reports
- Vikash Harlalka
Charter: Subscribers and EBITDA growth heading lower
There is a lot that’s common between Charter and Comcast, and yet there is a lot that’s different about the two companies. Both are operating in an environment where broadband subscriber growth remains a distant dream. Where the two companies differ is expectation around EBITDA growth. While both companies expect EBITDA to decline in 4Q25, Charter expects to grow EBITDA in 2026 unlike Comcast which expects EBITDA to decline in 2026. We also think Charter has higher pricing power than Comcast.
- Jan Frederik Slijkerman
TMT 3Q25 results: Verizon, T-Mobile US and AT&T/T-Mobile US, AT&T show...
Verizon, T-Mobile US and AT&T all showed solid numbers over 3Q25. Despite strong competition, all three mobile telecom operators were able to grow revenue and EBITDA. Furthermore, we believe T-Mobile US might benefit from a credit rating upgrade at S&P, while we could see debt increase a bit at Verizon and AT&T because of debt-funded acquisitions. In our view, the Euro notes of T-Mobile US look the most attractive in this credit sub-space.
- Vikash Harlalka
Comcast: Tough next few quarters
Comcast is making the right moves in trying to fix their Cable business. These moves will take time to deliver tangible results. For now, we expect some near-term pain. Broadband ARPU growth will remain challenged as the company forgoes price hikes in early 2026. ARPU will also remain pressured due to the continued migration of customers to new pricing. ARPU growth is the biggest driver of EBITDA growth. With ARPU growth remaining challenged, we expect EBITDA declines of mid-single digits over t...
- Vikash Harlalka
CMCSA 3Q25 Quick Take: Improved subscriber trends
Comcast reported broadband losses that were better than expected. On the call, we would be keen to hear the drivers behind the less negative subscriber trends and if these trends may continue into 4Q. We expect the stock to trade up on these results but where it likely winds up for the day will depend on commentary around 4Q trends.
- Blair Levin
Trump Administration Confirms Media Antitrust Policy (and It’s Not Abo...
The New York Post just ran a story headlined “Trump Admin Favors Paramount Skydance in Race to Buy Warner Bros. Discovery.” That conclusion is no surprise; it confirms our previous published analysis. It also, however, lays out new information about the Trump approach to reviewing deals, particularly involving media. In this note we analyze what the article signifies, including how it is an effort to lower bidding tension that will result in a “Trump Transaction Tax” on WBD shareholders, and h...
- David Barden
AT&T: It’s all about that ARPU, no treble
We address here 1) some of the conversations that emerged around postpaid phone ARPU growth and its relationship, or not, to price strategy, 2) the increased focus on volumes amongst the big 3, and 3) AT&T management’s comments about M&A. We’ve also updated our model for today’s results. Of course, we go deep and show our trend charts for key metrics to put the current quarter in context.
- David Barden
AT&T 3Q25 Quick Take: Volumes ahead, financials in-line, guidance reit...
AT&T reported 3Q results this morning. Postpaid phone net adds beat estimates handily but wireless service revenue was a little light due to lower ARPU. EBITDA was ahead of estimates and EPS was in line. The company reiterated all of its 2025 and long-term guidance. Based on these results, we think the stock will trade up slightly. Cable may be softer on AT&T’s stronger than expected FWA net adds.
- Vikash Harlalka
BEAD: Update for the Lone Star State
We have updated our BEAD analysis to include the proposal from Texas which was allocated the largest amount of BEAD funding. We now include BEAD proposals from 52 states & territories in our below analysis. We have also updated the analysis for states that have revised their proposals.
- Blair Levin
A Versant/WBD deal: Prospects for Government Approval
News reports suggest that CMSCA or its cable channel spin-off (Versant) is considering making a bid for WBD. In this note we analyze the prospects for a government review of such a transaction as well as the potential upsides of attempting such a deal even with the odds of DOJ approval being low.
- David Barden
- Jan Frederik Slijkerman
- Timothy Rahill
Euro debt markets in favour with tech firms in 2025/Foreign tech compa...
Euro-denominated issuance by TMT companies has been ahead of expectations in FY25. American companies issued far more Euro debt than expected. This is driven by attractive funding costs in Euro markets, because the risk premium required by investors for European credit markets is lower. Some of the large issuers of Euro-denominated debt are active in the technology sector. This was contrary to our earlier expectations because these companies fund their capital expenditures from cash flow. Finall...
- Jan Frederik Slijkerman
- Timothy Rahill
Euro debt markets in favour with tech firms in 2025/Foreign tech compa...
Euro-denominated issuance by TMT companies has been ahead of expectations in FY25. American companies issued far more Euro debt than expected. This is driven by attractive funding costs in Euro markets, because the risk premium required by investors for European credit markets is lower. Some of the large issuers of Euro-denominated debt are active in the technology sector. This was contrary to our earlier expectations because these companies fund their capital expenditures from cash flow. Finall...
- David Barden
3Q25 Broadband Estimate Deep Dive
If you are one of those eager contrarians looking for the quarter where a combination of discount valuations and even a modest turnaround in cable KPI trends could boost the stocks, this probably ain’t it. The cable industry continues to lose subscribers at an elevated pace with Comcast doing worse than Charter thanks to the 1-2 punch of fiber and FWA.
Moody's Ratings corrects its website display for certain notes issued ...
Moody's Ratings (Moody's) has corrected the display on its websites for Comcast Corporation's Guaranteed Senior Notes due 2047, 2049 and 2052 (CUSIPs 20030NCC3, 20030NCE9 and 20030NCG4) to reflect these notes are senior unsecured. Due to an internal administrative error, an incorrect seniority was d...
- Vikash Harlalka
BEAD: Update for 3 More States
In this latest update, we now include BEAD proposals from 51 states & territories. We have updated our analysis for Alaska, Florida and Utah. Comcast, Brightspeed and AT&T remain at the top of the list among wireline operators. Fiber remains the dominant technology both in terms of locations as well as funding.
- Blair Levin
SATS’ Spectrum Deals with T and now VZ: How Will the DOJ React?
SATS, already having announced deals to sell spectrum to T and SpaceX, is reportedly close to a deal to sell its AWS-3 band to VZ. We expect easy approval from the FCC but given the DOJ Antitrust Division’s comments recently about the risks of leaving “the market vulnerable to increased coordination among the remaining three carriers” how will it react to the new deals? In this note we analyze the DOJ language and what it means for reviews of the spectrum sales to incumbent wireless carriers.
- Vikash Harlalka
BEAD: Impact of Price caps on funding
Based on a leaked internal NTIA memo related to BEAD, it seems like the final proposals by the states may not be final and the NTIA may force them to make changes to their plans. We have analyzed all the proposals so far and estimate that Comcast, AT&T and Frontier may be most impacted by these rules. However, the overall impact isn’t material.
- Vikash Harlalka
Cable’s win share among movers
There has been an ongoing debate among investors whether low moves actually hurt the Cable companies. Until now, it wasn’t possible to answer this question due to lack of data. We now have data from Opensignal that helps us answer this question. In this report, we show that the large Cable operators have been winning more than 50% share among movers who are new to their footprint. The win share has declined over time, especially as competitive intensity has increased. Cable operators can reduce ...
- Vikash Harlalka
BEAD: Another Major Update
We are almost in the home stretch of the BEAD proposal process. In this latest update, we now include BEAD proposals from 48 states & territories. We also incorporate the revisions in some state proposals. Comcast and Brightspeed are at the top of the list among wireline operators. Fiber’s share of locations remained unchanged from our last update. Satellite and FWA together account for close to a third of the locations awarded.
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