June 22, 2016.

As of June 9, 2016, Verizon is the third-largest global telecom company by market capitalization.

The merger of Charter Communications (CHTR), Time Warner Cable (TWC), and Bright House Networks was completed on May 18, 2016.

T-Mobile has been adding low-band spectrum holdings.

Verizon’s (VZ) Marni Walden talked about how the company currently views quad-play offerings.

In this part of our series, we’ll look at the performance of Vodafone’s AMAP—short for Africa, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific—segment in fiscal 1H16.

AT&T changed its segment reporting structure. Its new segments are Business Solutions, Entertainment and Internet Services, Consumer Mobility, and International.

Verizon’s wireline segment revenue decreased ~2.2% year-over-year to ~$9.4 billion during the quarter.

Verizon launched its Custom TV service in April. A skinny bundle service, it gives more choices to customers, allowing them to select their TV channels

Apple (AAPL) is starting an annual iPhone Upgrade Program for its new iPhone models at Apple’s US retail stores starting September 25, 2015.

Since the merger, AT&T has extended bundled video and wireless offerings, such as its All in One Plan, which is being offered to DIRECTV and AT&T customers.

Sprint plans to implement a considerable densification program to harness its capacity spectrum holdings, making capital expenditures of ~$5 billion in fiscal 2015.

After Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure joined the company, Sprint added ~30,000 postpaid connections in fiscal 3Q14 and ~211,000 postpaid connections in fiscal 4Q14.

New Charter is the proposed merged entity. The company will include networks of some of the largest cable operators in the US.

At a May 13 MoffettNathanson event, Walt Disney’s (DIS) senior vice president of investor relations, Lowell Singer, discussed the company’s acquisitions.

In the MoffettNathanson Media & Communications Summit on May 13, the company highlighted its intellectual properties portfolio.

An integrated business model helps Walt Disney (DIS) utilize value created by its intellectual properties such as Frozen across its different segments.

The Gigabit Pro service can provide much faster speeds than those offered by Verizon (VZ) FiOS, AT&T GigaPower, and Google Fiber.

According to Verizon, the AWS-3 spectrum acquisition helped it gain depth in its spectrum holdings.

Verizon (VZ) reported its 4Q14 results on January 22, 2015. We’ll analyze the company’s quarterly performance while focusing on Verizon’s wireless revenues.

The largest studios are owned by conglomerates like 21st Century Fox (FOXA) whose studio had the largest 2014 domestic box office market share.

AT&T completed the $2.5 billion acquisition of Iusacell in January 2015. Iusacell is a wireless provider with 70% coverage in Mexico.

AT&T plans to focus more on business customers in 2015. The company’s Business Solutions segment caters primarily to enterprises, government, wholesale customers, and carriers.

Telecom is a defensive industry. Investors looking for high dividend yield in a low-interest rate environment may like the telecom industry.

Traditionally, telecom has been a sector with high leverage. As we know, telecom is a highly capital-intensive industry. The companies finance investments through debt.

The US telecom industry has matured. It reached saturation levels in core voice services. Telecom companies don’t have the opportunity to gain access to new untapped customers.

High fixed costs result in high operating leverage. Acquiring new customers significantly increases a telecom company’s profitability.

The wireless network is also called the cellular network. It makes your mobile and smartphones work over radio signals.

A wireline network includes interlinked connection and redistribution systems. The network allows information—like voice and data—to travel electronically.

Telecom companies provide fixed and mobile voice, text, and data transmission to consumers, small businesses, enterprises, and government entities.