Ray Sheffer

The growth trend in Charter’s core operating profitability further strengthened during the quarter. Charter’s adjusted EBITDA increased 10.4% YoY.

A key growth driver for Verizon’s (VZ) shrinking wireline component has been Fios.

Recently, Verizon 4G secured the top spot nationally in PCMag’s Fastest Mobile Networks 2016 report.

On June 27, 2016, CenturyLink had a forward dividend yield of ~7.9%. Meanwhile, the same yields for Frontier and Windstream were ~9.3% and ~6.8%, respectively.

When it released its 1Q16 results, CenturyLink gave guidance for its core revenue (comprising legacy and strategic revenue) to range from ~$3.9 billion–$4.0 billion for 2Q16.

Out of 30 recommendations, a predominant 70% of analysts recommended a “buy” for T-Mobile stock as of June 28, 2016. About 26.7% recommended a “hold.”

T-Mobile (TMUS) continued to add more video services to Binge On in 2Q16. The company says there are more than 90 video service providers on Binge On.

One of the factors that should be positively affecting T-Mobile’s robust customer growth is its expanding 4G LTE network coverage.

T-Mobile is expected to report its 2Q16 results on August 4, 2016. According to analyst consensus, T-Mobile’s core operating profitability is expected to expand significantly YoY.

As of June 24, 2016, AT&T was the largest global telecom company by market capitalization.

AT&T has a strong growth opportunity in Mexico’s wireless market.

Beginning in 4Q16, AT&T (T) plans to start its new OTT (over-the-top) services: DIRECTV (DTV) NOW, DIRECTV Preview, and DIRECTV Mobile.

AT&T DSL (digital subscriber line) got the 12th position in the Netflix ISP Speed Index for the US in May.

AT&T has been boosting its broadband proposition with AT&T GigaPower, a fiber-to-the-premises (or FTTP) service.

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

Verizon (VZ) initiated go90, its mobile first OTT (or over-the-top) service, in October 2015.

With the merger of Charter Communications (CHTR), Bright House Networks, and Time Warner Cable (TWC), the US cable space has consolidated even more.

Verizon recently announced that it will acquire Telogis, which will boost its telematics portfolio.

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

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

Sprint’s next-year EV-to-EBITDA (enterprise-value-to-EBITDA) multiple was ~4.3x—the lowest among the top four US mobile players.

According to the 1st Half 2016 Metro Area RootScore Report for Des Moines, Verizon came in first in overall network performance, and Sprint came in fourth.

Based on RootScore’s 1H16 report for Tampa, T-Mobile’s network reliability position climbed three notches over its previous position in the 2H15.

According to the latest RootMetrics report, T-Mobile’s network reliability position improved in 1H16 over 2H15 in Raleigh.

According to the 1H16 RootScore report for Raleigh, T-Mobile’s network performance position improved over its previous RootMetrics performance in 2H15.

According to RootScore’s 1H16 report, Verizon, T-Mobile, and Sprint held their prior first, second, and fourth places, respectively, in network performance.

T-Mobile’s network reliability position improved by two notches in this market over the previous RootMetrics report for Los Angeles in 2H15.

T-Mobile shared the top spot in the network reliability parameter for the Chicago market with Sprint (S) and Verizon Communications (VZ).

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

After the merger of Charter Communications, Time Warner Cable, and Bright House Networks, the US cable industry is moving toward further consolidation. Altice is expected to acquire Cablevision by the end of June 2016.

After the approval of the Cablevision transaction by the New York Public Service Commission, Moody’s Investors Service cut Cablevision’s Corporate Family Rating from Ba2 to B1.

The enterprise segment is a growing, significant component for Windstream Holdings (WIN).

According to Windstream, it does not face competition from national cable players in around half of its SMB ILEC footprint.

Windstream’s consumer and SMB (small business) ILEC (incumbent local exchange carrier) revenue continued to decline YoY (year-over-year) during 1Q16.

As of June 15, 2016, Windstream’s price had been in the positive territory in the past month and past year.

On June 15, 2016, Windstream Holdings (WIN) announced that it completed a major transaction for around half of the stake in CS&L (CSAL).

T-Mobile, the fastest-growing US wireless carrier among the top four, has started its new effort called Un-carrier 11 to attract and retain customers.

The customer acquisitions for Verizon Fios Internet and video components have come down significantly in 1Q16 from the levels they were at in 1Q15.

The expected theoretical peak download speed of 5G is 10 Gbps (or gigabits per second).

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

Out of 36 analyst recommendations, ~50% were “buys,” ~44.4% were “holds,” and ~5.6% were “sell” recommendations on AT&T’s stock.

In 4Q16, AT&T (T) plans to initiate the three OTT or over-the-top services: DIRECTV (DTV) NOW, DIRECTV Preview, and DIRECTV Mobile.

AT&T acquired DirecTV, the satellite TV provider, in July 2015. The telecom company’s targeted expansion of GigaPower is going as planned.

During the J.P. Morgan Global Technology, Media and Telecom Conference, Jeffrey Storey, Level 3’s CEO, discussed its goal for growth in its enterprise component.

Verizon’s forward dividend yield was ~4.5% as of May 27, 2016, which was lower than AT&T’s yield of ~4.9%.

Verizon Fios Internet and video customer acquisitions have come down significantly on a net basis in 1Q16 from the levels in 1Q15.

~66.7% of analysts covering Verizon recommended a “hold” as of May 27, 2016. The average target price on Verizon’s stock was $52.63 in comparison to its closing price of $50.62.

According a recent press release, T-Mobile has signed a deal to get a 700 MHz (megahertz) A-block spectrum from a subsidiary of AT&T (T).

The services offered on T-Mobile’s Binge On offering include Netflix (NFLX), Alphabet’s (GOOG) (GOOGL) YouTube, DIRECTV (DTV), and Amazon (AMZN) video.

The pace of Sprint’s postpaid customer growth slowed in fiscal 4Q15. On a net basis, Sprint’s postpaid additions decreased YoY to ~0.06 million during fiscal 4Q15 from ~0.21 million in fiscal 4Q14.

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.

Sprint (S) is undergoing a cost-cutting initiative that is expected to save at least $2 billion per year in fiscal 2016. According to the company, it had achieved ~$250 million of savings in operating costs in fiscal 4Q15.

Frontier continued to add broadband customers on a net basis in 1Q16. These net additions were 24,600 for the quarter.

Frontier plans to harness the Verizon wireline assets in California, Florida, and Texas for opportunities in the SMB (small and medium-sized business) space.

In the Verizon transaction assets, the penetration level of Fios Internet customers was 48.4% at the end of 4Q15.

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.

AT&T’s prepaid customers in the domestic wireless component increased by a significant ~21.3% year-over-year and reached ~12.2 million by the end of 1Q16.

AT&T’s GigaPower is present in more than 1.6 million locations across 22 of the largest metro areas in the country.

The take rate on AT&T’s Next plans continued to expand in 1Q16. In the postpaid component, ~80% of its smartphone activations came with these installment plans in 1Q16.

Thomas M. Rutledge shed more light on the FCC’s merger conditions for the expansion of Charter Communications’ mass-market broadband footprint.

A merger transaction of Charter Communications, Time Warner Cable, and Bright House Networks was completed on May 18, 2016.

Now, let’s look at some value-centric measures of T-Mobile compared to its peers in the United States, including AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint.

Improvement in the penetration levels of family plans among T-Mobile’s customers should positively impact its customer retention.

Recently, T-Mobile’s chief financial officer and executive vice president shed light on the geographic segmentation of T-Mobile’s customer growth profile.

Let’s see what kind of scale Cablevision and Suddenlink may give Altice in the US cable space compared to some of its peers.

Verizon FiOS’s video and Internet customer acquisitions, on a net basis, have come down significantly in 1Q16 from their 1Q15 levels.

Among the top four US wireless players, Verizon maintained the lowest postpaid churn at ~0.96% in 1Q16. AT&T followed Verizon in this parameter with a postpaid churn of ~1.1% in domestic operations during the quarter.

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.

With the completion of the merger, Charter Communications has the third largest pay-TV base in the United States after AT&T (T) and Comcast (CMCSA).

The merger gives the new Charter Communications the second largest wireline Internet base in the United States, according to figures from the end of 2015.

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

Out of 36 recommendations by Wall Street analysts on AT&T’s stock, half were “buy” recommendations and ~44.4% were “hold” recommendations. The remaining ~5.6% of the analysts recommended a “sell.”

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.

AT&T has planned significant expansion in its virtualization effort. AT&T has planned to virtualize more than 75% of the network by the end of 2020.

Among the large Internet service providers, Verizon FiOS was the fastest in this index for April 2016. BrightHouse, Cox, and Cablevision (CVC) Optimum followed FiOS in second, third, and fourth places.

AT&T’s GigaPower is a fiber-based video, Internet, and voice service that is similar to Verizon’s (VZ) FiOS. GigaPower is capable of providing Internet speeds up to 1 Gbps, subject to certain conditions.

During the Jefferies Technology, Media, and Telecom Conference, AT&T’s Scott Mair talked about how AT&T’s wireless network capacity may be able to meet its future needs.

In this series, we’ll look at the highlights discussed by AT&T (T) at the recent Jefferies Technology, Media, and Telecom Conference. Beginning in 4Q16, AT&T plans to initiate three services: DIRECTV Now, DIRECTV Mobile, and DIRECTV Preview.

Windstream Holdings’ enterprise revenue rose by ~1.9% YoY (or year-over-year) to reach ~$0.51 billion during 1Q16.

One of Windstream’s key 2016 priorities is increasing consumer and SMB (small business) ILEC (incumbent local exchange carrier) revenue.

Wall Street expects Windstream Holdings’ (WIN) revenue to keep shrinking in the next two quarters.

As of May 6, 2016, CenturyLink had a current year EV-to-EBITDA multiple of 5.3x. The ratios for Windstream and Frontier were 7.7x and 5.8x.

CenturyLink (CTL) has initiated a strategic review to decide on the future of its data center and collocation assets.

CenturyLink’s (CTL) revenue declined 1.1% YoY to $4.4 billion in 1Q16. The declining trend in CenturyLink’s core revenue continued during the quarter.

CenturyLink’s revenue declined 1.1% YoY to $4.4 billion for 1Q16. For 2Q16, the company expects to generate revenue of $4.38 billion–$4.43 billion.

Sprint’s forward EV-to-EBITDA (enterprise-value-to-EBITDA) multiple was ~4.7x. This is the lowest among the top four US mobile players.

At the end of 1Q16, Charter’s video customers had increased 0.9% YoY and reached 4.4 million. This was well above the company’s estimated video penetration level for the quarter.

During Charter Communications’ (CHTR) recent 1Q16 earnings call, CEO Tom Rutledge shared the progress on the Charter, Brighthouse, Time Warner Cable merger.

T-Mobile’s forward EV-to-EBITDA metric was ~5.5x as of April 27, 2016. This multiple was larger than that of Sprint at ~4.9x on the same date.

T-Mobile continued to boost its 4G LTE coverage in 1Q16. During the quarter’s earning call on April 26, 2016, the company noted that its 4G LTE network encompassed 308 million people.

T-Mobile’s prepaid customers grew by ~12.5% year-over-year to reach ~18.4 million by the end of 1Q16.

By the end of 1Q16, T-Mobile’s postpaid subscribers had grown by a significant ~15.6% YoY and reached ~32.7 million.

T-Mobile’s service revenue continued its solid growth trend, increasing by ~13% YoY to reach ~$6.6 billion during 1Q16. In 4Q15, this stream had increased by ~11.7% YoY.

T-Mobile (TMUS) reported its 1Q16 results on April 26, 2016. The US wireless company had an EPS of $0.56 in 1Q16.

AT&T’s postpaid churn of ~1.1% in 1Q16 was higher than the comparable metric of ~1.0% in 1Q15.

At ~$40.5 billion, AT&T’s revenue was in line with the consensus expectations of Wall Street analysts during the quarter.

During fiscal 3Q15 (calendar 4Q15), Sprint’s Wireless and Wireline segments achieved revenues of ~$7.7 billion and ~$0.58 billion, respectively.

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

The majority of analysts recommended “holds” on Verizon as of April 25, 2016. These recommendations represented ~66.7% of the total.

Year-over-year, Verizon’s postpaid churn continued to improve in 1Q16. For the company, this metric was ~0.96% in 1Q16 compared to ~1.0% in 1Q15.