Ray Sheffer
Disclosure: I am in full compliance with all ethics and other policies for Market Realist research analysts. I am not invested in securities that I cover on Market Realist.
More From Ray Sheffer

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

What Do Wall Street Analysts Recommend for T-Mobile?
As of February 11, 2016, ~78.6% of analysts surveyed have given “buy” recommendations for T-Mobile, 17.9% have given “hold” recommendations, and ~3.6% have given “sell” recommendations.

AT&T’s wireline margins expand slightly in 4Q14
Despite the decline in wireline revenue, the segment’s operating income grew marginally by ~1% year-over-year, or YoY, during 4Q14.

AT&T’s Net Additions of Postpaid Customers Declined in 2Q15
On the positive side, growth in AT&T’s net additions of connected devices continued to be solid during 2Q15. AT&T added ~1.4 million connected devices during the quarter.

AT&T’s customer base continues modest growth in 4Q14
AT&T’s connected devices increased 21% year-over-year during 4Q14. The company added 1.9 million customers and connections in the fourth quarter.

Verizon’s Revenue Growth Should Slow down in 1Q15
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.

How Was T-Mobile’s Prepaid Customer Growth in 4Q15?
During the quarter, T-Mobile’s prepaid subscribers increased robustly by ~8.1% YoY to reach ~17.6 million.

Wall Street’s Take on CenturyLink Leading up to Its 1Q16 Earnings
As of April 11, 2016, ~52.6% of Wall Street analysts’ recommendations for CenturyLink’s stock were “holds,” 15.8% were “sells,” and ~31.6% were “buys.”

Verizon Best of Top 4 US Wireless Carriers in Network Performance
Verizon commanded the best customer retention rate among the top four carriers in the US in 2Q15.

AT&T’s Value Proposition in the US Telecom Space
As of April 5, 2016, globally, AT&T was the largest telecom player by market capitalization. China Mobile (CHL) followed.

Verizon’s Global Enterprise revenues should follow declining trend
In the first three quarters of 2014, Verizon’s Global Enterprise revenues declined by ~4.2%. They’re expected to decline by ~4% year-over-year in 2014.

Verizon Edge penetration rate doubles in 4Q14
According to Verizon, its Edge penetration rate increased significantly during 4Q14. Higher Edge penetration should positively impact its 4Q14 earnings.

21st Century Fox Is Still Focusing on Film Diversity
21st Century Fox’s Filmed Entertainment segment performed well in the last two quarters. The segment’s revenue grew by 5% year-over-year to $2.4 billion in 3Q15.

Why Is Sprint Cutting Jobs?
According to Sprint, it has planned to rationalize annual costs by at least $2 billion from fiscal 2016.

What Drove TEF’s Mobile Revenue in Argentina in 4Q15?
During 4Q15, the data revenue stream of Telefónica’s mobile component rose by ~30.2% organically YoY to reach ~0.25 billion euros in Argentina.

How Much Did TEF’s Mobile Segment Grow in Germany in 4Q15?
Year-over-year, Telefónica’s mobile revenue rose by ~2.8% to reach ~1.8 billion euros in Germany.

Google Starts Android Wear for Apple iPhones on August 31
As of August 31, 2015, Android Wear for iOS is operational on LG’s Watch Urbane.

Verizon’s Focus on Broadband through Wireline
Verizon is managing the secular challenges of the pay-TV space by focusing on its broadband offering in FiOS.

Investors should be aware of regulations in the telecom industry
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.

Key customers in the telecom 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.

Why Is Sprint Offering a Discount to Competitors’ Customers?
In this part, we’ll look at one of the reasons behind Sprint’s 50% discount for competitors’ customers.

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

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

What was the key growth driver for AT&T’s wireline segment?
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.

How Is Sprint’s Offer for Competitors’ Customers Faring?
Sprint’s offer to the customers of other wireless carriers is for monthly charges associated with the service plan as well as the access line.

Sprint ramps up promotional efforts to expand customer base
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.

What’s Next for Altice after Cablevision Acquisition?
At the end of 1Q16, Suddenlink and Cablevision had ~1.6 million and ~3.1 million customer relationships, respectively.

Wireless growth opportunities for AT&T in Mexico
AT&T is currently focusing on Mexico, a growing mobile market. Mobile subscribers in Mexico were a significant 105 million in 2013.

Verizon and Cablevision: Market Share after the Altice Transaction
An improving broadband proposition with higher Internet speeds should positively affect Cablevision (CVC), considering the competitive dynamics in its industry.

Merger Update: Charter, Bright House, and Time Warner Cable
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.

A Look at Sprint’s Multiples on January 19, 2016
In this part, we compare Sprint’s earnings multiples with those of its peers in the US wireless telecom market.

Sprint’s Positioning in the US Wireless Space
Sprint’s chief financial officer Tarek Robbiati discussed this second reason for the company’s 50% discount promotion.

What Kind of Growth Does Altice Expect for Cablevision?
On a YoY (or year-over-year) basis, Suddenlink’s revenue rose ~6.7% to reach ~$0.63 billion in 1Q16.

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

Why spectrum is the lifeblood of a wireless network
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.

T-Mobile’s Capital Expenditures: Expected to Increase in 2Q15
T-Mobile’s capital expenditures are expected to grow 20.3% year-over-year to $1.1 billion in 2Q15. Wall Street expects T-Mobile to generate sufficient cash flows to fund its capital investments in 2Q15.

Verizon 3Q15 Earnings: The 600 MHz Spectrum Auction in 2016
Verizon’s CFO and EVP, Fran Shammo, talked about how important the 600 MHz or megahertz spectrum is for the company.

Installment Plans Positively Affect Verizon’s Customer Retention
During 3Q15, Verizon continued to have the best customer retention among the top four telecom players.

Tablets Help Verizon Manage Churn and Increase Usage
Tablets should have contributed to managing Verizon’s churn. In 4Q14, Verizon had the best postpaid churn among the four largest US wireless carriers.

Sprint’s Adjusted Earnings Nearly Doubled in Fiscal 3Q15
Sprint’s adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization) grew robustly on a YoY basis from ~$1 billion in fiscal 3Q14 to ~$1.9 billion in fiscal 3Q15.

Sprint’s Value Proposition in the US Telecom Industry
As of January 21, 2016, EV-EBITDA (enterprise value to earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization) was 5.6x for Sprint, 7x for AT&T, 6.3x for Verizon, and 7.3x for T-Mobile.

Sprint Extends 50% Promotional Offer for Competitors’ Customers
During fiscal 3Q15, Sprint had positive postpaid customer additions. Sprint platform’s postpaid additions grew YoY significantly from just ~0.03 million in fiscal 3Q14 to reach ~0.5 million during fiscal 3Q15.

Net Additions to AT&T’s Postpaid Clients Set to Collapse in 2Q15
AT&T’s net postpaid additions were a significant ~1 million in 2Q14. That’s much higher than what’s being projected for 2Q15.

Wireless is Verizon’s Core Focus Area
Wireless is the key segment of Verizon’s business. It generated revenue and EBITDA of ~$22.6 billion and ~$9.9 billion, respectively, in 2Q15.

How Verizon’s Network Performance Stood up to Peers
Verizon got the top spot in all of RootMetrics’ performance categories in 2H15, although it shared first place in the text performance category with AT&T.

Sprint’s Fiscal 3Q15 Revenue Lower than Analysts’ Expectations
Sprint’s revenue again missed Wall Street’s expectations. Revenue came in ~1.6% below the consensus estimate.

Verizon’s Edge Take Rate Should Increase in 2015
Edge’s take rate—customers choosing the plan—increased significantly from 1Q14 to 4Q14. Verizon expects it to expand to the range of 34%–35% in 2015.

Frontier’s 3Q15 Earnings Surprise Wall Street Analysts
Frontier’s earnings in 3Q15 surprised Wall Street analysts, as it was expected to have loss for the quarter.

Wall Street’s Take on Sprint as of March 11, 2016
Sprint’s stock price movement in the one-month and three-month periods were in the positive territory as of as of March 11.

How Do Media Networks Make Money?
Media networks face stiff competition for acquisition and distribution of content. Quality and exclusivity add to competition across the media value chain.

Verizon’s EBITDA Is Expected to Rise Modestly in 2Q15
According to Wall Street analysts’ consensus as of July 10, on an adjusted basis, Verizon’s EBITDA is expected to rise moderately by ~5% YoY during 2Q15.

What’s AT&T’s Value Proposition in the Telecom Market?
As of June 24, 2016, AT&T was the largest global telecom company by market capitalization.

What Are the Value Propositions of AT&T and Verizon?
The biggest global telecom company by market capitalization was AT&T as of June 22, 2016.

What Is Verizon’s Value Proposition?
As of June 9, 2016, Verizon is the third-largest global telecom company by market capitalization.

What Sprint Plans for Its Wireless Customer Retention
In fiscal 4Q15, Sprint’s postpaid churn figure was ~1.7%. Verizon had the best retention of postpaid customers, with a postpaid churn of ~0.96% in 1Q16.

Frontier Communications: Integration Efforts after Verizon Deal
Frontier Communications’ (FTR) acquisition of Verizon’s (VZ) wireline assets in California, Florida, and Texas was completed on April 1, 2016. According to Frontier, it was a $10.5 billion deal.

What Does Charter Have to Say on Broadband Post-Merger?
Thomas M. Rutledge shed more light on the FCC’s merger conditions for the expansion of Charter Communications’ mass-market broadband footprint.

The Road to 5G: Verizon on Its Initial Challenges
During the recent MoffettNathanson Media and Communications Summit 2016, Fran Shammo, Verizon’s (VZ) executive vice president and CFO, discussed the company’s key challenges in its 5G deployment.

AT&T’s Value Proposition in the US Telecom Market
On May 13, 2016, AT&T was the world’s largest telecom company by market capitalization. China Mobile (CHL) and Verizon (VZ) ranked second and third.

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

How Did Verizon’s Postpaid Net Additions Perform in 1Q16?
By the end of 1Q16, Verizon’s subscribers rose ~4.4% YoY to reach ~107.2 million in the postpaid component.

How Does Frontier Communications Compete on Value Proposition?
As of April 22, 2016, Frontier Communications (FTR) has a market capitalization of ~$6.6 billion. Frontier Communications has a forward annual dividend yield of ~7.8%.

What Sprint Stands to Lose in Fiscal 4Q15
Analysts anticipate that Sprint’s losses will increase YoY during fiscal 4Q15. The consensus believes its adjusted loss per share will be ~$0.11.

Will Frontier Communications’ Revenue Decline in 1Q16?
In 4Q15, Frontier Communications’ revenue was ~$1.4 billion, ~$257 million of which came from its Connecticut operations.

What Could Happen to AT&T’s Net Acquisitions of Prepaid Customers in 1Q16
Wall Street anticipates that AT&T’s (T) prepaid customer growth has maintained momentum in the domestic wireless space in 1Q16.

Inside AT&T’s Postpaid Retention: How Long Can It Keep Improving?
According to analysts, AT&T’s postpaid churn metric is expected to be ~1.08% in 1Q16.

What to Expect from AT&T’s Net Acquisitions of Postpaid Customers in 1Q16
AT&T had postpaid net additions of ~0.53 million in 4Q15 as compared to ~0.85 million during 4Q14.

How Much Can T-Mobile’s Revenue Grow in 1Q16?
T-Mobile’s revenue increased marginally by ~1.1% YoY to reach ~$8.2 billion in 4Q15. The carrier’s postpaid and prepaid segments continued to drive growth in the service revenue.

What Are the Expectations for Verizon’s Revenue Growth in 1Q16?
According to the consensus analyst estimates, Verizon’s revenue is projected to grow by ~1.7% year-over-year to ~$32.5 billion for 1Q16.

Can Verizon Maintain Its Robust Growth Trend in Its 1Q16 Earnings?
Verizon (VZ) will report its results for 1Q16 on April 21, 2016. Wall Street analysts expect that on a year-over-year basis, the carrier’s earnings growth momentum will slow down during 1Q16.

T-Mobile, Binge On, and Music Freedom
T-Mobile’s Binge On and Music Freedom add weight to the service proposition of the fastest-growing wireless carrier among the top four in the US.

Understanding Frontier’s Scale of Operations after the Verizon Transaction
According to the consensus of Wall Street analysts, Frontier’s revenue in 1Q16 is expected to be ~$1.4 billion.

What Is Sprint’s Value Proposition in the US Telecom Market?
Instead of getting direct exposure to the players in the US telecom industry, you can consider getting diversified exposure to the space with the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK).

Behind Verizon’s Wireline Asset Sale Transaction with Frontier
Assets from the Verizon transaction were ~1.2 million, ~3.3 million, and ~2.1 million for Fios video, voice, and broadband, respectively, in 2015.

AT&T GigaPower for U-verse: The Expansion Continues
AT&T GigaPower is a fiber-based video, Internet, and voice service capable of providing Internet speeds of a maximum of 1 gigabit per second.

AT&T May Enhance Its Internet Speeds with G.fast
AT&T is looking at an option to boost Internet speeds over its copper network. According to the company, G.fast “could significantly boost broadband speeds.”

What Do Wall Street Analysts Recommend for Sprint?
~70% of the total analysts covering Sprint gave it a “hold” while ~23.3% gave it a sell.

T-Mobile’s Network Reliability Improved in Riverside
Based on the 1st Half 2016 Metro Area RootScore Report for Riverside, T-Mobile’s network reliability position among the top four US wireless carriers improved by a notch.

Solid Expansion in T-Mobile’s US Wireless Telecom Market Share
A report by 451 Research dated March 28, 2016, highlighted the robust expansion in T-Mobile’s market share in the US wireless telecom industry.

Sprint’s Network Reliability Improves in San Francisco
Based on the 1st Half 2016 Metro Area RootScore Report for San Francisco, in the call performance category, Sprint and T-Mobile’s rankings improved by one and two notches, respectively.

What Does Wall Street Think About Frontier Communications?
Of the analysts covering Frontier stock, 72.2% have recommended a “buy” as of March 28, 2016. About 22.2% have recommended a “hold,” and 5.6% have recommended a “sell.”

Opportunity for T-Mobile at the Broadcast Incentive Auction
According to the FCC, the bidders who don’t have at least 45 MHz of holdings of coverage spectrum in a local area get a maximum spectrum reserve of 30 MHz in that area in the incentive auction.

How Sprint Is Trying to Attract New Customers in a Saturated Market
Sprint is the fourth largest wireless carrier in the saturated US wireless space. Its YoY growth for postpaid subscribers has been in the positive territory since fiscal 1Q15.

What’s Frontier’s Asset Strategy in the Verizon Transaction?
April 1, 2016, is the expected completion date of Frontier Communications’ (FTR) acquisition of Verizon’s wireline assets in California, Florida, and Texas.

What’s the Significance of T-Mobile’s Low-Band Spectrum?
T-Mobile has been adding low-band spectrum holdings.

What Are US Telecom Stocks’ Valuation Levels in SPY?
Over the last few months, US telecom stocks have generated more returns than the broader S&P 500 Index.

T-Mobile and Sprint: Network Reliability Improved in Pittsburgh
In 1H16, Verizon, Sprint, and T-Mobile shared second place in text performance.

T-Mobile and Verizon Improved Network Reliability in San Diego
AT&T (T) retained its top spot in network reliability in 1H16. However, unlike 2H15, it had to share this position with Verizon (VZ) and T-Mobile.

Verizon Got Top Spot Again for Network Performance in Orlando
Verizon (VZ) retained its top position in the overall network performance metric for Orlando in 1H16.

What Are Verizon’s Rankings in Comparison to Peers?
According to RootMetrics’ 2H15 national results, Verizon received the highest network performance rating among the top four US (SPY) wireless providers.

TEF’s Robust Revenue Growth Trend in Argentina Continued in 4Q15
Organically, TEF’s revenue rose robustly by ~18% year-over-year to ~1 billion euros in Argentina during 4Q15.

Behind Sprint’s Push for Customer Retention
The postpaid customer retention of Sprint’s platform continued to improve significantly YoY (year-over-year) in fiscal 3Q15 (calendar 4Q15).

What Are Verizon’s Projections about 5G Availability?
In this series, we will look at some of the key points that Verizon highlighted during the Deutsche Bank Media, Internet & Telecom Conference on March 8, 2016.

What’s the 2016 Outlook for Telefónica?
Telefónica reported its 2015 results on February 26, 2016. The telecom player’s revenue figure was ~47.2 billion euros for the year.

Competition for Verizon in Family Accounts Component
Family accounts typically have sticky customers. As of the end of 4Q15, Verizon continued to have the best postpaid customer retention among the top four US wireless carriers.

Verizon’s Valuation Metrics in the Global Telecom Market
As of February 25, 2016, Verizon is the third-largest global telecom player by market capitalization. It follows China Mobile (CHL). The largest is AT&T (T).

How Could Verizon Benefit from XO Communications Transaction?
In this series, we’ll look at David Small’s comments on Verizon at the Jefferies Media & Communications Conference, including the agreement to buy the fiber assets of XO Communications.

Where T-Mobile Stands Now with Low-Band LTE Coverage and Spectrum Holdings
In the US wireless space, Verizon and AT&T have significant holdings in low-band spectrums. T-Mobile and Sprint have smaller holdings in these spectrums.

Why Sprint Is Choosing Verizon’s Better Choice Plan
Sprint has provided a Better Choice Plan that is comparable to the Verizon Plan. But Sprint’s Better Choice Plan offers 3 GB of shareable data.

Frontier’s 4Q15 Earnings Surprise Wall Street Analysts, Again
Frontier Communications (FTR) reported its fiscal 4Q15 results on February 23, 2016. On an adjusted basis, Frontier surprised Wall Street analysts with positive earnings.