T-Mobile US Inc

Verizon’s wireless business accounts for more than 70% of its revenues. However, the business has recently seen falling revenue growth.

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

AT&T was trading at a current year’s PE multiple of ~12.8x on October 27, 2016. This figure is higher than Verizon Communications’ (VZ) comparable PE multiple of ~12.4x.

In fiscal 2018, Sprint expects cash capital expenditure (excluding leased devices) of $5.0 billion–$5.5 billion as it ramps up its densification plan.

In the telecom world, 5G (fifth-generation) is generating a lot of hype, as it could provide 10x–100x faster wireless speeds than 4G.

Weeks before it was revealed that Charlie Ergen made the largest insider buy of Dish Network (DISH) stock in years, we heard about the positive progress of the company’s online television service, Sling TV.

Now let’s take a look at T-Mobile’s technical indicators and compare them to those of its peers in the telecommunications space.

T-Mobile (TMUS) once again led the industry in year-over-year service revenue percentage growth in 1Q17. This marks the 12th consecutive quarter that TMUS has led the industry in this metric.

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.

Sprint’s (S) solid fiscal 3Q17 financial results suggested that the company is indeed holding its own in an intensely competitive wireless market.

Verizon (VZ) stock offers a potential upside of ~9.5% going forward compared to its current market price of $54.03.

Verizon (VZ) expects to launch 5G fixed wireless broadband services in up to five US residential markets in 2H18.

Wall Street expects Sprint’s (S) total revenues to rise ~3.0% YoY (year-over-year) to ~$8.25 billion in fiscal 1Q17 (ended June 2017).

AT&T (T) announced on January 2, 2018, that it expects to become the first US carrier company to roll out the real 5G network in some markets.

Dish Network (DISH) has filed an application with the FCC to participate as a potential spectrum bidder.

T-Mobile (TMUS) once again led the US wireless sector in YoY (year-over-year) service revenue percentage growth in 3Q17.

Sprint’s EBITDA margin could be impacted by elevated competitive intensity in the industry in fiscal 4Q16.

Mexico has been a huge success story and should be a long-term value creator for AT&T (T).

T-Mobile’s (TMUS) adjusted EBITDA grew ~14.8% YoY (year-over-year) to $3.2 billion in the third quarter.

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.

Sprint’s earnings in the last few quarters Sprint’s (S) strong fiscal 1Q17 (ended June 2017) results indicate that a turnaround is on track. Sprint has begun to recover from years of customer losses and continues to make progress on customer retention, acquisition, and expense optimization initiatives. In fiscal 1Q17, Sprint’s earnings grew significantly YoY (year-over-year). Its […]

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.

T-Mobile’s equipment revenues rose ~78.4% YoY to reach ~$2.7 billion in 4Q16, as the company promoted its equipment installment plans.

Now let’s take a look at AT&T’s technical indicators and compare them to those of its competitors in the telecommunications space.

As Sprint is the fourth-largest mobile carrier company in the United States, it’s making significant efforts to tap more market share in the wireless space.

People consume more data via Wi-Fi because it’s much cheaper than cellular data plans—6.8 GB using Android phones and 8.9 GB using Apple iPhones.

Network performance is the key factor affecting customer retention. Verizon (VZ) continues to pursue its three-tier network performance strategy.

On April 12, 2018, AT&T (T) stock closed at $35.16. It fell 13.3% in the trailing year.

During the quarter, T-Mobile’s prepaid subscribers increased robustly by ~8.1% YoY to reach ~17.6 million.

Verizon’s wireless revenues rose ~6.5% YoY to reach $23.0 billion in the third quarter.

In fiscal 2018’s second quarter, Sprint realized $100 million in YoY net cost reductions.

AT&T (T) will report its results for 3Q17 on October 24, 2017. Wall Street analysts are expecting the company’s earnings to increase in 3Q17.

In its quarter ended March 31, 2017, Sprint (S) reported total revenues of ~$8.5 billion, compared to ~$8.1 billion in March 2016.

A few days back, AT&T announced that it plans to invest $3 billion to extend its 4G LTE network across Mexico.

On February 22, 2018, Verizon had a moving average convergence divergence (or MACD) of -0.69.

T-Mobile believes that integrating T-Mobile and Sprint networks would take two to three years and would look similar to MetroPCS’s integration with T-Mobile.

On April 4, 2018, AT&T was trading 2.1% below its 100-day moving average.

An increase in churn rate is negative for telecom companies because they have to deal with additional acquisition costs associated with customers.

As of November 8, 2017, of the 30 analysts from various brokerage firms tracking AT&T (T) stock, 20 recommend a “hold,” while nine recommend a “buy.”

Verizon commanded the best customer retention rate among the top four carriers in the US in 2Q15.

Under its existing revenue accounting standards, T-Mobile (TMUS) continues to expect its postpaid phone ARPU in 2018 to be stable compared to 2017.

Sprint (S) has been making serious efforts to cut its costs to revive its profits in the wireless space and has been eliminating more than $1 billion in costs in each of the past four years.

T-Mobile (TMUS) is continually investing in capex (capital expenditure) to improve its network. By deploying more low-band spectrum, it continues to enhance its network.

Ericsson (ERIC) has set a goal to deliver a gross profit margin of 37%–39% by 2020.

While Sprint (S) appears to be making progress on the postpaid side, it’s losing more subscribers than the company is gaining on the postpaid side.

On August 17, Sprint had a 14-day RSI reading of 67. T-Mobile, AT&T, and Verizon had 14-day RSI readings of 67, 62, and 73, respectively.

As of April 5, 2016, globally, AT&T was the largest telecom player by market capitalization. China Mobile (CHL) followed.

Sprint (S) spent $1.13 billion on cash capital expenditures, excluding leased devices, in the first quarter of fiscal 2018.

AT&T is planning to enter the IP-based video delivery market by offering DirecTV as an OTT (over-the-top) service in the fourth quarter of 2016.

In fiscal 4Q16, Sprint added 180,000 prepaid subscribers as compared to 264,000 losses in fiscal 4Q15.

Last week, Verizon (VZ) reported that ~6.8% of its total workforce had agreed to leave the company as part of its buyout program.

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

AT&T’s (T) mobile 5G service went live in the United States on December 21 in time for Christmas.

The performance of a mobile carrier’s network determines its customer base. Sprint (S) has been focusing on upgrading its network to keep its customers.

Of the 22 analysts covering Sprint stock on December 27, only 14% rated it as a “buy,” while 23% rated it as a “sell,” and 63% rated it as a “hold.”

AT&T’s scale As of January 9, 2018, AT&T’s (T) market capitalization was ~$230.2 billion, making it the largest US wireless service provider in terms of market capitalization. In comparison, Verizon’s (VZ) market capitalization was ~$210.5 billion, T-Mobile’s (TMUS) was ~$54.6 billion, and Sprint’s (S) was ~$22.8 billion. Bollinger Band AT&T stock closed at $37.49 on January 9, near […]

Now let’s take a look at Sprint’s (S) technical indicators and compare them to those of its competitors in the US telecommunications industry.

For a period of one week in June, Sprint (S) offered an aggressively priced unlimited wireless plan.

AT&T placed a $76.0 million bid in the Mexico spectrum auction. The spectrum AT&T is buying in Mexico is suited for 5G mobile networks.

AT&T’s (T) progress in the 5G space continues. AT&T is enthusiastic about the future of 5G technology, which should improve data speeds.

At a recent analyst briefing, AT&T provided more details about its upcoming streaming service.

As of November 13, of the 30 analysts actively tracking T-Mobile stock, 23 recommend a “buy,” while one recommends a “sell,” and six recommend a “hold.”

Verizon has been spending big on capex to improve its network and acquire additional spectrum for future use.

On October 20, Verizon (VZ) posted EPS (earnings per share) for 3Q16 that handily beat the consensus estimate, but sales were disappointing.

In Mexico, AT&T added 633,000 wireless net subscribers in 1Q17 compared to 529,000 in 1Q16. In Latin America, DIRECTV added 91,000 video subscribers in 1Q17.

Third Point said in its 4Q investor letter that it had an opportunity to establish a position in T-Mobile (TMUS) in November when the company conducted a secondary offering at $25.

Of the 33 analysts tracking Verizon (VZ) stock, 24.0% of them have recommended a “buy” for the stock.

On December 29, 2016, AT&T (T) was trading 6.6% above its 100-day moving average of $40. In comparison, T-Mobile (TMUS) was trading 16.1% above its 100-day moving average

Verizon (VZ) reported adjusted EPS of $4.71 in 2018 compared to $3.74 in 2017, a ~25.9% YoY (year-over-year) rise.

Sprint’s price cuts are clearly aimed at gaining net subscribers at the expense of its competitors. Sprint is the only major US telecom company that kept losing subscribers.

T-Mobile’s revenues grew about 8.0% YoY (year-over-year) to over $10.0 billion in 3Q17, outpacing Verizon’s 2.5% revenue growth.

AT&T’s scale On December 26, 2017, AT&T’s (T) market capitalization was ~$239.8 billion, making it the largest US wireless player in terms of market capitalization. In comparison, Verizon’s (VZ) market capitalization was ~$217.1 billion, T-Mobile’s (TMUS) was ~$53.1 billion, and Sprint’s (S) was ~$23.2 billion. Bollinger Band On December 26, AT&T stock closed at $39.06, near its […]

In 1Q18, Verizon’s (VZ) digital media and advertising subsidiary, Oath, posted gross revenues of $1.9 billion—excluding the impact of the revenue recognition standard.

Cooperman seems to be following the trend of other other hedge funds such as Third Point and Paulson to capitalize on consolidation in the telecom space.

Other telecom companies have also started luring customers with attractive family plans—AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile among them.

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.

Lower churn rates help companies save cost that they would otherwise incur acquiring new customers. So it’s an important parameter in the telecom industry.

T-Mobile’s (TMUS) current marketing drive is known as its “Un-Carrier” initiatives, which are driving subscriber additions for the company.

Verizon (VZ) reported its 1Q18 results on April 24. VZ’s adjusted earnings per share rose ~23.2% year-over-year to reach $1.17 in 1Q18.

The race for 5G (fifth-generation) network implementation is heating up, and Sprint plans to launch its 5G service in early 2019.

Compared to the traditional subsidy model, the Next program provides more flexibility to customers who like to frequently upgrade their devices.

In this part, we’ll look at one of the reasons behind Sprint’s 50% discount for competitors’ customers.

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

T-Mobile (TMUS), the fastest-growing and third-largest wireless service provider in the US, is expanding its distribution footprint as a means to drive growth in the untapped US markets.

The Wall Street analyst consensus 12-month target price for Sprint is $5.19, which suggests a potential return of approximately 2% from the closing price of $5.31 as of June 12.

Sprint expects cash capital expenditures for fiscal 2018 to be in the $5.0 billion–$6.0 billion range.

On April 19, T-Mobile was trading 6.8% above its 100-day moving average, while Verizon was trading ~2.1% below its 100-day, and AT&T was trading 1.8% below its 100-day.

Frontier Communications (FTR) marginally beat revenue estimates and reported wider-than-expected losses per share in the fourth quarter of 2018.

In recent months, T-Mobile stock soared and investors made good money. However, there’s a chance for other investors to make money with the stock.

Average revenue per account (or ARPA) is an important metric for Verizon. It gives an idea of how well it’s able to monetize its users’ accounts. Verizon increases ARPA consistently.

Verizon’s Enterprise Solutions revenues dipped to less than $2.5 billion in 1Q17 from more than $2.5 billion a year earlier.

T-Mobile (TMUS) is continuing to expand its distribution footprint into markets where it has not historically had a presence.

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.

Verizon’s service revenue growth rate declined consistently over the past few quarters. Verizon’s year-over-year (or YoY) growth rate declined from 8.4% in 3Q13 to 4.8% in 3Q14.

Frontier Communications has been trying to retain its subscribers and maintain a lower churn rate amid a highly competitive telecom sector.

In 1Q18, Verizon reported wireless service revenues of $15.4 billion, an ~2.4% reduction year-over-year.

Verizon (VZ) has been spending a lot on capex to improve its network and acquire additional spectrum for future use.

The combined company expects more than $6.0 billion in annual run-rate synergies.

In 1Q18, Verizon’s capex rose YoY (year-over-year) to $4.6 billion from $3.1 billion.