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story category AT&T, Verizon Stocks Tumble
Craig Moffett thinks Wall Street's overconfident in telcos
(old news - 05:40PM Monday Jan 05 2009)
tags: business · telco
Sanford Bernstein analyst Craig Moffett, who has recently shown he's no fan of network upgrades in general and Verizon FiOS specifically, single-handedly sent AT&T and Verizon stocks tumbling today by proclaiming that Wall Street was overestimating the ability of AT&T and Verizon to weather a steep recession. "AT&T and Verizon may indeed be somewhat more recession-resistant than most businesses," Moffett wrote in a sixty page note to clients. "But we believe they are nevertheless much more cyclically exposed than consensus estimates (and valuations) would suggest."

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  5. FiOS Growth Slows
  6. Frontier Shareholders Approve Verizon Deal
  7. U-Verse Invasion Of BellSouth Territory Continues
  8. Fairpoint Hires New Marketing Firms
Forums » AT&T, Verizon Stocks Tumble
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SterlingJ85
Obama 2008

join:2000-11-19
Millville, NJ

Am I the only one

Who thinks this guy is a complete idiot?
--
-Sterling

SteveCon
IBEW 2222 Boston, MA
Premium
join:2004-09-02
Burlington, MA

Re: Am I the only one

+1
srobmw

join:2005-10-01
New Windsor, NY

Re: Am I the only one

+2

DrModem
Premium
join:2006-10-19
USA

Re: Am I the only one

+3

Nobody's going to give up phone/internet unless they face starvation if they don't.

plusfoor

@sbcglobal.net

Re: Am I the only one

+4

53059959
Temp banned from BBR more then anyone

join:2002-10-02
PwnZone
+4

lets keep it going!!!
Chaldo

join:2008-03-18
West Bloomfield, MI

Re: Am I the only one

+5
Cogdis

join:2007-03-26
Floral Park, NY

1 edit

Re: Am I the only one

+6
Verizon just upped the dividend and had a great quarter

David
No,there is another.
Premium,VIP
join:2002-05-30
Granite City, IL
clubs:

Re: Am I the only one

+7

Harddrive
Premium
join:2000-09-20
Norwich, CT

Re: Am I the only one

+8

Nightshade
sic semper tyrannis
Premium
join:2002-05-26
Salem, OR

Re: Am I the only one

+9

He's a moron and the stock investors who listened to him are idiots.
ITALIAN926

join:2003-08-16
Stratford, CT

Re: Am I the only one

+10 This guys a total 'tard. Verizons business is THRIVING in this down economy. Wait till they post their 4th quarter numbers.
barn25

join:2005-11-17
Springfield, IL

Re: Am I the only one

+11 He is out of his mind to think that the long term investments verizon made aren't smart.
mr_alucas

join:2008-04-24
Los Angeles, CA

Re: Am I the only one

+12
zed260

join:2007-09-30
Cleveland, TN

Re: Am I the only one

+13

ftthz
If love can kill hate can also save

join:2005-10-17

Re: Am I the only one

+14
blackstar

join:2005-12-05
Andover, MA

Re: Am I the only one

+15
Big Dawg 23

join:2002-03-27
Northfield, MN

Re: Am I the only one

+16
DarkLogix

join:2008-10-23
Baytown, TX

Re: Am I the only one

+17 (you are not alone)

rawwhide
Zer0
Premium
join:2000-09-03
Zero
clubs:

Re: Am I the only one

+18
bcoleman71

join:2007-09-18
Dallas, TX

Re: Am I the only one

+19

cob_
1310nm Of Goodness
Premium
join:2003-07-08
Tulsa, OK
+20

L337
Premium
join:2005-03-10
Chicago, IL

Re: Am I the only one

+21 in Chicago
PandaB

join:2008-04-14
Chino Hills, CA

Re: Am I the only one

+22

en102
Canadian, eh?

join:2001-01-26
Valencia, CA
·RoadRunner Cable
·DSL EXTREME

While I haven't read his report, I can say the following is true:

1. Many may not cancel wireless service, but may adjust their plans (i.e. cut out data or messaging plans, or move to a lower voice plan)
2. POTS lines are overpriced... they are going.
3. TV service (Uverse) and many services are expensive. Many may cut out these services if they deem them unnecessary, or cut the 'fluff' bundle. Eg. I 'can' get OTA of +40 channels here in SoCal, do I need TV from TWC or AT&T? I can get a Internet + VoIP package (or go wireless) and save.
4. Expansion - Wireless is nearing a limit we're nearing 200 million wireless in the US.- and I expect growth of new customers to slow.

I'd give up having a 6-18Mbps to replace with a 1.5-3Mbps if I was to save a few $$ / month.

battleop

join:2005-09-28
00000

Re: Am I the only one

Most people will give up the higher prices, higher profit plans as times get tight. They may not subscribe to HBO, Showtime, Starz etc but they will subscribe to the lower tiers.

The average non DSLR type user will go for price before speed.

en102
Canadian, eh?

join:2001-01-26
Valencia, CA
·RoadRunner Cable
·DSL EXTREME

Re: Am I the only one

I'm not the average DSLR sub

Even though I telecommute, I stick with the cheapest overall plan ($89/month 'All the best' package on Cable), the $59/month 2 line wireless (and 15% service discount), and no text or data plan (month 2 month on data as needed).

battleop

join:2005-09-28
00000

Re: Am I the only one

Wait a minute.... I thought you could only telecommute with 100Mbps Symmetrical FIOS.

My wife was laid off and we decided to cut back on the movie channels and go from 10Mbps DSL to 2Mbps DSL because we don't HAVE to have that. I am on call 24x7x365 and sometimes I have to telecommute out side of normal business hours. I can and maintain a couple of remote desktop sessions and terminal sessions to routers and switches and talk on my VoIP phone using a 2Mb DSL circuit. I don't worry about big download, I've got 100Mbps (Not a consumer class circuit) at the office

Millenniumle

join:2007-11-11
Fredonia, NY

I wouldn't say nobody.

I dumped cable, internet, voip, and took up a Tracfone $10/month value plan. I didn't face starvation. I just realized how much money I was throwing away in order to have them in a time when gasoline was skyrocketing, food was going up, and natural gas was getting ever more expensive.

Almost everyone is going to buy tv, internet, and/or phone, most people need at least one of them, but the industry has to at least expect a slowdown in a recession. Less people signing up. Some dropping service altogether. Some looking for less expensive plans. Some looking for less expensive - less inclusive plans.
b10010011
Whats a Posting tag?

join:2004-09-07
Bellingham, WA
Who's the bigger idiot?

This guy?

Or the people who read what he says and dump their stock causing these companies stocks to plummet?

iansltx_

@spcsdns.net

Re: Am I the only one

I'd but VZ now but I gotta pay bills. Maybe in a bit.

One thing's for sure: I'll take Verizon FiOS over U-Verse, and Verizon DSL over ATT DSL. Both telcos are rather lame in their wireless offerings, but Verizon seems more progressive than ATT, and their wireless customer base, which has a high ARPU, will soon be the largest in the US. And FiOS is priced higher than UVerse because services provided are better, at least for the internet. I'll pay 70 for 20/20 fiber over 65 for 18/1.5 that degrades if youzre online.

Verizon never has to upgrade their last mile ever again, ATT does...and copper degrades much quicker than fiber.

Verizon and ATT both have internet backbones, so I'd call it a wash there. But Verizon is piping that backbone to customers with FiOS to a much larger extent than ATT is. And ATT is capping.
Verizon all the way. Short T for all it's worth (*shrugs* not much). iPhone schmiPhone. It's a premium product that has to be heavily subsidized, and the ARPU minimum is so high that people will be turned off. Wireless and very high speed internet are the growth areas...plus triple play if you're good enough at all three plays. Verizon is coming out with VoIP soon, with tons of features. So they win.

See 6 replies to this post
margaf77

join:2000-12-22
Bayonne, NJ
said by SterlingJ85 See Profile :

Who thinks this guy is a complete idiot?
+1

MysticGogeta
The Robot Devil
Premium
join:2005-03-14
League City, TX
clubs:
+11 Great photo. It really shows how much of a schmuck he is.

PGHammer

join:2003-06-09
Accokeek, MD
clubs:
·Comcast

said by SterlingJ85 See Profile :

Who thinks this guy is a complete idiot?
Actually, not even close. Jim Cramer (CNBC) also agrees the guy is a few fries short of a Happy Meal, especially about VZ. This same character is notorious for not liking companies that spend serious amounts of money on R&D or capital expenditures or both (among his other notable-but-wrongheaded pans: Intel, Symantec, IBM after spinning off Global Storage to Hitachi and the PC operations to Lenovo, and Microsoft). Among this fella's hot picks: three companies that don't even *exist* any more - Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers, and Merill Lynch.

Zen6

@rr.com

vaulations

Valuations based on subscriber increases/decreases have always been the industry's way of hiding their dirty little secrets.

captain456

@gci.net

Re: vaulations

said by Zen6 :

Valuations based on subscriber increases/decreases have always been the industry's way of hiding their dirty little secrets.
Let's not forget about those telecoms who like to shout about their EBITDA nonstop. It's gotten to the point that any time I hear someone talk about EBITDA an instant "idiot that doesn't know what he's talking about" bell goes off in my head.

kapil
The Kapil

join:2000-04-26
Chicago, IL

Happy Monday!

Moffett is an idiot.

AT&T is screwed long-term because it's wireline business is dying and it refuses to make the needed investments in fiber. Wireless is what AT&T's future depends on.

VZ, on the other hand is pretty well set long term but may take a few hits from idiotic "analysts" like this moffett fool who can't see past the next dividend check.

I'd go long on VZ. Buy and hold. Short T.
--
»www.Digium.com
Core0000
Premium
join:2008-05-04
Somerset, KY

Re: Happy Monday!

I agree. Verizon is in this for the long haul.

insomniac84

join:2002-01-03
Schererville, IN

Yea, AT&T really doesn't care anymore. My dsl speed dropped to 384k due to line issues and their response was 384k is acceptable. Had no choice but to drop them. Plus it was cheaper to cancel the landline and dsl and bundle the cable internet with cable tv and 12mb is a lot better than 1.5mb.

pende_tim
Premium
join:2004-01-04
Andover, NJ

Self Fulfilling Prediction

A "wise man" says stock will fall and the lemmings line up and guess what? We made himself a correct prediction.
--
The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits.

MrMoody
But the Grinch ... did Not.

join:2002-09-03
Smithfield, NC
·Embarq
·Skype
·magicjack.com

Re: Self Fulfilling Prediction

said by pende_tim See Profile :

A "wise man" says stock will fall and the lemmings line up and guess what? [He] made himself a correct prediction.
And a tidy sum by selling short.
--
"It is absurd to say that our country can issue $30 million in bonds and not $30 million in currency. Both are promises to pay, but one promise fattens the usurers and the other helps the people."-Thomas Edison
openbox9

join:2004-01-26
Alexandria, VA

Re: Self Fulfilling Prediction

Only if he wants to go to jail.

MrMoody
But the Grinch ... did Not.

join:2002-09-03
Smithfield, NC
·Embarq
·Skype
·magicjack.com

Re: Self Fulfilling Prediction

said by openbox9 See Profile :

Only if he wants to go to jail.
Today's SEC wouldn't bother him, especially if he uses accomplices. They're too blind to find it.
openbox9

join:2004-01-26
Alexandria, VA

Re: Self Fulfilling Prediction

Ok....

»www.usatoday.com/money/markets/2···ec_N.htm

MrMoody
But the Grinch ... did Not.

join:2002-09-03
Smithfield, NC
·Embarq
·Skype
·magicjack.com

Re: Self Fulfilling Prediction

3 months ago, only worried about people doing it to banks, and no visible results.
--
"It is absurd to say that our country can issue $30 million in bonds and not $30 million in currency. Both are promises to pay, but one promise fattens the usurers and the other helps the people."-Thomas Edison

Dominokat
"Hi"
Premium
join:2002-08-06
Boothbay, ME
clubs:

1 edit

Bail Out

The Government needs to bail these guys out.

/sarcasm

Alakar
Facts do not cease to exist when ignored

join:2001-03-23
Milwaukee, WI

Duh!

Another financial genius brought to you by the same people that have managed to completely f#@k the economy.
jmmilner

join:2001-11-20
Yorkville, IL

Anybody remember Jack Grubman?

The last time telcos when south in a big way, Mr. Grubman was singing "everything is wonderful" when he knew it wasn't (see »www.sec.gov/news/press/2003-55.htm). Instead of fronting a pump and dump scheme, maybe Mr. Moffett is working the naked short sale side of the street. In any event, history has shown that the experts' ability to move the market far exceeds their insight.

anonuser5541

@rr.com

rofllllllll!!!

He, looks like the type of douche bag that would mess up the ecomomy with is appearence sir you are right on this one!"Roflllllllllll"
sykchyld

join:2008-12-26
Syracuse, NY

VZ stock

Pfft this guy is tryin to kill my 401k, Even with the stock slide today tho, the stock for VZ is still doing pretty well all things concidered. I expect for tommrow there to be a decent rebound.

Pathfinder
Dazed Confused
Premium
join:2000-03-26
Mount Vernon, NY

1 edit

Re: VZ stock

Hell for your 401 you hope it goes lower. Buy all you can. At today's price the dividend is 5.3%. That's a better return than the market.
XknightHawkX

join:2003-02-13
Morton, IL
clubs:

Verizon stock

I don't care what the idiot thinks. If I could afford some of that stock I'd buy into it. FIOS is what put Verizon in for the long haul.

Verizon invested into the future. And as long as the major share holders don't try to stop the FIOS train then they will be sitting pretty.

tschmidt
Premium,MVM
join:2000-11-12
Milford, NH
·Hollis Hosting
·Verizon Online DSL
·Fairpoint Communic..

Re: Verizon stock

said by XknightHawkX See Profile :

FIOS is what put Verizon in for the long haul.
Agree - I'm sorry they sold off New England. The folks in southern NH that managed to get wired with FIOS seem pretty happy.

Verizon is taking hits while they build out fiber. In a few years they will own the markets they've rolled out FIOS. The same Wall Street characters berating them now will be congratulating them on their business acumen.

/tom

anoniman

@comcast.net

You realize...

At the current take rate and cost of building FIOS, Verizon won't see proffit from ANY FIOS subs for the next 20 years?

Unless, of course, they do what they are doing. Raising the rates of every service and every person NOT on FIOS. Yes, you there, with the Verizon cellphone, thank you for paying for FIOS upgrades everywhere!

scooby
Premium
join:2001-05-01
Schaumburg, IL

Re: You realize...

How long did it take to see a profit when they first ran copper? I bet the time frame is similar.

Fiber is a greater medium. All they do is upgrade the equipment at each end and it gets faster. Copper has hit its end. A large part of the population still cannot get DSL as they are too far from the equipment.

Fios uses single mode fiber which supports 1000 Mbps (1Gb) synchronously with the right equipment. It wont be long until they have 10Gb running over it.

This means fiber is ready for duty for the next century. Copper has outlived its use. It was meant for landline phones which are going to be all but extinct in the next decade.

I used to care

@rr.com

I used to care...

Last year i was anxious to see if Fios would ever cover my area of Los Angeles. Kept being told no way since ATT is my local phone service. When i looked closer, both don't beat the speed and price im paying at Roadrunner/Time Warner cable internet for 20down, 1.5up and direct tv is excellent HD coverage, so guess what? I don't care!!!
adeedew

join:2008-01-18
Encino, CA
·RoadRunner Cable

Re: I used to care...

I agree. Roadrunner increased their speeds in the area recently probably to compete. Unless you pay over $100/month on Fios super fast internet, $45/month for Roadrunner Extreme is pretty rock solid. Uverse all depends on how far from hub you are, just like DSL. No thanks.
Pv8man

join:2008-07-24
Hammond, IN

I call shinannigans on this !!!

This is just another scare tactic by these ISP's that think they can get money out of this.

if this is all true then, INCOMPETENCE AND BUSINESS FAILURE SHOULD NOT BE REWARDED!!!

that is the way of capitalism....evolve or die
k1ll3rdr4g0n

join:2005-03-19
Homer Glen, IL

Uh, no?

I don't know what stockmarket your watching, but AT&T stocks are going up.
»finance.yahoo.com/echarts?s=ATT#···ndefined
At close they were down .12c. Nothing to sound the stock alarms.

Verizon isn't looking too good though:
»finance.yahoo.com/echarts?s=VZ#c···ndefined
At close they were down $2.16, something of worry if you had many stocks with verizon, but nothing to get excited over.

luddite

join:2001-09-09
Allen, TX

Re: Uh, no?

said by k1ll3rdr4g0n See Profile :

I don't know what stockmarket your watching, but AT&T stocks are going up.
»finance.yahoo.com/echarts?s=ATT#···ndefined
At close they were down .12c. Nothing to sound the stock alarms.
Curious. I have some AT&T stock and the symbol on the NYSE was changed to "T" 2 years or so ago:
»finance.yahoo.com/q?s=t

Last Trade: 28.43. Down $0.99 (3.37 percent).

kamm

join:2001-02-14
Brooklyn, NY

And just who's this pathetic-looking clown is...?

Other than some largely clueless BS-spreding "analyst", I mean - after more than a decade in IT there are barely anyone I haven't heard of... he's one of them.
Weightless douchebag with no class when it comes to dressing, I guess?

nappyd

@comcast.net

Another reason why people won't cut cell/internet

In a down economy people look for jobs. Given the steep decline/death of newspapers, how people have cut out land line service in place of just using cell phones, and how gov't agencies have moved a lot of services online...

Guess how people look for jobs nowadays:

Yep, searching online. Which, if someone's creative enough, can make it count as a tax credit when using it for job hunting expenses. So no, no one's cutting out internet or cell phone services.
tmc8080

join:2004-04-24
Floral Park, NY

Merits of a company's value, or not

Telecom services such as internet and phone service-- be it wired or wireless will be in demand in bad and good economic times. Sure, there can be more exposure to a company such as Verizon who spent billions on Fiber to the home, but that argument can only get you so far in valuing the stock (I could care less about the stock, and I have NO inevestment in ANY company, 401k or otherwise). What you should be concerned about is what the company does about losing customers... if they are not creative enough and have the authority/will to revamp services (voip, instead of POTS copper landline service, competitive bundling, and yes--customer by customer discounting retention).. then they will suffer in a down economy. Verizon & AT*T should look at making it's prepaid wireless plans more competitive, IMO they are TOO expensive.

While telcos see headwinds, Cable companies must be shaking in their boots right about now. No doubt cable-tv subscriptions may see a much steeper decline than expected... the govt' $40 coupon system is beginning to run out of money.. which means perhaps several million current cable-tv subscribers could be on the chopping block and unsubscribe from cable-tv by the end of Q1, 2009 if incomes don't rise enough.. or worse, customers lose their jobs.

Also, cell phone companies should look at the bottom part of the wireless market... it is growing. Pre paid phone services are the fastest growing market. No contracts - pay as you go service is doing MUCH better than 2-year subscription services right about now. The only caveat is you'll probably end up with a crappier, less featured phone (unless you can afford to buy a better one), but for someone on unemployment or w/o a job, they may just be borrowing the neighbor's wifi, and using prepaid and/or voip, while they work out the job situation. Cable-Tv is much more expendable than telecom services.

To meet the needs of customers, single and dual play services will have to be MUCH more competitive in the coming months to keep customers from cancelling. It will be interesting to see if companies are willing to go the extra mile to preserve customers ON the last mile.. (which accounts for at least 40-60% of the respective telco's revenue)
travelguy

join:1999-09-03
Santa Fe, NM

It's No Surprise...

The dude is clearly a short term return guy. Any capital investment is taking money out of his clients pockets. He promotes milking things for all they are worth and then moving on to the next industry (that someone else made the investments in) when there is no more to milk.

What is surprising is that it takes him 60 pages to write that up.

Dingleberryxz

@telus.net

R-tards ftw

Awwww being an analyst must be nice do nothing pull figures out ones a$$ and get payed well contributing nothing to society cept for their own stupidity... Must be nice...

How people can still listen to what these analists say, Yes how can companys possible make ends meat without having an inferior product and downsizing every month so stock prices can inflate. Who needs a good product when one can exploit a duopoly is prob what this nip dick believes.

captain456

@gci.com

Re: R-tards ftw

said by Dingleberryxz :

Awwww being an analyst must be nice do nothing pull figures out ones a$$ and get payed well contributing nothing to society cept for their own stupidity... Must be nice...

How people can still listen to what these analists say, Yes how can companys possible make ends meat without having an inferior product and downsizing every month so stock prices can inflate. Who needs a good product when one can exploit a duopoly is prob what this nip dick believes.
Analysts do nothing for society? I'd argue that they do far more than you ever have or will. I think the thruth is that you feel inferior (which you most liekely are) and talk down about those who are better than you to make yourself feel better.
keason
Premium
join:2002-05-02
Ann Arbor, MI
·Sprint Mobile Broa..

Moffett is simply looking at long term trends

Trends:

POTS revenue has been declining steadily since the days of dial-up. Almost no one under age 30 has a land line, and the remainder of the age groups are replacing theirs with wireless or VoIP

TV Content is available on the internet and low/no charge beyond internet access. The free vs paid debate was already settled years ago.

Internet access speeds continue to increase with little/no price increase.

Top end cell plan revenue is declining. The 'cap' for an unlimited plan is $99 on its way to $50. Regional carriers already offer unlimited service for less ($30-$40)

As for volume, How many more cell phones can we support? Nearly everyone has one already over the age of 15.

The current economic situation has made both consumers and businesses rethink their spending on non-essential services. Since most consumers and nearly all business purchase excess communication services, it's a fairly easy place to cut. I typically see a 30-50% reduction in business costs after some analysis.

Since these trends are tied to long term profits and the telecom infrastructure is mostly fixed cost, the analysis makes sense. The real question is what will make consumers pay for the next iphone? It seems to me that apple is garnishing most of the profits when carrier kickbacks and app store profits are included, plus the spillover to mac sales.

The real point is that carriers are losing control of their networks, and are moving back to common carrier status
Forums » AT&T, Verizon Stocks Tumblepage: 1 · 2


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