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CSCO | Cisco whistleblower gets first False Claims payout over cybersecurity | By Joseph Menn
SAN FRANCISCO Reuters Cisco Systems O CSCO Inc has agreed to settle a whistleblower s claim that it improperly sold video surveillance software with known vulnerabilities to U S federal and state governments marking the first payout on a False Claims Act case brought over failure to meet cybersecurity standards
The settlement and underlying claim were unsealed on Wednesday eight years after the initial legal complaint Cisco paid 8 6 million to resolve the case with most of that going to the federal government and 15 state buyers and more than 1 million going to the whistleblower James Glenn
We are pleased to have resolved a 2011 dispute involving the architecture of a video security technology product said Cisco spokeswoman Robyn Blum There was no allegation or evidence that any unauthorized access to customers video occurred as a result of the architecture
Glenn attorney Anne Hayes Hartman and other experts believe Cisco s payout is the first in a false claims cyber case
Many more whistleblower claims could ensue experts said The settlement clearly provides an opportunity for entrepreneurial plaintiffs or potential plaintiffs to go around looking for more examples like this said Georgetown University law professor Gregory Klass
Hundreds of false claim suits are filed yearly in part because of built in rewards for those who point out improper conduct by government contractors Under the law a whistleblower must provide nonpublic information in order to win an award
With many contracts including pledges that products meet cyber security standards set by the government experts have long warned that the claims could expand into that area and punish vendors for the vulnerabilities that are present in many systems
Cisco s Video Surveillance Manager was used by Los Angeles International Airport the Washington D C police and the New York City public transit system as well as many schools said Hartman
The complaint unsealed Wednesday also names as customers the U S Army Navy Air Force and Marine Corps
Glenn was working at a Cisco partner in Denmark called NetDesign the complaint says among other things working with Danish police In 2008 he warned Cisco that a hacker who got into one camera that was part of the system could use flaws in the software to get administrative control of the entire network The suit says a hacker could then potentially move beyond the video system
Due to the vulnerability in Cisco s surveillance system any user who has or can gain access to one video camera could potentially gain unauthorized access to the entire network of a federal agency the suit says
When Cisco failed to act Glenn spoke with an L A airport police detective on an FBI terrorism task force
The company acknowledged the flaws in 2013 as it released an updated version of the software
There s this culture that tends to prioritize profit and reputation over doing what s right Glenn said in a written statement I hope coming forward with my experience causes others in the tech community to think about their ethical mandate |
CSCO | Cisco Falls 4 | Investing com Cisco NASDAQ CSCO fell by 4 02 to trade at 53 18 by 10 41 14 41 GMT on Friday on the NASDAQ exchange
The volume of Cisco shares traded since the start of the session was 6 59M Cisco has traded in a range of 53 16 to 54 32 on the day
The stock has traded at 57 5000 at its highest and 53 1600 at its lowest during the past seven days |
VZ | Internet Of Things Prospers Globally Investment Ramps Up | Internet of Things IoT which enables any physical electronic device with a valid IP address to transfer data seamlessly over a wireless network is the latest in the league of service and business models that have been gaining rapid market traction According to a recent report by research firm International Data Corporation IDC worldwide spending on IoT is slated to grow 14 6 year over year to 772 5 billion in 2018 Moreover the IoT space will witness a compound annual growth rate CAGR of 14 4 to reach nearly 1 1 trillion in 2021 The next generation superfast wireless networks 4G LTE LTE A upcoming 5G will provide the primary impetus to the telecom industry In this context IoT has the potential to be the numero uno factor driving future growth in this space Notably IoT is a network of physical objects embedded with electronics software sensors and connectivity that enable it to achieve greater value and service by exchanging data with other connected devices As per the IDC report industries that are likely to make the largest IoT investments in 2018 are manufacturing 189 billion transportation 85 billion and utilities 73 billion Consumer IoT purchases which was the fourth largest market segment in 2016 is poised to become the third largest by 2020 according to market researchers Manufacturers investments will focus primarily on offerings that support manufacturing operations and product asset management while two thirds of transportation spending will be on freight monitoring At present the deployment of innovative connectivity platforms to deliver seamless fully integrated mobile communication with global networking is crucial to the success of wireless service providers Massive growth of 4G LTE Long Term Evolution and LTE A Advanced networks across the globe will lead to a smooth transition from 4G to the upcoming 5G network standard Superfast 5G mobile networks will be of utmost importance for efficient management of exponential IoT growth U S telecom behemoths like Verizon Communications Inc NYSE VZ and AT T Inc NYSE T U S national wireless carrier T Mobile US Inc NYSE T and UK based global telecom operator Vodafone Group plc NASDAQ VOD are better poised to benefit from the IoT boom Except Vodafone the other three stocks mentioned above currently carry a Zacks Rank 3 Hold Vodafone sports a Zacks Rank 1 Strong Buy You can see Today s Stocks from Zacks Hottest StrategiesIt s hard to believe even for us at Zacks But while the market gained 18 8 from 2016 Q1 2017 our top stock picking screens have returned 157 0 128 0 97 8 94 7 and 90 2 respectively And this outperformance has not just been a recent phenomenon Over the years it has been remarkably consistent From 2000 Q1 2017 the composite yearly average gain for these strategies has beaten the market more than 11X over Maybe even more remarkable is the fact that we re willing to share their latest stocks with you without cost or obligation |
VZ | Yahoo era ends as Verizon closes 4 48B buyout | Verizon VZ 0 9 has closed on its 4 476B acquisition of Yahoo s YHOO 1 1 core business bringing to a symbolic end the saga of the sale of an Internet pioneer and launching a pair of new enterprises each with a different focus As planned Yahoo and its Internet assets will join with dozens of other Verizon brands including HuffPost AOL Tumblr and others under Oath a new subsidiary The combined set of assets across Verizon and Oath from VR to AI 5G to IoT from content partnerships to originals will create exciting new ways to captivate audiences across the globe says Verizon s Marni Walden Meanwhile what s left of Yahoo will register as an investment company Altaba to manage a stake of about 15 in Alibaba BABA 0 4 and of about 36 in Yahoo Japan YAHOY 2 7 along with cash and equivalents some minority investments and patent holding unit Excalibur With the closing David Filo Eddy Hartenstein Richard Hill Marissa Mayer Jane Shaw Jeffrey Smith and Maynard Webb Jr resigned from the Yahoo Altaba board leaving Chairman Eric Brandt Tor Braham Catherine Friedman and Thomas McInerney who will become CEO Altaba will trade on Nasdaq under YHOO through Friday starting Monday it will trade under ticker AABA no action required by stockholders Yahoo statement Verizon statement Now read |
VZ | Sprint offers one year free unlimited service aimed at Verizon users | By Anjali Athavaley NEW YORK Reuters Sprint Corp is offering free unlimited data talk and text for a year in an aggressive promotion launched on Tuesday aimed at Verizon customers in an oversaturated U S wireless market Customers who switch to Sprint before June 30 and bring their own devices will get free service until July 31 2018 the No 4 U S wireless carrier said After that Sprint s regular rates for unlimited plans will kick in at 60 per month for a single line The promotion mainly targets Verizon Communications Inc NYSE VZ customers through digital advertising Sprint spokesman David Tovar said by phone Sprint shares rose 0 6 percent to close at 8 26 Verizon fell 1 5 percent and both T Mobile US Inc and AT T Inc NYSE T lost about 1 percent The S P 500 Telecommunications Services Index was the weakest of the benchmark S P Index s 11 sectors after the launch with a 1 percent decline mostly driven by Verizon and AT T Since the offer will be promoted digitally rather than on television the cost of winning customers is lower than for Sprint s other unlimited plan promotions Craig Moffett an analyst at MoffettNathanson in a research note on Tuesday called the offer arguably the most aggressive promotion in the history of the U S wireless industry All four major U S wireless carriers have been sweetening their unlimited plan offers prompting concerns from industry analysts about an accelerating price war
But Roger Entner an analyst at Recon Analytics said the promotion makes a really big splash in a really small pool noting that it primarily applied to Verizon users because of the phones that are eligible |
VZ | Verizon closes Yahoo deal Mayer steps down | Reuters Verizon Communications Inc N VZ said on Tuesday it closed its 4 48 billion acquisition of Yahoo Inc s O YHOO core business and that Marissa Mayer chief executive of the internet company had resigned The completion of the acquisition marked the end of Yahoo as a stand alone internet company a tech pioneer once valued at more than 100 billion Verizon the No 1 U S wireless operator is combining Yahoo with AOL which it bought two years ago to form a venture called Oath led by AOL CEO Tim Armstrong Oath s more than 50 brands include HuffPost TechCrunch and Tumblr Given the inherent changes to my role I ll be leaving the company Mayer wrote in an email to employees on Tuesday that she also posted on Tumblr However I want all of you to know that I m brimming with nostalgia gratitude and optimism Armstrong told employees in a separate note seen by Reuters that the combined company s services reach over a billion people each month He added that accomplishing our objectives and goals will require adjustments to the company He said the opportunity in front of us is not about the opinions from the pundits and it is not about the competition it is about our ability to maniacally focus on delivering magical services to mobile enabled consumers The closing of the deal announced in July had been delayed as the companies assessed the fallout from two data breaches that Yahoo disclosed last year Reuters reported last week that Verizon planned to cut about 2 000 jobs or 15 percent of the 14 000 employees at its Yahoo and AOL units Verizon is expected to make cuts as early as Wednesday Yahoo cut 15 percent of its workforce last year and AOL cut 500 jobs On Friday the remainder of Yahoo not acquired by Verizon will be renamed Altaba Inc a holding company whose primary assets will be its 15 5 percent stake in Alibaba Group Holding Ltd N BABA and a 35 5 percent holding in Yahoo Japan Corp T 4689 Thomas McInerney a Yahoo board member will become Altaba s chief executive officer
Verizon shares closed down 1 6 percent on Tuesday and are down nearly 13 percent this year |
VZ | Ericsson s latest mobility report | North America and Asia Pacific are tipped to beat Europe in 5G adoption according to Ericsson BS ERICAs s latest Mobility Report which expects more than half a billion 5G subscriptions worldwide by 2022 In North America there s great interest from the major operators we ve seen statements from both Verizon NYSE VZ and AT T NYSE T to deliver as early as possible said Magnus Ewerbring Asia Pacific CTO at Ericsson Now read |
VZ | Verizon to incur 500 million in pre tax costs from Yahoo deal | Reuters Verizon Communications Inc N VZ said on Thursday it expected to incur about 500 million in pre tax expenses in the second quarter as a result of its 4 48 billion purchase of Yahoo Inc s O YHOO core business Verizon is combining Yahoo s internet assets with AOL which it bought two years ago to form a venture called Oath led by AOL CEO Tim Armstrong Oath s more than 50 brands include HuffPost TechCrunch and Tumblr The expenses are related to severance payments acquisition and integration costs Verizon the No 1 U S wireless operator said in a regulatory filing Reuters reported last week that Verizon planned to cut about 2 000 jobs or 15 percent of the 14 000 employees at its Yahoo and AOL businesses Verizon also said it expected to save over 1 billion in operating costs through 2020 as a result of the Yahoo deal which closed on Tuesday The closing of the deal announced in July had been delayed as the companies assessed the fallout from two data breaches that Yahoo disclosed last year
On Friday the remainder of Yahoo not acquired by Verizon will be renamed Altaba Inc a holding company whose main assets will be a 15 5 percent stake in Alibaba Group Holding Ltd N BABA and a 35 5 percent interest in Yahoo Japan Corp T 4689 |
VZ | Altaba formerly Yahoo to start trading on Monday | Reuters Shares of Altaba Inc the holding company left behind after Yahoo NASDAQ YHOO Inc s sale of its core internet business to Verizon Communications Inc NYSE VZ will begin trading on the Nasdaq on Monday Altaba s main assets include a 15 5 percent stake in Chinese e commerce leader Alibaba NYSE BABA Group Holding Ltd and a 35 5 percent holding in Yahoo Japan Corp Verizon closed its 4 48 billion deal with Yahoo last week marking the end of the tech pioneer as a stand alone internet company which was once valued at more than 100 billion Yahoo was officially renamed Altaba on Friday Its shares will trade under the symbol AABA |
VZ | U S judge faults CFPB indifference toward Sprint settlement | By Jonathan Stempel NEW YORK Reuters A federal judge on Tuesday faulted the U S Consumer Financial Protection Bureau s apparent indifference toward how to distribute money left over from its 2015 settlement with Sprint Corp over unauthorized customer charges U S District Judge William Pauley in Manhattan nonetheless rejected a request by the attorneys general of Connecticut Indiana Kansas and Vermont to send 15 1 million remaining from the 50 million accord to two state based projects saying the money should go to the U S Treasury The decision raised the question of whether the CFPB whose September accord with Wells Fargo NYSE WFC Co over unauthorized customer accounts sparked a national scandal was inattentive toward enforcing one of its own settlements at a time that some Republican lawmakers hope to strip some of the agency s power Sprint had agreed in May 2015 to refund 50 million to customers subjected to the cramming of charges onto their wireless bills following similar settlements by AT T Inc NYSE T T Mobile US Inc and Verizon Communications Inc NYSE VZ But a plan to send the leftover 15 1 million to the Treasury was put on hold when the states proposed their alternative in January Pauley said the CFPB maintained a conspicuous silence on the proposal until May 10 when it responded to an order he issued a month earlier with a short gossamer memo modifying its previous position of indifference to one of steadfast opposition Ultimately Pauley sided with the CFPB but said its delay kept the money out of Treasury s hands for six months The CFPB s role as a public watchdog extends to properly disposing of all funds secured through the resolution of an enforcement action even after the underlying fraud has dissipated and the victims have been made whole Pauley wrote Until this court issued its April 10 order the CFPB appeared uninterested in the fate of the unexpended funds he added It leads this court to ask who will guard the guardians The CFPB declined to comment A spokeswoman for Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen said his office which handled legal filings in the case was reviewing the decision In court papers Overland Park Kansas based Sprint said it would defer to Pauley s decision Pauley has criticized government agencies before including in 2009 when he faulted the Securities and Exchange Commission over a settlement involving biased Wall Street research
The case is Consumer Financial Protection Bureau v Sprint Corp U S District Court Southern District of New York No 14 09931 |
CSCO | Cisco to buy Acacia Communications for 2 8 billion | Reuters Network gear maker Cisco Systems Inc NASDAQ CSCO said on Tuesday it would buy optical component maker Acacia Communications Inc for 2 84 billion in cash as it seeks to garner a bigger chunk of 5G spending by telecom companies Globally mobile networks would need higher capacity optical interfaces to handle a surge of data when high speed fifth generation network comes on line in the next few years Morningstar analyst Mark Cash said the acquisition will bolster Cisco s technology for service providers upgrading to 5G and put its optical portfolio ahead of the shift toward using plug and play devices across various communication segments According to Cisco s Visual Networking Index global internet traffic is projected to more than triple to 13 2 exabytes per day in 2022 from 4 1 exabytes per day in 2017 Cisco s optical portfolio was mainly for short range data center connections and now gains Acacia s skill set in areas such as metro long haul and undersea Cash said Revenue in Cisco s infrastructure platform business which includes switches and routers rose 5 to 7 55 billion in its third quarter That business is expected to get a boost from 5G communication networks but Cisco executives have said they do not expect an impact until 2020 Cisco Chief Executive Officer Chuck Robbins who took the helm in July 2015 has made acquisitions a central part of his efforts to add muscle to the hardware giant s newer growth areas such as the cloud internet of things and cyber security Cisco s 70 per share offer represents a premium of about 46 to Acacia s closing price on Monday Shares of Acacia rose about 35 to 64 86 while those of the Dow component were down marginally at 56 08 The deal is Cisco s biggest since its 3 7 billion purchase of business performance monitoring software company AppDynamics in 2017 Acacia designs and manufactures high speed optical components and counts telecom service providers and data center operators as customers Cisco is among its top 5 customers Excluding Acacia s cash and marketable securities the deal is valued at 2 6 billion Cisco said
The acquisition is expected to close during the second half of Cisco s full year 2020 |
VZ | 3 ETFs For 2017 Tax Loss Harvesting | Tax loss harvesting is one of the more underutilized strategies for taxable investment accounts This approach involves selling holdings at a loss in the current calendar year to offset capital gains and income Furthermore there is the opportunity to replace a mutual fund or ETF with a similar investment to maintain a like kind asset allocation The net effect is to mitigate the impact of taxes in a particularly bountiful year
The first step in this process is identifying holdings that are sitting at a loss and may be ripe for a transition Your monthly brokerage statement or online portfolio view should allow you to easily spot these culprits The following categories may be the most easily exploited tax loss harvesting opportunities for 2017
Energy
Despite a second half rebound the energy sector has been firmly mired in the red and many investors are still upside down in stocks or funds related to this group The Energy Select Sector SPDR NYSE XLE is down over 7 this year and is among the worst major market sectors within the S P 500 Index
It s also worth noting that sub sectors of the energy space such as the VanEck Vectors Oil Services NYSE OIH and the ALPS Alerian MLP NYSE AMLP have experienced even deeper and prolonged losses over the last several years These funds and their related holdings may be perfect candidates for tax loss sellers if they have weighed on an otherwise healthy portfolio
Those who still believe in the potential value potential or rebound effects of the oil and gas sector may opt to simply rotate their exposure to a similar sector focused ETF There is also the option of choosing a more diversified fund with an overweight position in energy such as the iShares Core High Dividend NYSE HDV
Telecommunications
Another struggling sector for 2017 has been telecommunications stocks The Vanguard Telecommunication Services NYSE VOX has over 1 3 billion dedicated to a cadre of 27 large cap companies in this space Top holdings include Verizon Communications NYSE VZ and AT T Inc NYSE T which have both struggled to maintain relevance in a world dominated by high growth technology peers
VOX has fallen nearly 10 this year and continues to demonstrate signs of a more determined down trend This ETF and others like it are often found in income focused portfolios due to their above average yields and more conservative business attributes
Volatility
If you have been stubbornly betting on a return of volatility this year it s likely that you are sitting underwater on a few positions The iPath S P 500 VIX Short Term Futures Exp 30 Jan 2019 NYSE VXX and ProShares VIX Short Term Futures NYSE VIXY have both fallen nearly 70 through 2017 as the CBOE VIX Volatility Index has remained persistently low These funds are generally the realm of short term traders but have become increasingly utilized by more main stream investors for hedges in recent years despite their structural issues and above average costs
Trimming some volatility funds prior to year end may allow you to off set a portion of your capital gains in other areas to enhance the tax efficiency of your investment accounts
The Bottom Line
Tax loss harvesting doesn t have to be an all or nothing strategy It may simply be an opportunity to re evaluate existing holdings to determine if they are still meeting your investment criteria and is most effective for those investors in the highest tax brackets The application of this method may help alleviate a portion of your tax burden and create available cash to utilize in fresh opportunities
Keep in mind that this process does not apply to traditional retirement accounts which are not impacted by capital gains or losses
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq Inc
Disclosure FMD Capital Management its executives and or its clients June hold positions in the ETFs mutual funds or any investment asset mentioned in this article The commentary does not constitute individualized investment advice The opinions offered herein are not personalized recommendations to buy sell or hold securities |
VZ | 4 Big U S Telecos In Focus After Senate Approves Tax Bill | In the early hours of Dec 2 2017 Senate Republicans passed a 1 5 trillion tax overhaul package proposed by President Donald Trump in a 51 49 voting The White House hopes that the bill becomes law by the end of the year While the tax reform bill has resulted in a series of controversies among several economists and financial experts we believe the U S telecommunications industry is going to be a major beneficiary Growth Induced PolicesTrump s proposed policy changes have made the overall economic outlook fairly bullish The two pro growth agendas of Trump namely a significant cut in corporate taxes and deregulation are major catalysts to the U S economy The proposal to reduce corporate taxes from the current 35 to 20 is likely to bring corporate tax rate at its historic low in 78 years Large telecom operators book much of their revenues in the homeland Therefore a significant reduction in corporate tax rate faced by telecom carriers would be immediately accretive to cash flow Moreover the tax proposal offers to provide incentives to companies to repatriate accumulated profits from overseas with an even lower tax rate Capital intensive Nature of Telecom IndustryThe telecom industry is highly capital intensive in nature Therefore the immediate expensing of investment in all tangible intangible and real property other than land would significantly benefit telecom carriers This would encourage telecom operators to increase investment for capital expenditure
Major proposals like a pledge to spend 1 trillion in infrastructure projects over a period of 10 years coupled with the above mentioned policy changes are likely to spur higher consumer spending This may create about 25 million new jobs over a decade which in turn will fuel long term economic growth Effect on Upcoming 5G Wireless NetworkFifth generation 5G superfast wireless networks will provide the primary impetus to the telecom industry In September 2017 Moody s Investors Service stated in a report that the evolution towards 5G wireless networks will result in higher capital spending for U S wireless carriers Trump s tax proposal will result in a huge windfall for telecom operators The carriers can utilize this money for 5G network R D and its deployment In this context Internet of Things IoT holds the potential of becoming the numero uno factor in driving growth in the space Upcoming 5G mobile networks will be of utmost importance in the management of exponential growth in IoT Lower taxes would also enable telecom operators to increase capex budgets to build and upgrade their networks in order to make it IoT ready
According to a report by research firm International Data Corporation IDC worldwide spending on IoT is expected to grow at a 17 compound annual growth rate CAGR to nearly 1 3 trillion in 2019 from 698 6 billion in 2015 Easy Regulatory PoliciesPresident Trump has stated that he wants to do away with nearly 75 of all governmental regulations during this term as the President We believe that the telecom industry will be one of the major beneficiaries of this policy change A new Federal Communications Commission FCC headed by Ajit Pai exercising lesser restrictions certainly augurs well for the ISP Internet Service Providers industry On Apr 3 2017 Trump signed a repeal of the Obama era broadband privacy rules This has given a major boost to the ISPs The digital advertisement market is growing exponentially and ISPs have been increasingly investing resources to cash in on bountiful opportunities However the FCC s previous directive stipulated that the ISP should notify customers before sharing any user data for advertising This would have marred ISP prospects More importantly on Nov 21 Pai revealed a draft plan for a complete roll back of Net Neutrality The FCC is set to vote on the proposed changes during its upcoming Dec 14 monthly meeting There is little doubt that if the new FCC scraps Net Neutrality laws the ISP industry will be the major beneficiary The current FCC s less restrictive regulatory attitude may also pave the way for new mergers and acquisition deals between ISPs and online digital media companies Stocks in FocusWe believe that the major beneficiaries of the U S Tax Reforms bill will be the four large national telecom operators Significant tax relief together with the strong underlying policy of ensuring that Americans have access to high speed mobile broadband in rural and urban areas alike should help large telecom operators going forward
Notably all four national telecom operators currently carry a Zacks Rank 3 Hold You can see Verizon Communications Inc NYSE VZ Headquartered in New York the company is one of the largest communication technology companies offering all kinds of wireless and wireline services For 2018 the Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings per share EPS is pegged at 3 88 reflecting year over year growth of 2 75 The consensus estimate for revenues is 127 31 billion up 1 64 year over year AT T Inc NYSE T Headquartered in Dallas TX the company is also one of the largest communication technology companies offering all kinds of wireless and wireline services For 2018 the Zacks Consensus Estimate for EPS is pegged at 2 96 reflecting year over year growth of 1 32 The consensus estimate for revenues is 160 59 billion up 0 32 year over year T Mobile US Inc NYSE T Headquartered in Bellevue WA the company is a leading wireless service provider in the United States For 2018 the Zacks Consensus Estimate for EPS is pegged at 2 69 reflecting year over year growth of 11 47 The consensus estimate for revenues is 43 09 billion up 5 88 year over year Sprint Corp NYSE S Headquartered in Overland Park KS the company is a leading wireless and wireline service provider in the United States For 2018 the Zacks Consensus Estimate for loss per share is pegged at 0 02 reflecting year over year improvement of 17 90 The consensus estimate for revenues is 32 98 billion up 1 25 year over year Bottom LineTelecommunications is one of the few industries to have seen rapid technological improvement even during the recession Owing to the significance of this service as an infrastructure product we expect the overall economic dynamics to shift in favor of the industry At this stage we believe that these four stocks are poised to capitalize on the growing opportunities of major tax relief
Zacks Best Private Investment IdeasWhile we are happy to share many articles like this on the website our best recommendations and most in depth research are not available to the public Starting today for the next month you can follow all Zacks private buys and sells in real time Our experts cover all kinds of trades from value to momentum from stocks under 10 to ETF and option moves from stocks that corporate insiders are buying up to companies that are about to report positive earnings surprises You can even look inside exclusive portfolios that are normally closed to new investors |
VZ | U S Supreme Court to settle major cellphone privacy case | By Lawrence Hurley WASHINGTON Reuters Police officers for the first time could be required to obtain warrants to get data on the past locations of criminal suspects based on cellphone use under a major case on privacy rights in the digital age taken up by the U S Supreme Court on Monday The justices agreed to hear an appeal by a man convicted in a series of armed robberies in Ohio and Michigan with the help of past cellphone location data who contends that without a warrant from a court such data amounts to an unreasonable search and seizure under the U S Constitution s Fourth Amendment Cellphone location records are becoming increasingly important to police in criminal investigations with authorities routinely requesting and receiving this information from wireless providers Police helped establish that the man at the center of the case Timothy Carpenter was near the scene of the robberies at Radio Shack and T Mobile stores by securing past cell site location information from his cellphone carrier that tracked which local cellphone towers relayed his calls The case reaches the high court amid growing scrutiny of the surveillance practices of U S law enforcement and intelligence agencies amid concern among lawmakers across the political spectrum about civil liberties and police evading warrant requirements The legal fight has raised questions about how much companies protect the privacy rights of their customers The big four wireless carriers Verizon Communications Inc N VZ AT T Inc N T T Mobile US Inc O TMUS and Sprint Corp N S receive tens of thousands of requests a year from law enforcement for what is known as cell site location information or CSLI The requests are routinely granted The Supreme Court has twice in recent years ruled on major cases concerning how criminal law applies to new technology on each occasion ruling against law enforcement In 2012 the court held that a warrant is required to place a GPS tracking device on a vehicle Two years later the court said police need a warrant to search a cellphone that is seized during an arrest The information that law enforcement agencies can obtain from wireless carriers shows which local cellphone towers users connect to at the time they make calls Police can use historical data to determine if a suspect was in the vicinity of a crime scene or real time data to track a suspect Carpenter s bid to suppress the evidence failed and he was convicted of six robbery counts On appeal the Cincinnati Ohio based 6th U S Circuit Court of Appeals upheld his convictions finding that no warrant was required for the cellphone information Civil liberties lawyers have said that police need probable cause and therefore a warrant in order to avoid constitutionally unreasonable searches LONGSTANDING PROTECTIONS Because cellphone location records can reveal countless private details of our lives police should only be able to access them by getting a warrant based on probable cause said Nathan Freed Wessler a staff attorney with the American Civil Liberty Union s Speech Privacy and Technology Project who represents Carpenter The time has come for the Supreme Court to make clear that the longstanding protections of the Fourth Amendment apply with undiminished force to these kinds of sensitive digital records Wessler added But based on a provision of a 1986 federal law called the Stored Communications Act the government said it does not need probable cause to obtain customer records Instead the government said prosecutors must show only that there are reasonable grounds for the records and that they are relevant and material to an investigation The case will be heard and decided in the court s next term which starts in October and ends in June 2018 The Trump administration said in court papers the government has a compelling interest for acquiring the records without a warrant because the information is particularly useful at the early stage of a criminal investigation Society has a strong interest in both promptly apprehending criminals and exonerating innocent suspects as early as possible during an investigation the administration said in a brief David LaBahn president of the Association of Prosecuting Attorneys said warrants can be obtained quickly from judges but police may have problems getting the evidence needed to show probable cause They may not be able to get over that legal hurdle so the court couldn t issue the warrant LaBahn said Civil liberties groups assert that the 1986 law did not anticipate the way mobile devices now contain a wealth of data on each user Steve Vladeck a national security and constitutional law professor at the University of Texas said the case will have enormous implications over how much data the government can obtain from phone companies and other technology firms about their customers without a warrant
Courts and commentators have tried to figure out exactly when individuals will have a continuing expectation of privacy even in data they ve voluntarily shared with a third party Vladeck said This case squarely raises that question |
VZ | Yahoo investors vote on sale to Verizon | Yahoo NASDAQ YHOO shareholders will vote today on the sale of the company s internet businesses to Verizon NYSE VZ The 4 5B transaction would leave stakeholders with shares in a new firm called Oath that would primarily hold 57B in stock of Alibaba NYSE BABA and Yahoo Japan OTCPK YAHOY According to Recode layoffs are expected to number up to 1 000 jobs which is less than 20 of the combined company Now read |
VZ | Yahoo shareholders clear Verizon deal to close Tuesday | Yahoo YHOO 8 4 shareholders have approved the sale of its core Internet operating business to Verizon VZ 0 5 The companies now expect the deal to close on Tuesday after which existing Yahoo will become Altaba and register as an investment company to manage its holdings of Alibaba BABA 11 3 and Yahoo Japan YAHOY 1 3 Yahoo has extended its Dutch auction self tender to buy up to 3B in its common stock until June 16 at 11 59 p m ET That offer was set to expire June 13 Some 20 233 shares were tendered by the close yesterday Now read |
VZ | Yahoo shareholders approve sale of core business to Verizon | Reuters Yahoo Inc O YHOO shareholders on Thursday approved the company s pending sale of its core internet business to Verizon Communications Inc N VZ for 4 48 billion according to preliminary results from a shareholder meeting Yahoo expects that the deal will close on June 13 2017 The company also said it extended a tender offer to buy back up to 3 billion shares to June 16 from June 13 The closing of the deal announced in July had been delayed as the companies assessed the fallout from two data breaches that Yahoo disclosed last year
After the Verizon deal Yahoo will be renamed Altaba a holding company whose primary assets will be its stake in Alibaba Group Holding Ltd N BABA and a 35 5 percent stake in Yahoo Japan Corp T 4689 |
VZ | Verizon plans to cut 2 000 jobs at Yahoo AOL source | By David Shepardson Reuters Verizon Communications Inc N VZ is expected to cut about 2 000 jobs when it completes its 4 48 billion acquisition of Yahoo Inc s O YHOO core assets next week a person briefed on the matter said The cuts are expected to come from Verizon s AOL and Yahoo units and represent about 15 percent of the staff at the two units About 14 000 people work at AOL and Yahoo Many of the jobs are in California and some are outside the United States according to the source who asked not to be identified because the matter is not yet public Yahoo shareholders on Thursday approved the company s sale according to preliminary results from a shareholder meeting and it is expected to be completed on Tuesday The No 1 U S wireless operator is combining Yahoo s search email and messenger assets as well as advertising technology tools with its AOL unit which it bought in 2015 for 4 4 billion Verizon expects mobile video and advertising to be new sources of revenue outside the oversaturated wireless market Verizon shares are down 15 percent this year The acquisition marks the end of the line for Yahoo as a standalone company a storied Web pioneer once valued at more than 100 billion Verizon is rebranding AOL and Yahoo as part of a new venture called Oath led by AOL Chief Executive Officer Tim Armstrong Verizon is betting it can use data from more than 200 million unique monthly visitors to Yahoo sites and combine it with data on 150 million unique monthly AOL users and its own user base of over 100 million wireless subscribers to offer more targeted services for advertisers The Yahoo deal came after activist investors led by Starboard Value LP lost faith in Yahoo Chief Executive Officer Marissa Mayer who was hired in 2012 and forced the sale of the company s core assets Mayer is not expected to remain at Yahoo after the sale is completed Yahoo is still one of the largest properties on the internet with hundreds of millions of customers using its email finance and sports offerings and a heavily trafficked home page In February 2016 Yahoo announced it was cutting 1 600 employees or 15 percent of its staff The deal s closing was delayed as the companies assessed the fallout from two Yahoo data breaches
Yahoo disclosed in December that data from more than 1 billion user accounts was compromised in August 2013 making it the largest breach in history This followed a separate disclosure that at least 500 million accounts were affected in a 2014 breach |
VZ | Sprint chief Claure Enormous synergies in a T Mobile merger | Sprint S 1 CEO Marcelo Claure today sounded his note in the recently well tuned chorus at Sprint and T Mobile TMUS 1 3 talking about the great benefits of a merger and the many synergies to be realized Speaking at eMerge Americas Claure says We re in a great position today T Mobile is an important option among the strategic options because of enormous synergies but there s also other players he says alluding to cable companies wireless ambitions But T Mobile would still be plan A My largest shareholder Masa Son of SoftBank SFTBY 1 2 has made it very public that he believes a potential combination with T Mobile would be great Claure says The Deutsche Telekom DE DTEGn DTEGY 0 8 CEO Tim Hoettges has also made it very public my competitor John Legere CEO of T Mobile has made it very public and I ve made it very public Today you have two mavericks attacking the market imagine if you have a supercharged maverick now going after AT T T 0 7 and Verizon VZ 1 to stop this duopoly Does Sprint s turnaround depend upon some kind of merger Melissa Lee asks We re in a really really good place Claure says pointing to doubled EBITDA and arresting a heavy cash burn However when you look at a potential combination this is a scale game we have half the amount of customers of Verizon and AT T and a T Mobile combination would make the combo more AT T sized Now read |
CSCO | MLB roundup Yanks Tanaka shuts out Rays | Masahiro Tanaka pitched a two hitter and was backed by two homers as the New York Yankees opened a 10 game homestand with a 3 0 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday night Tanaka 5 5 turned in a third straight strong start against the Rays allowing only a leadoff single to Austin Meadows in the fourth and a two out single to Willy Adames in the fifth In three starts this season against Tampa Bay Tanaka has allowed one run on 10 hits and one walk in 22 innings with 23 strikeouts Tanaka struck out 10 walked one threw 76 of 111 pitches for strikes faced two above the minimum and produced his 14th career double digit strikeout game DJ LeMahieu and Cameron Maybin went deep for the Yankees who homered for the 20th straight game It is the second longest streak in team history behind only a 25 game streak from June 1 29 1941 Red Sox 2 Twins 0 J D Martinez and Xander Bogaerts each went 2 for 4 with an RBI and Rick Porcello threw seven shutout innings to outduel Jose Berrios and lead Boston past Minnesota in Minneapolis It was a season high sixth straight victory for Boston which also moved six games above 500 for the first time this season Porcello 5 6 allowed four hits and a walk while striking out eight to pick up his first road victory in four decisions Ryan Brasier pitched a 1 2 3 ninth to earn his seventh save Berrios 8 3 gave up one run on five hits with 10 strikeouts over eight innings Cardinals 5 Marlins 0 Miles Mikolas pitched six scoreless innings Matt Carpenter and Dexter Fowler slugged home runs and host St Louis earned a win over Miami Mikolas 5 7 a native Floridian who lost to his hometown Marlins last week was much better this time around allowing six hits all singles and no walks while striking out four He combined with three relievers on an eight hit shutout and ended his personal five decision losing streak Carpenter went 3 for 4 with his 10th homer of the season a double and two runs helping the Cardinals improve to 6 2 in their past eight games The Marlins have dropped nine of their past 11 games Rangers 7 Indians 2 Danny Santana belted a two run homer and Lance Lynn struck out nine and allowed just one run in seven innings as Texas defeated Cleveland in Arlington Texas Elvis Andrus ripped a two run double and former Indian Shin Soo Choo and Jeff Mathis each drove in a run for the Rangers who scored all seven of their runs with two outs Francisco Lindor and rookie Oscar Mercado each belted a solo homer for the Indians who fell for just the fourth time in 12 games Braves 12 Mets 3 Ronald Acuna Jr continued his torrid offensive pace with three more hits including a leadoff home run and Atlanta defeated visiting New York Acuna was 3 for 5 with his 17th homer and two RBIs and extended his hitting streak to nine games matching his season best Acuna who was 4 for 5 on Sunday is hitting 409 18 for 44 with three homers during the streak He lifted his batting average to 301 Brian McCann and Ozzie Albies also had three hits and struck back to back homers for the Braves in the eighth inning Atlanta has won 10 of its past 11 games The Mets have lost four of their past five Reds 3 Astros 2 Luis Castillo overcame errant command of the strike zone and host Cincinnati held on through some tense moments in the latter innings for a victory over Houston Castillo 7 1 walked a career high six batters but he allowed only two hits and fanned seven while working six plus innings Michael Lorenzen got the last two outs for his third save The Reds scored all of their runs in the fifth inning on a two RBI single from Nick Senzel and an RBI hit from Eugenio Suarez Angels 10 Blue Jays 5 Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani each homered and had three RBIs Felix Pena pitched six plus innings in relief and Los Angeles won at Toronto Trout had four hits including a two run double Justin Upton and Kole Calhoun also homered for the Angels Pena 5 1 allowed four runs six hits and three walks while striking out five Cavan Biggio hit two home runs and had three RBIs for Toronto and Randal Grichuk added a two run homer Giants 3 Dodgers 2 Rookie Tyler Beede gave up just one run over six innings to earn his first major league victory as San Francisco won at Los Angeles Brandon Crawford delivered a two run double in the second inning to help the Giants even the season series against their longtime rivals after 10 games Max Muncy hit a second inning home run for the Dodgers his 17th long ball of the season and fifth over his past eight games Chris Taylor added an RBI fielder s choice in the eighth inning but Los Angeles lost for the second time in three games A s 3 Orioles 2 Mike Fiers outdueled Andrew Cashner in a battle of veteran right handers handcuffed by shaky defenses and host Oakland held on to beat Baltimore Fiers combined with Liam Hendriks and Blake Treinen on a three hitter helping the A s turn back the Orioles for the fourth time in five tries this season Oakland s Matt Olson hit an RBI double in the first inning but Baltimore replied with two unearned runs in the second thanks to a three base throwing error by A s third baseman Matt Chapman Orioles catcher Chance Cisco NASDAQ CSCO committed a third inning throwing error that allowed two runs to score Padres 2 Brewers 0 Joey Lucchesi allowed just three hits and three walks over seven scoreless innings as San Diego shut out visiting Milwaukee Lucchesi 6 4 had five strikeouts while throwing a season high 103 pitches Two of the six Brewers who reached base against Lucchesi were eliminated on double plays Padres reliever Craig Stammen allowed the Brewers other hit a single in the eighth and Kirby Yates pitched a perfect ninth for his 25th save Manny Machado playing while appealing a one game suspension issued for allegedly bumping an umpire Saturday hit a third inning homer The game s only other run came on a first inning wild pitch from Jhoulys Chacin 3 8 Royals 6 Mariners 4 Jorge Soler hit a go ahead two run homer in the eighth inning as Kansas City rallied to win at Seattle Martin Maldonado homered in the ninth inning for the Royals who won for just the 10th time in 35 road games this season They were the last team in the majors to reach double digits in victories away from home With two outs in the eighth Alex Gordon grounded a single into left field against Anthony Bass 1 2 Soler then went deep to right center field his 19th home run of the season for a 5 4 lead Phillies at Nationals ppd
The scheduled game between Philadelphia and host Washington was rained out It will be made up as part of a split doubleheader on Wednesday Field Level Media |
CSCO | Hungary has no evidence of Huawei threat plans rapid 5G rollout minister | By Gergely Szakacs
BUDAPEST Reuters Hungary has no evidence that equipment from Chinese telecoms giant Huawei poses a security threat a government minister said on Thursday adding that Budapest was mulling incentives to accelerate the rollout of a high speed 5G network
The United States and some of its Western allies believe Huawei Technologies equipment could be used for espionage and see its expansion into central Europe as a way to gain a foothold in the European market Huawei denies the accusations
Washington is concerned in particular about the expansion of Huawei the world s biggest maker of telecoms equipment in Hungary and Poland
Budapest has so far shrugged off the security concerns and on Thursday Innovation and Technology Minister Laszlo Palkovics told Reuters that Hungary had yet to receive any evidence beyond what he called accusations leveled at Huawei
We have taken a rather pragmatic stance the same in fact as Germany Palkovics said It has not been proven that Huawei s technology would pose any risk to Hungary as we have seen no data to support that
Until it is proven that Huawei or Cisco or any other technology poses any threat to our community that is Hungary NATO or the European Union we will handle Huawei s technology as any other technology he added
Palkovics comments follow the Hungarian telecoms regulator NMHH s publication this week of the draft documentation for the sale of more than 400 megahertz of 5G spectrum later this year This fires the starting gun on the rollout of a high speed wireless network expected to serve self driving cars and real time communication between machines
He said the country expected the auction to raise about 70 billion forints 244 67 million
Huawei employs around 2 000 people in Hungary where it has invested 1 2 billion since 2005 according to company figures Its European Supply Centre near Budapest launched in 2009 is Huawei s biggest production base outside China the group says
Prime Minister Viktor Orban s government has strengthened business ties with Beijing over the past years
FAST ROLLOUT
Acknowledging that Hungary s technological acumen lagged that of its U S and German allies Palkovics said Budapest was studying the example of Germany where he said an assessment system was developed to precisely identify possible security threats Germany is Hungary s biggest foreign investor
I am positive that if it were to become obvious that there is a security risk Hungary is a member of NATO which entails a spate of commitments which we will follow but so far there has been no information to support that he said
Deutsche Telekom DE DTEGn unit Magyar Telekom has installed Huawei and Cisco Systems Inc NASDAQ CSCO equipment at a 5G test base in western Hungary
Asked whether Huawei could participate without restrictions in the rollout of Hungary s 5G network Palkovics said
Once other technologically more advanced countries launch the rollout that way we will follow suit If they do not we will not either
Palkovics said the government was planning talks with telecoms companies and other players in the sector on ways to facilitate a faster rollout of 5G
The minister said he had met representatives of Germany s Siemens and car maker BMW which plans to build a 1 billion euro factory in eastern Hungary for talks on possible uses of 5G technology
In Germany Siemens and BMW have proposed that there should be an available spectrum for in house applications These companies are also present in Hungary and they have proposed the same he said adding that these frequencies would be allotted in a second stage of the Hungarian 5G tender |
CSCO | Ultra cyclist targets 24 hour record with no toilet breaks | By Martyn Herman LONDON Reuters Riding a bicycle round and round a velodrome non stop for 24 hours sounds like a form of penance but for 48 year old James MacDonald it is just another extreme two wheeled challenge that needs to be crossed off his list Systems engineer MacDonald will roll off the start line at Newport s Geraint Thomas National Velodrome in Wales around midday on Saturday and plans to cover more than 941 873km by the time he comes to a standstill at the same time on Sunday Why One might well ask To break the velodrome 24 hour distance record set by Austrian ultra cyclist Christoph Strasser in 2017 a 3 767 lap grind after which he vowed never to ride on a track again It s about trying to see what your limits are MacDonald who already holds the world record for the fastest return cycle ride between Land s End and John O Groats told Reuters I thought I would try something a bit harder and see if it s possible It s about understanding your capabilities I m rubbish at ball sports and can t run but I can ride a bike The 24 hour record is the ultimate thing to achieve Incredibly MacDonald s record attempt might only be successful if he can limit toilet stops to the absolute minimum preferably none at all as he will need to keep his average speed at around an eye watering 40kph mark Stopping is the worst thing you can do for your average speed stopping is just terrible he said We will try to make sure there are no stops It s a balance between hydration and having to go to the toilet If we manage it correctly I shouldn t have to stop But we might not get it perfect But we ll keep it to the absolute minimum MacDonald will consume around 10 000 calories and 15 liters of fluid during his attempt but the dry air of the velodrome means digesting anything other than liquid will be impossible His diet will be energy gels baby food and Greek yoghurt MONOTONY As well as the obvious physical hardship the monotony of lap after lap after lap on the wooden boards is the other challenge that he will have to overcome The first part in terms of comfort is just something you have to live with MacDonald whose day job is as a systems engineer for technology firm Cisco NASDAQ CSCO said I ve ridden 24 hours non stop before but when you re on the road you have little breaks when you re rolling downhill you can sit up But on the track there is very little variety Unfortunately it s a never ending road That s when the crew will be so vital Not only will they be able to tell me what s happening to my body how fast I m going etc they ll keep me entertained We ll be playing music and talking and that s really important being in contact with the crew MacDonald who once rode across the width of the United States non stop in 11 days will ride a similar bike to the one used by Australian Rohan Denis for the hour record attempt in 2015 and be backed up by a team of analysts led by Tim Wade Senior Director of Architecture at Dimension Data I ve known James for five years and we ve collaborated on a few attempts Wade said He s mad |
VZ | FCC Plans To Repeal Net Neutrality Who Gains | Ever since President Donald Trump elected Republican commissioner Ajit Pai as the chairman of the FCC Federal Communications Commission in January 2017 the fate of Net Neutrality has been at stake Pai a staunch Net Neutrality opponent has always maintained his view that consumers would be worse under Net Neutrality and should expect their bills to go up along with slow broadband speed In May 2017 the FCC voted 2 1 to start the formal process of unwinding the Net Neutrality rules On Nov 21 Pai revealed a draft plan for a complete roll back of Net Neutrality The FCC is set to vote on the proposed changes at its next monthly meeting on Dec 14 Net Neutrality implies an open Internet atmosphere The 2015 Net Neutrality laws reclassified Internet as a public utility under Title II of the 1934 Communications Act instead of section 706 of the 1996 Telecom Act This gives the FCC increased control over the ISPs Internet Service Providers Net Neutrality will prohibit ISPs from discriminating against applications Earlier these companies were allowed to restrict any device application service or content from running on their respective networks Read Arguments Against Net NeutralityEven when the former FCC under the chairmanship of Tom Wheeler had adopted Net Neutrality Republican senators were not in favor of this directive These groups believe that a slight law reformation under section 706 of the 1996 Telecom Act would be enough to enforce Net Neutrality All ISPs along with several cable TV and telecommunications industry bodies have been vehemently opposing Net Neutrality The major argument against the directive is that ISPs have to spend several billion dollars to install and upgrade high speed mobile fixed mobile broadband network Further disallowing discriminatory pricing policy will significantly reduce revenues and margins which will result in lower investments in the high speed broadband sector Consequently broadband equipment service providers might suffer due to lesser investment by ISPs and loss of jobs is also a likely scenario Per a recent study by telecom industry body USTelecom investment in broadband infrastructure declined from its peak at 78 4 billion in 2014 to 77 9 billion in 2015 and 76 billion in 2016 According to USTelecom the reclassification of broadband as a public utility under Title II of the 1934 Communications Act has resulted in precipitous lower investment in broadband infrastructure The Draft Proposals of Ajit PaiPer the new proposals drafted by the FCC chairman the regulator s sole concern will be transparency of ISP practices This will ensure that consumers can buy service plans best suited to them Also both large and SMB small and medium business enterprises can avail instant technical information for product innovation The draft proposes the return of the Federal Trade Commission FTC in charge overseeing ISP practices for the protection of consumers online privacy Pai strongly argued that a light touch regulatory measure generated higher investment in the overall telecom industry For example establishment of Internet fast lanes become necessary for some critical scenarios Remote healthcare applications and self driving cars will require high speed secured broadband connections with exceptional reliability In these situations FCC s soft regulatory policies will enable ISPs to better serve the country Pai further stated that in the last 20 years private sector has invested a mammoth 1 5 trillion to install communications network throughout the country This enormous expenditure happened primarily due to not so stringent rules implemented by the regulator According to Pai Internet is inherently an interstate service Therefore the new proposals will prevent state and local governments from creating their own Net Neutrality rules The current FCC s less restrictive regulatory attitude may also pave the way for new mergers and acquisition deals between ISPs and online digital media companies Who Will Benefit if FCC Revokes Net Neutrality Trump himself is a strong critic of Net Neutrality There is little doubt that if the new FCC scraps Net Neutrality laws the ISP industry will be the major beneficiary Leading ISPs including AT T Inc NYSE T Verizon Communications Inc NYSE VZ Comcast Corp NASDAQ CMCSA and Charter Communications Inc NYSE T strongly criticised Net Neutrality rules Each of the above mentioned stocks currently carries a Zacks Rank 3 Hold You can see Bottom LineTelecommunications is a necessary utility The need for telecom in both rural and urban areas as well as its role in the infrastructural development of an economy is of vital importance Net Neutrality may discourage large investments in the telecom sector but will cut down the cost of online access for end users since content providers will no longer need to pay extra fees However it is to be seen how the government manages a trade off between the two Today s Stocks from Zacks Hottest StrategiesIt s hard to believe even for us at Zacks But while the market gained 18 8 from 2016 Q1 2017 our top stock picking screens have returned 157 0 128 0 97 8 94 7 and 90 2 respectively And this outperformance has not just been a recent phenomenon Over the years it has been remarkably consistent From 2000 Q1 2017 the composite yearly average gain for these strategies has beaten the market more than 11X over Maybe even more remarkable is the fact that we re willing to share their latest stocks with you without cost or obligation |
VZ | Spectrum Deployment Gives Telecom More Room To Grow | Wireless networks will be key to the future of the overall telecom industry Given that wireless networks run on radio frequency spectrums airwaves have become the most sought after commodity in the industry Additionally U S telecom operators are increasingly implementing fiber network to install more small cells to help their wireless networks
Upcoming 5G Wireless Technology
Fifth generation 5G superfast wireless networks will provide the primary impetus to the telecom industry In September 2017 Moody s Investors Service stated in a report that the evolution towards 5G wireless networks will result in higher capital spending for U S wireless carriers
In this context the Internet of Things IoT has the potential of becoming the 1 factor in driving growth in the space Upcoming 5G mobile networks will be of utmost importance in the management of exponential growth in IoT
Presently all the four major national wireless operators namely Verizon Communications Inc NYSE VZ VZ AT T Inc NYSE T T Sprint Corp S and T Mobile US Inc TMUS are conducting trial runs for 5G wireless standards All four stock currently carry a Zacks Rank 3 Hold You can see
Massive Spectrum Deployment by Carriers
T Mobile US has aggressively started deploying 600 MHz low band airwaves In 2018 AT T will deploy 60 MHz of fallow spectrum and 600 MHz low band spectrum coupled with its ongoing network densification project
Furthermore AT T will also install its FirstNet project to build and manage the first nationwide broadband network dedicated to America s police firefighters and emergency medical services As part of the 25 year contract FirstNet will provide AT T with a swath of 20 MHz of spectrum in the 700 MHz frequency band for the entire duration The company is expected to spend around 40 billion over the life of the contract to build deploy operate and maintain the network
The market for U S public safety network for first responders and civil protection services is becoming intensely competitive In August 2017 Verizon announced plans of dedicating network capacity to emergency services providers The company will make Band 14 devices available and ensure full interoperability with any Band 14 radio access networks RANs deployed by FirstNet Band 14 is the 700MHz LTE band allocated for the public safety network
Additionally major U S telecom operators are currently exploring ways to commercialize the usage of 3 5 GHz unlicensed wireless spectrum Notably the 3 5 GHz radio frequency is being considered in many parts of the world for the upcoming 5G wireless standard thus increasing its chances of providing spectrum globally
The FCC Federal Communications Commission at its next open meeting on Nov 16 will discuss on the proposal of making available 1 700 MHz of high frequency spectrum for flexible terrestrial wireless use and providing 4 GHz for core satellite use
Growing Demand for Fiber Optic Network
Fiber optic cable is a vital infrastructure in order to meet the surging need for cloud based business data along with more video streaming services by individuals Moreover fiber optic cable network is vital for backhaul and last mile local loop which are needed by wireless service providers for their upcoming 5G network
Dark fiber provides abundant bandwidth which is of utmost necessity for the smooth functioning of super fast wireless networks such as 4G and 5G Dark fiber based wireless backhaul provides scalability and efficiency to bandwidth management This will eventually lead the company to significantly reduce its backhaul costs
Fiber networks are essential for the growing deployment of small cells The increase in adoption of small cells is because of the inconvenience in installing large towers in inaccessible areas
Verizon stated that small cells would be used to augment its existing 4G LTE and upcoming 5G network and will primarily concentrate on high traffic locations like a business district or shopping mall Small cells will increase voice capacity and data speeds as well as complement wireless service providers LTE infrastructure
OpportunitiesThe telecommunications industry as a whole offers a number of positives that are difficult to disregard from the standpoint of investors Rapid Technological Advancement Telecommunications is a vital industry witnessing rapid technological improvement even during recession Unprecedented growth in high speed mobile Internet traffic particularly with respect to wireless data and video has transformed this industry into the most evolving inventive and keenly contested space
Barrier to Entry Lack of public airwaves spectrum in the telecommunications industry creates a high barrier to entry The U S telecom market is controlled by just four national players as regional low cost operators are not eligible to compete with large carriers Moreover it is not easy for a new telecom carrier to establish itself in the market as it requires government approval to transmit voice data and video on public airwaves Spectrum licenses are limited and therefore quite expensive Moreover the deployment of network infrastructure requires significant capital expenditures which only a few entities can afford Thus this barrier protects the profits of incumbents in the telecom space
Strong Demand A recovering economy drives demand for real time voice data and video manifold This escalation in demand has encouraged telecom service providers to undertake large network extensions while upgrading plans Moreover the FCC projects 25 50 folds mobile data demand growth over the next five years
Will You Make a Fortune on the Shift to Electric Cars
Here s another stock idea to consider Much like petroleum 150 years ago lithium power may soon shake the world creating millionaires and reshaping geo politics Soon electric vehicles EVs may be cheaper than gas guzzlers Some are already reaching 265 miles on a single charge With battery prices plummeting and charging stations set to multiply one company stands out as the 1 stock to buy according to Zacks research It s not the one you think |
VZ | T Mobile US TMUS Upgraded To Ba2 By Moody s Outlook Stable | T Mobile US Inc s NYSE T rating was recently upgraded to Ba2 in certain metrics by credit rating agency Moody s Investors Service also known as Moody s Moreover the company s rating outlook has been confirmed stable Currently T Mobile US carries a Zacks Rank 3 Hold You can see Moody s upgraded T Mobile US corporate family rating CFR to Ba2 from Ba3 The company s probability of default rating was upgraded to Ba2 PD from Ba3 PD its senior secured rating to Baa2 from Baa3 and its senior unsecured rating to Ba2 from Ba3 The Speculative Grade Liquidity Rating SGL 1 was affirmed Why the Elevation T Mobile US innovative network expansion methodologies and improvement plans stellar network performance deployment of LTE U technology and offering of attractive unlimited data are key factors behind the upgraded ratings This is further supported by improving scale healthy free cash flow generation strong liquidity and valuable spectrum assets that also provide credit support These positives are however offset by the company s third position in the domestic wireless industry The elevation also follows the decision of T Mobile US and Sprint Corp NYSE S to call off a potential merger The merger could have pressurized T Mobile US credit metrics on materializationThe SGL 1 speculative grade liquidity rating justifies the company s healthy liquidity position Notably in the third quarter of 2017 T Mobile US generated 2 362 million of cash from operations compared with 1 740 million in the prior year quarter Free cash flow in the reported quarter was 921 million up from 581 million in the year ago quarter As of Sep 30 the company had 739 million of cash and cash equivalents and 15 144 million of debt outstanding compared with 5 500 million and 22 186 million respectively at the end of 2016 The debt to capitalization ratio was 0 42 compared with 0 54 at the end of 2016 We believe that the company s improved liquidity has strengthened Moody s expectation The stable outlook reflects T Mobile US strong fundamentals growth and improving credit metrics This was balanced by management s leverage tolerance as indicated by its target capital structure Moody s Anticipation Moody s expects T Mobile US to generate healthy free cash flow in the next few years It believes that the company is operating below its stated target leverage range Moody s also expects the company s credit metrics to remain stable despite the highly competitive domestic wireless environment This will be driven by continued postpaid phone subscriber growth effective marketing schemes and improved cost management T Mobile US organic EBITDA growth is expected to remain strong Bottom lineAccumulating debt and declining cash flows can severely affect a company s margins and credit ratings Impressive operating metrics and cash and liquidity structure in the third quarter of 2017 uplifted T Mobile US We believe that T Mobile US ratings could have been better had the company s financial policy been changed to reflect lower leverage tolerance However if the company fails to generate more cash flows and reduce debt ratings can deteriorate Henceforth T Mobile US should ensure that EBITDA margins are not subject to sustained pressure Moreover the company s future debt funded share repurchases should not exceed its expectations Price Performance Despite such positives T Mobile US portrays a disappointing price performance In the past three months the company s shares have lost 11 5 compared with the s loss of 10 9 We believe that the company s operation in the highly competitive and saturated U S wireless market have led to the declining price performance Moreover success in the wireless service business largely depends on technical superiority quality of services and scalability In all three areas T Mobile US is far behind its peers Verizon Communications Inc NYSE VZ and AT T Inc NYSE T Such competition could limit the company s ability to attract and retain customers and adversely affect results The Hottest Tech Mega Trend of AllLast year it generated 8 billion in global revenues By 2020 it s predicted to blast through the roof to 47 billion Famed investor Mark Cuban says it will produce the world s first trillionaires but that should still leave plenty of money for regular investors who make the right trades early |
VZ | German cyber agency chides Yahoo for not helping hacking probe | By Andrea Shalal
BERLIN Reuters Germany s federal cyber agency said on Thursday that Yahoo Inc O YHOO had not cooperated with its investigation into a series of hacks that compromised more than one billion of the U S company s email users between 2013 and 2016
Yahoo s Dublin based Europe Middle East and Africa unit refused to give the BSI any information and referred all questions to the Irish Data Protection Commission without however giving it the authority to provide information to the BSI Germany s BSI computer security agency said
A BSI spokesman said it decided to go public after Yahoo repeatedly failed to respond to efforts to look into the data breaches and garner lessons to prevent similar lapses BSI also urged internationally active Internet service providers to work more closely with it when German customers were affected by cyber attacks and other computer security issues
Yahoo did not respond to requests for comment while Ireland s data protection agency was not immediately available
The BSI s statement comes at a time of heightened German government concerns about Russian meddling in national elections in September after cyber attacks on the French and U S presidential elections which have been linked to Russia
The U S Justice Department in March charged two Russian intelligence agents and two hackers with masterminding the 2014 theft of 500 million Yahoo accounts marking the first time the U S government had criminally charged Russian spies for cyber offences while U S officials have charged Russian intelligence agents with involvement in at least one of the hacks that affected Yahoo
Moscow has denied any involvement in hacking
The BSI said it did not yet have any concrete information about the data breaches because of Yahoo s lack of cooperation
Users should therefore be very careful about which services they want to use in the future and to whom they entrust their data BSI President Arne Schoenbohm said in a statement
The BSI chief reiterated his recommendation that German consumers consider switching to other email service providers adding that certifications such as those offered with C5 class cloud service security were valuable for customers
C5 is a German government scheme to encourage cloud based internet service providers to attest they use various safeguards against cyber attacks
Late last year Yahoo which has agreed to be acquired by U S telecoms giant Verizon N VZ and is set to be merged with AOL to form a new business known as Oath revealed a data breach dating back to 2013 of one billion user accounts
The various disclosures led Verizon to cut the amount it was willing to pay for Yahoo by 350 million on its previously agreed 4 83 billion deal Yahoo has said it expects the merger into Verizon to close in June
BSI said an additional 32 million Yahoo users were affected by cyber breaches in 2015 and 2016 A spokesman for the agency said he was unaware of any additional breaches in 2017 |
VZ | Verizon beats AT T to buy spectrum holder Straight Path | By Anjali Athavaley and Rishika Sadam Reuters Verizon Communications Inc N VZ snapped up wireless spectrum holder Straight Path Communications Inc A STRP in a 3 1 billion deal roughly double rival AT T s N T initial offer as Verizon seeks an advantage in the race toward a 5G network The 184 per share all stock offer represents a discount of 17 8 percent to Straight Path s close on Wednesday and an equity value of 2 3 billion The stock had surged nearly five fold since April 7 a day before AT T made the first move with a 95 63 per share offer Straight Path is one of the largest holders of millimeter wave spectrum which is expected to play a large role in 5G In general 5G is expected to boast higher speeds shorter response times and more capacity The spectrum is particularly important for 5G broadband services that AT T and Verizon hope to launch to better compete with high speed Internet offerings from cable companies Verizon now has all of the pieces in place to quickly accelerate the deployment of 5G Hans Vestberg president of global network and technology at Verizon said in a statement AT T did not immediately respond to a request for comment In April AT T said it would buy Straight Path for 1 25 billion in an all stock deal Straight Path said later that it received a bid from an unnamed bidder that Reuters reported was Verizon citing sources The transaction positions Verizon well ahead of peers in access to high frequency spectrum holdings suitable for 5G analysts at Jefferies said in a note But shares of Straight Path slumped 20 percent in midday trading to 178 as news of the deal dashed investor hopes of a bidding war between the two largest U S wireless carriers The frenzy around Straight Path started after an anonymous short seller tipped off regulators in November 2015 that the company had not built communications systems as it had claimed leading to an investigation by the U S Federal Communication Commission The company settled with the FCC and put itself on the block in January Verizon will pay on behalf of Straight Path a termination fee of 38 million to AT T The deal is expected to close within nine months pending review by the FCC As part of the earlier settlement with FCC Straight Path will pay the U S government a 20 percent cut from the sale of its spectrum licenses Evercore was financial adviser to Straight Path and Weil and Gotshal Manges served as company counsel on the deal
Debevoise Plimpton LLP served as counsel to Verizon |
VZ | Yahoo to buy back 3 billion shares in tender offer | Reuters Yahoo NASDAQ YHOO Inc said on Tuesday it would buy back up to 3 billion shares through a tender offer to provide liquidity to stockholders looking to sell the stock ahead of the company s pending deal with Verizon Communications Inc NYSE VZ Shares in Yahoo which has a 15 percent stake in Chinese e commerce company Alibaba NYSE BABA Group Holding Ltd were up 2 percent at 50 81 Yahoo said it would determine a single purchase price after the expiry of the Dutch auction tender offer on June 13 and that the price would not be less than 37 per share The company said its directors and executive officers will not tender any shares in the buyback Verizon agreed to buy Yahoo s core internet properties last year for 4 83 billion in cash It lowered the original offer by 350 million in February following two massive cyber attacks at the internet company
After the Verizon deal Yahoo will be renamed Altaba a holding company whose primary assets will be its stake in Alibaba and a 35 5 percent stake in Yahoo Japan |
CSCO | Cisco Rises 4 | Investing com Cisco NASDAQ CSCO rose by 4 17 to trade at 54 63 by 09 31 13 31 GMT on Thursday on the NASDAQ exchange
The volume of Cisco shares traded since the start of the session was 2 45M Cisco has traded in a range of 54 12 to 54 73 on the day
The stock has traded at 54 7700 at its highest and 51 0800 at its lowest during the past seven days |
VZ | U S National Carriers Key Takeaways From Q3 Earnings | We are in the middle of the third quarter earnings season for the telecommunications segment With results from four national telecom carriers Verizon Communications Inc NYSE VZ AT T Inc NYSE T T Mobile US Inc NYSE T and Sprint Corp NYSE S already on board a study of their key financial and operating metrics will be interesting
Services Revenues
Except T Mobile US the other three companies wireless services revenues declined year over year in the reported quarter This was primarily due to the adoption of several unlimited data plans by Verizon AT T and Sprint in order to counter T Mobile US data plans However Verizon AT T and T Mobile US wireless service revenues improved sequentially while Sprint failed to follow suit
T Mobile US Un Carrier service which was launched in March 2013 to offer a series of price concessions such as no annual service contract equipment instalment facility free international data roaming helped the company gain a strong foothold Offers such as unlimited data download and international roaming facility coupled with no annual service contract garnered significant market traction
In the wireline front Verizon s services revenues increased However services revenues decreased for both AT T and Sprint Verizon stated that extensive deployment of fiber network is going to raise its wireline revenues in the future We expect the same for AT T and Sprint
Margins
For the wireless segment adjusted EBITDA margins improved on a year over year basis for both Verizon and Sprint impressively For Verizon it increased from 44 9 to 46 2 and for Sprint it rose from 38 6 to a significant 48 9 For AT T operating margin for domestic wireless operation also increased from 29 6 to 30 5 However for T Mobile US adjusted EBITDA declined a percentage point from 38 to 37
Subscribers Addition
Although all the four telecom operators added postpaid wireless customers in the reported quarter a closer look gives us a more interesting picture Notably postpaid customers are those who are billed monthly and considered more profitable to telecom operators
Verizon added 603 000 up 36 4 year over year retail postpaid customers and 139 000 up 67 5 retail prepaid customers Importantly the company added a net 30 000 postpaid phone customers in the reported quarter compared with a net loss of 107 000 postpaid accounts in the prior year quarter
On the other hand AT T s domestic mobile operation added a net 117 000 down 44 8 postpaid connections and 324 000 up 6 6 prepaid connections Here it needs to be mentioned that in the reported quarter AT T lost 251 000 satellite TV customers and 134 000 U verse TV customers However it gained 296 000 DIRECTV NOW connections
Sprint added a net 168 000 down 51 1 postpaid subscribers and 95 000 prepaid customers compared with a loss of 449 000 prepaid customers in the prior year quarter T Mobile US added a net 595 000 down 30 1 year over year postpaid phone customers 222 000 up 88 1 postpaid mobile broadband customers and 226 000 down 67 prepaid customers
Churn Rate and ARPU
Verizon and T Mobile US improved their postpaid churn rate However for AT T and Sprint the postpaid churn rate worsened year over year The postpaid churn rate improved from 1 04 to 0 97 for Verizon and 1 32 to 1 23 for T Mobile US On the other hand AT T s domestic postpaid churn increased marginally from 1 05 to 1 07 while for Sprint it worsened from 1 52 to 1 72 Importantly for the national wireless carriers average revenue per user ARPU has declined This was primarily due to adoption of unlimited data plans offering a lot of services free of cost
Consolidated Chart
We have taken a consolidate chart of these four stocks for last 15 days to show how investors sentiments have changed from just before the announcement of earnings results to date
The chart shows that T Mobile US and Verizon have gained 2 5 and 2 1 respectively while Sprint and AT T have lost 1 8 and 4 8 respectively
Our View and Zacks Rank
The U S telecom market continues to witness intense pricing competition as success depends largely on technical superiority quality of services and scalability Challenges in the form of competitive product introduction and cut throat pricing pressure will persist in the telecom sector
After taking a closer look at the third quarter results we can deduce that T Mobile US and Verizon have done reasonably well with respect to important financial and operating metrics Although Sprint s subscriber metrics improved it missed on revenues Moreover the company is still reeling under loss Further a possible merger between Sprint and T Mobile US is rife AT T on its own part is aggressively offering bundled services However it needs to set the stage right as so far its bundled customer addition has failed to match the outflow of users from its legacy services
Our view is also established while considering the Zacks Rank Verizon T Mobile US and Sprint carry a Zacks Rank 3 Hold You can see
AT T carries a Zacks Rank 4 Sell
Zacks Best Private Investment IdeasWhile we are happy to share many articles like this on the website our best recommendations and most in depth research are not available to the public Starting today for the next month you can follow all Zacks private buys and sells in real time Our experts cover all kinds of trades from value to momentum from stocks under 10 to ETF and option moves from stocks that corporate insiders are buying up to companies that are about to report positive earnings surprises You can even look inside exclusive portfolios that are normally closed to new investors |
VZ | The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights Verizon Communications AT T T Mobile US And Sprint | For Immediate ReleaseChicago IL October 31 2017 Zacks com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets Stocks recently featured in the blog include Verizon Communications Inc NYSE VZ AT T Inc NYSE T T Mobile US Inc NYSE T and Sprint Corp NYSE S Today Zacks is promoting its Buy stock recommendations Here are highlights from Monday s Analyst Blog U S National Carriers Key Takeaways from Q3 EarningsWe are in the middle of the third quarter earnings season for the telecommunications segment With results from four national telecom carriers Verizon Communications Inc AT T Inc T Mobile US Inc and Sprint Corp already on board a study of their key financial and operating metrics will be interesting Services RevenuesExcept T Mobile US the other three companies wireless services revenues declined year over year in the reported quarter This was primarily due to the adoption of several unlimited data plans by Verizon AT T and Sprint in order to counter T Mobile US data plans However Verizon AT T and T Mobile US wireless service revenues improved sequentially while Sprint failed to follow suit T Mobile US Un Carrier service which was launched in March 2013 to offer a series of price concessions such as no annual service contract equipment instalment facility free international data roaming helped the company gain a strong foothold Offers such as unlimited data download and international roaming facility coupled with no annual service contract garnered significant market traction In the wireline front Verizon s services revenues increased However services revenues decreased for both AT T and Sprint Verizon stated that extensive deployment of fiber network is going to raise its wireline revenues in the future We expect the same for AT T and Sprint Margins For the wireless segment adjusted EBITDA margins improved on a year over year basis for both Verizon and Sprint impressively For Verizon it increased from 44 9 to 46 2 and for Sprint it rose from 38 6 to a significant 48 9 For AT T operating margin for domestic wireless operation also increased from 29 6 to 30 5 However for T Mobile US adjusted EBITDA declined a percentage point from 38 to 37 Subscribers AdditionAlthough all the four telecom operators added postpaid wireless customers in the reported quarter a closer look gives us a more interesting picture Notably postpaid customers are those who are billed monthly and considered more profitable to telecom operators Verizon added 603 000 up 36 4 year over year retail postpaid customers and 139 000 up 67 5 retail prepaid customers Importantly the company added a net 30 000 postpaid phone customers in the reported quarter compared with a net loss of 107 000 postpaid accounts in the prior year quarter On the other hand AT T s domestic mobile operation added a net 117 000 down 44 8 postpaid connections and 324 000 up 6 6 prepaid connections Here it needs to be mentioned that in the reported quarter AT T lost 251 000 satellite TV customers and 134 000 U verse TV customers However it gained 296 000 DIRECTV NOW connections Sprint added a net 168 000 down 51 1 postpaid subscribers and 95 000 prepaid customers compared with a loss of 449 000 prepaid customers in the prior year quarter T Mobile US added a net 595 000 down 30 1 year over year postpaid phone customers 222 000 up 88 1 postpaid mobile broadband customers and 226 000 down 67 prepaid customers Churn Rate and ARPUVerizon and T Mobile US improved their postpaid churn rate However for AT T and Sprint the postpaid churn rate worsened year over year The postpaid churn rate improved from 1 04 to 0 97 for Verizon and 1 32 to 1 23 for T Mobile US On the other hand AT T s domestic postpaid churn increased marginally from 1 05 to 1 07 while for Sprint it worsened from 1 52 to 1 72 Importantly for the national wireless carriers average revenue per user ARPU has declined This was primarily due to adoption of unlimited data plans offering a lot of services free of cost Our View and Zacks Rank The U S telecom market continues to witness intense pricing competition as success depends largely on technical superiority quality of services and scalability Challenges in the form of competitive product introduction and cut throat pricing pressure will persist in the telecom sector After taking a closer look at the third quarter results we can deduce that T Mobile US and Verizon have done reasonably well with respect to important financial and operating metrics Although Sprint s subscriber metrics improved it missed on revenues Moreover the company is still reeling under loss Further a possible merger between Sprint and T Mobile US is rife AT T on its own part is aggressively offering bundled services However it needs to set the stage right as so far its bundled customer addition has failed to match the outflow of users from its legacy services Our view is also established while considering the Zacks Rank Verizon T Mobile US and Sprint carry a Zacks Rank 3 Hold You can see AT T carries a Zacks Rank 4 Sell Zacks Best Private Investment IdeasWhile we are happy to share many articles like this on the website our best recommendations and most in depth research are not available to the public Starting today for the next month you can follow all Zacks private buys and sells in real time Our experts cover all kinds of trades from value to momentum from stocks under 10 to ETF and option moves from stocks that corporate insiders are buying up to companies that are about to report positive earnings surprises You can even look inside exclusive portfolios that are normally closed to new investors Today Zacks is promoting its Buy stock recommendations About Zacks Equity ResearchZacks Equity Research provides the best of quantitative and qualitative analysis to help investors know what stocks to buy and which to sell for the long term Continuous coverage is provided for a universe of 1 150 publicly traded stocks Our analysts are organized by industry which gives them keen insights to developments that affect company profits and stock performance Recommendations and target prices are six month time horizons Strong Stocks that Should Be in the NewsMany are little publicized and fly under the Wall Street radar They re virtually unknown to the general public Yet today s 220 Zacks Rank 1 Strong Buys were generated by the stock picking system that has nearly tripled the market from 1988 through 2015 Its average gain has been a stellar 26 per year Follow us on Twitter Join us on Facebook NASDAQ FB Zacks Investment Research is under common control with affiliated entities including a broker dealer and an investment adviser which may engage in transactions involving the foregoing securities for the clients of such affiliates Media ContactZacks Investment Research800 767 3771 ext 9339Past performance is no guarantee of future results Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment legal accounting or tax advice or a recommendation to buy sell or hold a security No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor It should not be assumed that any investments in securities companies sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking market making or asset management activities of any securities These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks The S P 500 is an unmanaged index Visit for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release |
VZ | ETFs To Watch On Telecom Earnings | The earnings season is off to a flying start with equity markets scaling record highs owing to a slew of upbeat economic data strong corporate performance and President Donald Trump s tax reform proposal However the performance has been a mixed bag for telecom companies with some beating market expectations while a few failing to do so
We will now discuss the performance of a few telecom giants such as Verizon NYSE VZ AT T Inc NYSE T and Sprint Corp NYSE S
Verizon
reported non GAAP earnings per share of 0 98 which came in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate However Verizon s third quarter revenues of 31 717 billion beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 31 204 billion
The Wireless segment revenues decreased 2 4 year over year to 21 6 billion Net postpaid customer additions to the wireless segment were 603 000 in the quarter Total retail postpaid churn rate was 0 97 in the third quarter Wireline segment revenues increased 1 1 year over year to 7 6 billion Moreover the company s Fios revenues grew 4 8 year over year to 2 9 billion The company added 66 000 Fios Internet connections while it lost 18 000 Fios video connections
Outlook
Verizon expects its 2017 organic revenues to be flat with 2016 levels It expects its consolidated capital spending to be in the lower end of the range of 16 8 17 5 billion On the tax front Verizon expects full year effective tax rate to be around 34
AT T
reported non GAAP earnings per share of 0 74 which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 0 75 Moreover AT T s third quarter revenues of 39 668 billion missed the consensus mark of 40 295 billion
Revenue Performance
The Business Solutions segment revenues decreased 4 year over year to 17 1 billion
Entertainment Group revenues decreased 0 6 year over year to 12 6 billion
Consumer Mobility revenues decreased 6 3 year over year to 7 7 billion
International revenues increased 11 7 year over year to 2 1 billion
The telecom company reported net wireless additions of 3 million in the quarter Its churn rate came in at 0 84
Sprint Corp
reported non GAAP earnings per share of 0 01 which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 0 02 However Sprint s fiscal second quarter revenues of 7 927 billion missed the consensus mark of 8 066 billion
The Wireless segment revenues decreased 3 1 year over year to 7 609 billion The Wireline segment revenues decreased 21 5 year over year to 409 million Moreover the company witnessed net additions of 378 000 wireless customers including 168 000 postpaid 95 000 prepaid and 115 000 wholesale and affiliate additions
Retail postpaid Average Revenue per User ARPU decreased to 46 00 from 50 54 in the year ago quarter Retail prepaid Average Revenue per User ARPU increased to 37 83 from 33 15 in the year ago quarter
Outlook
The company expects adjusted EBITDA to be in the range of 10 8 11 2 billion in fiscal 2017 while it expects operating income to be around 2 1 2 5 billion The company anticipates capital expenditures to decline to the range of 3 5 4 billion However shares suffered a setback as talks of a merger with T Mobile failed
In the current scenario let s take a look at some ETFs that have a relatively high exposure to the companies discussed see
Vanguard Telecommunication Services ETF MU VOX
This ETF is one of the most popular funds in the telecom
It has AUM of 1 3 billion and charges 10 basis points as fees per year The fund has a 23 4 exposure to AT T 23 1 to Verizon and 2 9 to Sprint as of Sep 30 2017 The fund has lost 2 6 in a year and 11 2 year to date as of Oct 30 2017 VOX has a Zacks ETF Rank 3 Hold with a Medium risk outlook
Fidelity MSCI Telecommunication Services ETF
This ETF provides exposure to the U S telecom space at a really low expense ratio
It has AUM of 115 8 million and charges 8 basis points as fees per year The fund has a 20 6 exposure to AT T 23 1 to Verizon and 2 3 to Sprint as of Oct 27 2017 The fund has returned 7 3 in a year but has lost 2 9 year to date as of Oct 30 2017 FCOM has a Zacks ETF Rank 3 with a Medium risk outlook
iShares U S Telecommunications ETF
This ETF provides exposure to the U S telecom industry
It has AUM of 377 8 million and charges 44 basis points as fees per year The fund has 9 7 exposure to AT T 10 6 to Verizon and 4 8 to Sprint as of Oct 27 2017 The fund has lost 5 7 in a year and 13 8 year to date as of Oct 30 2017 IYZ has a Zacks ETF Rank 4 Sell with a Medium risk outlook
Want key ETF info delivered straight to your inbox Zacks free Fund Newsletter will brief you on top news and analysis as well as top performing ETFs each week |
VZ | United States Cellular USM Q3 Earnings Top Revenues Lag | United States Cellular Corp NYSE USM a subsidiary of Telephone Data Systems Inc NYSE T posted mixed financial results in the third quarter of 2017 While the bottom line surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate the top line missed GAAP net loss came in at 299 million or a loss of 3 51 per share against net income of 17 million or 20 cents per share in the year ago quarter However adjusted earnings per share of 11 cents were well above the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a penny per share United States Cellular Corporation Price Consensus and EPS Surprise
Quarterly total revenues of 963 million declined 6 year over year Also it missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 976 5 million Quarterly Service revenues decreased 6 to 737 million Revenues from Equipment sales decreased 5 to 226 million Quarterly operating expenses increased 32 to 1 323 million Operating loss was 360 million against operating income of 22 million in the prior year quarter Total cell sites in service were 6 436 compared with 6 374 at the end of 2016 Total company owned towers were 4 051 compared with 4 015 at the end of 2016 Cash FlowIn the third quarter of 2017 cash from operations came in at 174 million compared with 155 million in the prior year quarter Quarterly free cash flow was 78 million compared with 53 million in the year ago quarter LiquidityUnited States Cellular exited the third quarter of 2017 with cash and short term investment of 548 million compared with 586 million at the end of 2016 Total debt was 1 644 million compared with 1 629 million at the end of 2016 The debt to capitalization ratio at the end of third quarter 2017 was 0 32 compared with 0 31 at the end of 2016 ARPU ChurnQuarterly postpaid ARPU average revenue per user decreased to 43 41 from 45 19 at the end of 2016 Postpaid ARPA average revenue per account was 116 36 compared with 120 67 at the end of 2016 Postpaid churn declined to 1 16 from 1 41 registered at the end of 2016 Prepaid ARPU decreased to 33 12 from 33 25 registered at the end of 2016 Prepaid churn decreased to 4 75 in the reported quarter from 5 44 at 2016 end Subscriber StatisticsUnited States Cellular exited the third quarter of 2017 with a subscriber base of 5 089 000 compared with 5 031 000 at the end of 2016 Postpaid subscriber base totaled 4 513 000 compared with 4 482 000 at the end of 2016 Prepaid subscriber base totaled 515 000 compared with 484 000 at the end of 2016 In the reported quarter United States Cellular gained a net of 35 000 postpaid subscribers compared with a net loss of 6 000 customers in the year ago quarter The company gained 31 000 prepaid customers in the same quarter compared with 67 000 users in the prior year quarter Guidance for 2017United States Cellular expects total operating revenues in the band of 3 850 3 950 million Adjusted EBITDA is projected at 740 840 million while capital expenditure is estimated at around 500 million The company projects adjusted OIBDA in the range of 600 700 million Recent DevelopmentUnited States Cellular currently holds a Zacks Rank 3 Hold You can see In May 2017 the company submitted an application to the Federal Communications Commission FCC for a six month special temporary authority STA to conduct trial runs in the 3 5 GHz band in some areas of Maine and North Carolina Major U S telecom operators are currently exploring ways to commercialize usage of 3 5 GHz unlicensed wireless spectrum Verizon Communications Inc NYSE VZ is planning to deploy small cells both low power and high power using the 3 5 GHz band Meanwhile in March 2017 the FCC awarded AT T Inc NYSE T a license to test a 3 5GHz network Today s Stocks from Zacks Hottest StrategiesIt s hard to believe even for us at Zacks But while the market gained 18 8 from 2016 Q1 2017 our top stock picking screens have returned 157 0 128 0 97 8 94 7 and 90 2 respectively And this outperformance has not just been a recent phenomenon Over the years it has been remarkably consistent From 2000 Q1 2017 the composite yearly average gain for these strategies has beaten the market more than 11X over Maybe even more remarkable is the fact that we re willing to share their latest stocks with you without cost or obligation |
VZ | T Mobile to begin rolling out 5G in U S in 2019 | By Anjali Athavaley Reuters T Mobile US Inc said on Tuesday it plans to begin rolling out a fifth generation network 5G in the United States in 2019 helped by the airwaves it bought in the U S government s spectrum auction last month T Mobile said it was targeting nationwide 5G coverage by 2020 The No 3 wireless carrier will use a portion of the low band spectrum it said it was buying for 8 billion in the U S Federal Communications Commission s auction of broadcaster airwaves 5G is expected to provide faster speeds and response times than today s 4G LTE network with the potential to connect at least 100 billion devices Wireless carriers consider it to be a multi billion dollar opportunity but there has yet to be a set standard for how 5G is defined Bigger rivals Verizon Communications Inc NYSE VZ and AT T Inc NYSE T have been conducting 5G trials that incorporate high band airwaves called millimeter wave spectrum to deliver what they hope will be an ultra fast broadband service that could help them better compete with cable providers While millimeter wave technology offers faster speeds it cannot cover big geographic areas Verizon is testing such a service with equipment maker Ericsson BS ERICAs in 11 markets in the U S and expects a commercial launch as early as 2018 Meanwhile AT T said earlier this year that it had successfully completed tests with Nokia HE NOKIA NOKI UL that delivered its streaming video service DirecTV Now over a 5G connection using millimeter wave technology While AT T and Verizon have talked about faster broadband in denser urban areas as the first stage of 5G T Mobile wants to try to differentiate its efforts by emphasizing broader coverage that can support connected devices in the years to come said Roger Entner an analyst at Recon Analytics Everyone is getting into 5G Entner said The angle they re using to get in is slightly different T Mobile s 5G network could be used for applications such as tracking everything from packages in delivery trucks to children he said He added I m a little bit skeptical of how quickly this happens In an interview T Mobile s Chief Technology Officer Neville Ray said the company was pragmatic in its launch goals It s not like we re going to have a 5G network tomorrow he said But we want to start talking about the applications that 5G can bring
T Mobile shares were down 1 5 percent to 67 28 in late morning trading on Tuesday |
VZ | Verizon gets rights to NFL London game | A ticket to watch an NFL game can be expensive but the price tag to steam a match up can be more outrageous Verizon NYSE VZ will reportedly pay 21M to stream just one NFL game this fall The week three match up in London between the Baltimore Ravens and Jacksonville Jaguars will be distributed across Verizon s AOL platform go90 and Complex Now read Dissecting Verizon s Cash Flow Why You Should Be Concerned |
CSCO | Britain to allow Huawei restricted access to 5G network | By Michael Holden and Jack Stubbs GLASGOW Scotland Reuters Britain will allow Huawei Technologies a restricted role in building parts of its 5G network seeking a middle way in a bitter dispute between the United States and China over the next generation of communications technology Huawei the world s biggest producer of telecoms equipment is under intense scrutiny after the United States told allies not to use its technology because of fears it could be a vehicle for Chinese spying Huawei has categorically denied this Britain s National Security Council chaired by Prime Minister Theresa May met to discuss Huawei on Tuesday Britain will block Huawei from all core parts of the 5G network and access to non core parts would be restricted two security sources told Reuters on condition of anonymity It s essential that we get the balance right ensuring that our networks are built in a way that is secure against interference from whatever source but also are competitive said Britain s finance minister Philip Hammond The Daily Telegraph newspaper first reported the decision 5G which will offer much faster data speeds and become the foundation stone of many industries and networks is seen as one of the biggest innovations since the birth of the internet itself a generation ago In what some have compared to the Cold War arms race the United States is worried 5G dominance would give a competitor such as China an advantage Washington is not ready to accept European nations are treading a fine line in the dispute between the world s two most powerful countries under pressure from the United States to take a hard line on Huawei but also anxious not to sour trading and diplomatic relations with China Huawei welcomed London s move though ministers cautioned that a final decision may not have been made FIVE EYES Britain s compromise could provide a template for other Western nations to follow as they try to navigate the row between Beijing and Washington The world s leading intelligence sharing network the anglophone Five Eyes alliance of the United States Britain Australia Canada and New Zealand will not use technology from Huawei in its most sensitive networks a U S official said What I see playing out here is a discussion amongst all of us about the realities of where do you define sensitive networks where does that start and end said Rob Joyce a senior official from the U S National Security Agency For Britain s spy masters the riddle of Huawei is only a part of the wider challenge of securing 5G networks and what they see as the much more fundamental threat from China s dominance in certain globalized technologies of the future Ciaran Martin head of the cyber center of Britain s main eavesdropping agency GCHQ played down any threat of a rift in the Five Eyes alliance and said any decision on Huawei had to take into account Britain s international trading posture When asked if the United States was softening on Huawei he said I wouldn t get into language like softening I welcome the debate is beginning to inch into wider territory about general standards of security required for 5G to protect us and our allies from any attack said Martin head of the National Cyber Security Centre NCSC Huawei founded in 1987 by a former engineer in China s People s Liberation Army denies it is spying for Beijing says it complies with the law and that the United States is trying to smear it because Western companies are falling behind THREAT Huawei s equipment is either not present or is being stripped out of existing core networks in Britain but is widely used in lower risk parts such as radio masts The telecoms equipment market is dominated by three suppliers Huawei Sweden s Ericsson BS ERICAs and Finland s Nokia HE NOKIA and network operators oppose any move that would limit competition among them Companies such as Samsung KS 005930 Cisco NASDAQ CSCO and China s ZTE HK 0763 are also targeting parts of the 5G equipment sector The world s second largest mobile company Vodafone LON VOD has warned a complete ban would significantly extend the cost and time to deploy 5G What Britain is trying to do is keep Huawei s technology away from the brain of the network while using it in the less sensitive parts of the nervous system But lawmaker Tom Tugendhat the chairman of Britain s Foreign Affairs Committee said allowing Huawei to remain in the 5G network would undermine trust between Five Eye allies Our most important security alliance is the Five Eyes intelligence sharing network Tugendhat said The problem with therefore having Huawei running our infrastructure is that it undermines that trust Tugendhat said it was difficult to define core and non core with 5G and that the Chinese company should not be allowed to build Britain s 5G network One of the biggest changes between 4G and 5G is the ability to take the advanced computing power usually kept in the protected core of a network and distribute it to other parts of the system This will provide more reliable high speed connections But it also means engineers will no longer be able to clearly ring fence the most sensitive parts of the system U S officials say Chris Watson head of the technology media and communications group at law firm CMS said it was not clear how 5G technology would develop and more data processing could move to the network edge blurring the line between the core and periphery
It s not yet clear quite what 5G networks are going to consist of and therefore where the real processing power and communications links are going to be located he said |
CSCO | Cisco revamps its hardware for new Wi Fi technology | By Stephen Nellis Reuters Cisco Systems Inc NASDAQ CSCO said on Monday it is rolling out hardware for the next generation of Wi Fi standards giving a core part of its 28 2 billion infrastructure business a refresh and in the process aiming to garner more software revenue Cisco announced new access points and switches for businesses for Wi Fi 6 a new standard expected to roll out by 2022 Phones laptops and other devices will connect to Cisco s access points on corporate campuses and carry the traffic to the switches which connect to a business s wired network Cisco which controls about 45 percent of the market for corporate Wi Fi systems according to research firm IDC is releasing the hardware well before most phones and laptops have a chip to take advantage of Wi Fi 6 The new network technology is designed to give a modest speed boost but also to solve some of the biggest problems facing current Wi Fi networks The new standard is designed to avoid bogging down when today s proliferation of televisions security cameras smart speakers sensors and other gadgets hop on One new aspect of the networks that consumers will notice is deeper ties with the 5G wireless networks that will arrive around the same time from mobile carriers When both new networks are in place for example a hotel guest s phone could shift from 5G to a hotel s Wi Fi network after check in without having to enter a name or password There s going to be a much stronger interconnection and relationship and handoff that occurs Gordon Thomson Cisco s vice president of enterprise networking sales told Reuters Many of those new features will come about because of greater use of software to control the traffic on the wireless networks To capitalize on that Cisco is retiring its biggest selling switch for corporate networks and rolling out a new one that will be able to run more software which Cisco will sell along with it Brandon Butler a senior research analyst for IDC said that is part of Cisco s longer term strategy in the past several years to derive a greater portion of its network infrastructure sales from software which can be sold on a subscription basis for steadier revenue than hardware sales
The new device brings that backend switch into line with the company s broader network software strategy he said This has been an evolution for the company from a hardware based model to a software based model |
CSCO | Cisco Falls 4 | Investing com Cisco NASDAQ CSCO fell by 4 01 to trade at 51 24 by 11 18 15 18 GMT on Monday on the NASDAQ exchange
The volume of Cisco shares traded since the start of the session was 9 87M Cisco has traded in a range of 51 22 to 52 26 on the day
The stock has traded at 54 9900 at its highest and 51 2200 at its lowest during the past seven days |
CSCO | Cisco Reports Profit Revenue Just Ahead of Forecasts | Investing com Cisco NASDAQ CSCO reported earnings and revenue that were just ahead of analyst expectations Wednesday
The company reported fiscal third quarter earnings per share of 0 78 on revenue of 12 96 billion Analysts polled by Investing com anticipated EPS of 0 77 on revenue of 12 9 billion The earnings compared to EPS of 0 66 on revenue of 12 46 billion in the year ago quarter
Cisco shares gained 3 43 to trade at 53 24 in after hours trading following the report after rising 0 8 in regular trading
Looking ahead Cisco said it expects a fourth quarter profit of 80 to 82 cents per share in line with the consensus of 81 cents per share according to S P Capital IQ The company said it expected fourth quarter revenue to grow 4 5 to 6 5 year over year
Stay up to date on all of the upcoming earnings reports by visiting Investing com s earnings calendar |
VZ | T Mobile US TMUS Q3 Earnings Beat Estimates Lifts Outlook | T Mobile US Inc NYSE T reported strong financial results in the third quarter of 2017 wherein net income outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate and revenues were almost in line The company also raised its financial outlook for 2017
GAAP net income in the reported quarter was 537 million or 63 cents per share compared with net income of 353 million or 42 cents in the year ago quarter Quarterly earnings per share of 63 cents were well above the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 44 cents T Mobile US Inc Price Consensus and EPS Surprise
Total revenues increased 7 7 year over year to 10 019 million in the reported quarter slightly below the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 10 022 million Segment wise Service revenues were up 7 year over year to 7 629 million Sales from Equipment totaled 2 118 million increasing 8 7 year over year while Other revenues were 272 million up 21 4 year over year
Within the Service segment branded postpaid revenues were 4 920 million increasing 5 9 year over year Branded prepaid revenues were 2 376 million up 8 9 Wholesale revenues were 274 million reflecting an increase of 15 1 Roaming other services revenues were 59 million declining 10 6
Quarterly operating income was 1 323 million compared with 1 048 million in the year ago quarter Operating margin in the reported quarter was 13 2 compared with 11 3 in the prior year quarter Adjusted EBITDA was 2 822 million up 4 9 year over year Adjusted EBITDA margin was 28 2 compared with 28 9 in the year ago quarter
Cash Flow
In the third quarter of 2017 T Mobile US generated 2 362 million of cash from operations compared with 1 740 million in the prior year quarter Free cash flow in the reported quarter was 921 million compared with 581 million in the year ago quarter
Liquidity
At the end of third quarter 2017 T Mobile US had 739 million of cash and cash equivalents and 15 144 million of debt outstanding compared with 5 500 million and 22 186 million respectively at the end of 2016 The debt to capitalization ratio at the end of the reported quarter was 0 42 compared with 0 54 at the end of 2016
Subscriber Statistics and Other Metrics
As of Sep 30 2017 total customer base of T Mobile US was 70 731 million increasing 2 year over year Branded postpaid phone customers totaled 33 223 million increasing 9 4 Branded postpaid other customer count was 3 752 million surging 30 9 Branded prepaid customer count was 20 519 million reflecting an increase of 6 5 Wholesale customers tallied 13 237 million declining 21 5
In the reported quarter T Mobile US added net 0 595 million branded postpaid phone customers 0 222 million branded postpaid other customers 0 226 million branded prepaid customers and 0 286 million wholesale customers Total net customer addition was 1 329 million signifying the 18th successive quarter of over 1 million net customer additions Quarterly branded postpaid churn was 1 23 compared with 1 32 in the year ago quarter Branded prepaid churn was 4 25 compared with 3 82 in the year ago quarter
Quarterly branded postpaid phone average revenue per user ARPU was 46 93 compared with 48 15 in the prior year quarter Branded prepaid ARPU was 38 93 compared with 38 01 in the prior year quarter Branded postpaid average billing per user ABPU was 59 89 compared with 63 38 in the year ago quarter
Guidance
For 2017 the company anticipates adjusted EBITDA to be in the range of 10 8 11 0 billion compared with the previous guidance range of 10 5 10 9 billion Capital expenditure will be in the range of 4 8 5 1 billion The company expects branded postpaid net customer addition to fall in the range of 3 3 3 6 million compared with the previous guidance of 3 0 3 6 million
T Mobile US competes with the likes of Verizon Communications Inc NYSE VZ AT T Inc NYSE T and Sprint Corp NYSE S in the highly price sensitive U S wireless market The stock currently carries a Zacks Rank 3 Hold You can see
Will You Make a Fortune on the Shift to Electric Cars
Here s another stock idea to consider Much like petroleum 150 years ago lithium power may soon shake the world creating millionaires and reshaping geo politics Soon electric vehicles EVs may be cheaper than gas guzzlers Some are already reaching 265 miles on a single charge With battery prices plummeting and charging stations set to multiply one company stands out as the 1 stock to buy according to Zacks research It s not the one you think |
VZ | Sprint S Q2 Loss Betters Estimates Revenues Miss | Sprint Corp NYSE S is an U S national wireless carrier Headquartered in Kansas Sprint is a telecommunication company that provides wireless services and is also an internet service provider The company operates in two segments Wireless and Wireline Sprint is on track with its network modernization and integration efforts which has fortified its position in the wireless industry We believe these efforts have helped the company witness substantial wireless customer addition in the last reported first quarter of fiscal 2017 in which the company had 53 698 million up 0 63 year over year wireless connections We also believe that efficient usage of capital reduction of cell sites elimination of dual networks backhaul efficiencies reduced churn lower roaming charges and energy cost savings will act as major positives to fourth quarter results We are also impressed with Sprint s efforts to lure customers from rival carriers such as AT T NYSE T and Verizon Communications NYSE VZ by offering attractive promotional plans and lucrative discounts However this has led to high cash burn and heavy losses for the company Additionally the company has a debt laden balance sheet and negative operating cash flow Moreover it has been witnessing losses since 2007 Notably such high debt levels decreasing cash flows and liquidity pressure may adversely affect the company s cost of capital while trying to raise new funds for network expansion Zacks Rank Sprint currently carries a Zacks Rank 3 Hold You can see We have highlighted some of the key stats from this just revealed announcement below Earnings Our Zacks consensus estimate called for a net loss of 2 cents per share while Sprint reported net loss of 1 cent per share Investors should note that these figures take out stock option expenses Revenue Sprint reported total revenue of 7 927 million down 3 9 year over year and was below the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 8 071 millionKey States to Note In the reported quarter Sprint witnessed net additions of 3 78 000 wireless customers including postpaid net gain of 1 68 000 prepaid net additions of 95 000 and wholesale and affiliate net additions of 1 15 000 Sprint s focus on delivering the most attractive value proposition in wireless resulted in 2 79 000 postpaid phone net additions in the quarter marking the ninth consecutive quarter of net additions Quarterly total retail postpaid churn rate was 1 72 compared with 1 52 in the year ago quarter Total retail prepaid churn rate was 4 83 versus 5 59 in the year ago quarter Postpaid phone churn was 1 59 as against 1 37 in the prior year quarter Sprint Corporation Price and EPS Surprise Check back later for our full write up on this Sprint earnings report later Zacks Hidden TradesWhile we share many recommendations and ideas with the public certain moves are hidden from everyone but selected members of our portfolio services Would you like to peek behind the curtain today and view them Starting now for the next month I invite you to follow all Zacks private buys and sells in real time from value to momentum from stocks under 10 to ETF to option movers from insider trades to companies that are about to report positive earnings surprises we ve called them with 80 accuracy You can even look inside portfolios so exclusive that they are normally closed to new investors |
VZ | Sprint S Betters Estimates In Q2 Earnings Revenues Miss | U S national wireless carrier Sprint Corp NYSE S reported mixed financial results in the second quarter of fiscal 2017 Net IncomeSprint s second quarter 2017 net loss was 48 million or 1 cent per share compared with a net loss of 142 million or 4 cents in the year ago quarter Moreover second quarter net loss was 1 cent as against the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 2 cents The bottom line rallied 75 on a year over year basis Sprint Corporation Price Consensus and EPS Surprise RevenueQuarterly total revenues totaled 7 927 million down 3 9 year over year and were below the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 8 071 million Service revenues were 5 967 million down 6 95 Equipment revenues totaled 1 960 million increasing 6 87 Operating MetricsOperating expenses were 7 326 million compared with 7 625 million in the year ago quarter Operating income was 601 million compared with 622 million in the year ago period Adjusted EBITDA was 2 729 million compared with 2 347 million in the year ago quarter Adjusted EBITDA margin was 45 7 compared with 36 6 in the prior year quarter Cash FlowIn the second quarter of 2017 Sprint generated 1 959 million of cash from operations compared with 1 708 million in the prior year quarter Quarterly free cash flow was 420 million compared with 707 million in the year ago quarter LiquidityAt the end of Sep 30 Sprint had 4 802 million of cash and marketable securities compared with 2 870 million at the end of March 2017 Total debt outstanding was 34 236 million compared with 35 878 million at the end of March 2017 Wireless SegmentTotal segment revenues were 7 609 million down 3 08 year over year Postpaid revenues totaled 4 363 million down 7 56 Prepaid revenues were 990 million declining 4 53 Wholesale revenues were 296 million up 13 8 Equipment revenues totaled 1 960 million increasing 6 87 Operating income was 689 million compared with 654 million in the year ago period Adjusted EBITDA was 2 764 million compared with 2 323 million in the year ago quarter Adjusted EBITDA margin was 48 9 compared with 38 6 in the prior year quarter Wireline SegmentSegment revenues were 409 million down 21 5 year over year Voice revenues totaled 109 million down 36 6 Data revenues were 33 million down 23 3 Internet revenues were 256 million declining 11 1 Other revenues were 11 million down 38 9 year over year Operating income was at a loss of 78 million compared with a loss of 32 million in the year ago period Adjusted EBITDA was at a loss of 29 million compared with 23 million in the year ago quarter Adjusted EBITDA margin was a negative 7 1 compared with 4 4 in the prior year quarter Subscribers StatisticsIn the reported quarter Sprint witnessed net additions of 3 78 000 wireless customers including postpaid net gain of 1 68 000 prepaid net additions of 95 000 and wholesale and affiliate net additions of 1 15 000 Sprint s focus on delivering the most attractive value proposition in wireless resulted in 2 79 000 postpaid phone net additions in the quarter marking the ninth consecutive quarter of net additions As of Sep 30 Sprint had 54 027 million wireless connections up 0 12 year over year This includes 31 686 million postpaid 8 765 million prepaid and 13 576 million wholesale customers Quarterly total retail postpaid churn rate was 1 72 compared with 1 52 in the year ago quarter Total retail prepaid churn rate was 4 83 versus 5 59 in the year ago quarter Postpaid phone churn was 1 59 as against 1 37 in the prior year quarter Total retail postpaid ARPU average revenue per user was 46 00 versus 50 54 in the year ago quarter Total retail prepaid ARPU was 37 83 versus 33 15 in the year ago period Fiscal 2017 OutlookFor fiscal 2017 Sprint has maintained its previous outlook The company expects fiscal 2017 adjusted EBITDA of 10 8 billion to 11 2 billion Sprint anticipates operating income of 2 1 billion to 2 5 billion Capital expenditures are projected in the range of 3 5 billion to 4 billion similar to the previous expectation This Zacks Rank 3 Hold stock faces fierce competition in the domestic wireless market from Verizon Communications Inc NYSE VZ AT T Inc NYSE T and T Mobile US Inc NYSE T You can see Zacks Hidden TradesWhile we share many recommendations and ideas with the public certain moves are hidden from everyone but selected members of our portfolio services Would you like to peek behind the curtain today and view them Starting now for the next month I invite you to follow all Zacks private buys and sells in real time from value to momentum from stocks under 10 to ETF to option movers from insider trades to companies that are about to report positive earnings surprises we ve called them with 80 accuracy You can even look inside portfolios so exclusive that they are normally closed to new investors |
CSCO | Cisco Global Blockchain market will be worth 10 billion by 2021 | Cisco s report stated that the blockchain has the ability to hold 10 of the world s GDP by 2027
Cisco s report stated that the sheer potential of the blockchain technology lies in its ability to automate trust
Cisco NASDAQ CSCO one of the largest tech conglomerates in the world released a report on the company s enterprise oriented blockchain platform which made the following interesting observations |
CSCO | Free Money How Students Mine Cryptocurrency in Their Dorm Rooms | Last month reports surfaced on crypto mining research conducted by tech conglomerate Cisco NASDAQ CSCO with the following headline College kids are using campus electricity to mine crypto
Indeed many students don t have to worry about paying power bills as per their university housing contracts which tend to cover electricity expenses That free power allows them to host cost efficient mining rigs where the only expense is the actual hardware It almost seems too good to be true Mining students receive a passive income which can potentially cover the purchase of a few textbooks or even pay for the whole semester and more |
CSCO | 5G connected cows test milking parlor of the future | SHEPTON MALLET England Reuters They may look like regular cows but a herd of Friesian dairy cattle at a British farm are internet pioneers and they are enjoying the benefits of 5G connectivity before you Cisco Systems Inc NASDAQ CSCO which is developing network infrastructure for the emerging technology has set up 5G testbeds to trial wireless and mobile connectivity in three rural locations 5G promises super fast connections which evangelists say will transform the way we live our lives enabling everything from self driving cars to augmented reality glasses and downloading a feature length film to your phone in seconds While it is being used in pockets of pilot studies around the world the first near nationwide coverage is not expected in countries such as China Japan or the United States until 2023 according to industry analysts For the cows among the 5G connected gadgets they are wearing is a collar that controls a robotic milking system When the cow feels ready to be milked it will approach machine gates that will automatically open The device recognizes the individual to precisely latch on to its teats for milking while the cow munches on a food reward At the government funded Agricultural Engineering Precision Innovation Centre Agri EPI Centre in Shepton Mallet in southwest England around 50 of the 180 strong herd is fitted with the 5G smart collars and health monitoring ear tags The gadgets do not harm the cows and the monitoring allows handlers to see any signs of distress We are testing the ability of 5G to transmit the data from our sensors much quicker and not via the farm s PC and a slow broadband internet connection said Duncan Forbes Project Manager at the Agri Epi Centre And the significance of that is it means that this sort of technology could be taken up not just on farms but on rural communities right across the country The working dairy set up by Agri EPI with the support of Britain s innovation agency uses a range of technology including automated brushes that rotate when the cow rubs up against them sensor operated curtains that open depending on the weather and a smart feeding system that automatically delivers food in the barn via ceiling mounted rails We can connect every cow we can connect every animal on this farm Cisco s Nick Chrissos said
That s what 5G can do for farming really unleash the power that we have within this farm everywhere around the UK and everywhere around the world |
VZ | Verizon VZ Q3 Earnings In Line Revenues Beat Estimates | Verizon Communications Inc NYSE VZ reported mixed financial numbers in the third quarter of 2017 While the top line surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate the bottom line met the mark
Verizon currently carries a Zacks Rank 3 Hold You can see
The company continues to witness intense competitive from rivals like AT T Inc NYSE T T Mobile US Inc NYSE T and Sprint Corp NYSE S in the highly competitive and saturated domestic wireless market
Net Income
Quarterly GAAP net income was 3 736 million compared with 3 747 million in the year ago quarter Adjusted earnings per share were 98 cents in the reported quarter in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate Verizon Communications Inc Price Consensus and EPS Surprise
Revenue
Total revenue increased 2 5 year over year to 31 717 million beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 31 252 million
Operating Metrics
Total operating expenses in the quarter under review were 24 509 million up 0 5 year over year Operating income totaled 7 208 million compared with 6 540 million in the year ago quarter
Cash Flow and Liquidity
As of Sep 30 2017 Verizon generated 17 2 billion of cash from operating activities compared with 17 7 billion in the year ago period
At the end of the third quarter of 2017 Verizon had 4 487 million in cash and 115 317 million in long term debts compared with 2 880 million and 105 433 million respectively at the end of 2016
Wireless Segment
Total revenue was 21 580 million down 2 4 year over year Service revenues dropped 5 1 to 15 841 million Equipment revenues increased 5 5 to 4 352 million Other revenues totaled 1 387 million up 7 3
Operating expenses decreased 3 3 to 13 977 million Operating income declined 0 6 to 7 603 million Quarterly operating income margin was 35 2 compared with 34 6 in the year ago quarter Segment EBITDA increased 0 4 to 9 969 million EBITDA margin was 46 2 compared with 44 9 in the prior year quarter
As of Sep 30 Verizon had 115 274 million retail subscribers up 1 4 year over year Of the total retail postpaid subscriber count was 109 686 million up 1 4 Meanwhile retail prepaid user count was 5 588 million up 2 4 In the reported quarter the company gained 0 603 million postpaid customers and 0 139 million prepaid customers
Quarterly retail postpaid churn rate was 0 97 compared with 1 04 in the year ago quarter Total retail churn rate was 1 19 compared with 1 28 in the year ago quarter Of the total activated phones smartphones accounted for 94 8 compared with 93 1 in the prior year quarter Retail postpaid ARPA average revenue per account was 136 31 compared with 144 94 in the year ago quarter
Wireline Segment
Total revenue at the segment was 7 662 million up 1 1 year over year Consumer retail revenues were up 0 9 to 3 204 million Enterprise Solutions revenues contracted 0 5 to 2 262 million Partner Solutions revenues up 2 1 to 1 244 million Business Markets revenues grossed 903 million up 8 3 Other revenues decreased 35 5 to 49 million
Operating expenses increased 1 3 to 7 597 million Quarterly operating income was 65 million against an operating loss of 73 million in the year ago quarter Quarterly operating margin was 0 8 as opposed to an operating loss of 1 0 in the year ago quarter Segment EBITDA was up a whopping 4 8 to 1 614 million EBITDA margin was 21 1 compared with 20 3 in the year ago quarter
As of Sep 30 FiOS video subscriber base was 4 648 million down 0 5 year over year FiOS Internet subscriber count was 5 803 million up 3 9 and FiOS digital voice residence connections totaled 3 920 million up 1 0 During the quarter Verizon lost 18 000 FiOS video subscribers while gaining 11 000 FiOS digital voice residential connections and 66 000 FiOS internet subscribers
High speed internet connection dropped 19 1 year over year to 1 175 million while total broadband connection number was pegged at 6 978 million down 0 9 Primary residence switched access connections decreased 15 7 to 2 830 million and Primary residence connections fell 6 8 to 6 750 million Total retail residence voice connections declined 7 1 to 6 950 million and total voice connections contracted 7 7 to 13 100 million
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And this outperformance has not just been a recent phenomenon Over the years it has been remarkably consistent From 2000 Q1 2017 the composite yearly average gain for these strategies has beaten the market more than 11X over Maybe even more remarkable is the fact that we re willing to share their latest stocks with you without cost or obligation |
VZ | AT T revenue misses estimates as customers keep phones longer | By Anjali Athavaley Reuters AT T Inc s N T quarterly revenue missed estimates due to lower equipment sales as customers held onto phones longer and rival wireless carriers offered new promotions on unlimited data plans the No 2 U S wireless carrier said on Tuesday It said it lost 191 000 postpaid subscribers who pay bills monthly in the United States on a net basis in the first quarter ended March 31 AT T and industry leader Verizon Communications Inc N VZ are battling Sprint Corp N S and T Mobile US Inc O TMUS for market share in a mature U S wireless market where most U S consumers already have cellphones Verizon on Thursday reported its first ever quarterly loss of subscribers Unlimited data plans are among the latest industry incentives In February Verizon joined other carriers in offering an unlimited data plan for the first time in over five years T Mobile US Inc O TMUS and Sprint Corp N S also offered new unlimited promotions and AT T cut the price on its own plan Obviously this has made an already competitive market even more so and our response to the unlimited data plans was probably a little slow Chief Executive Randall Stephenson said on the company s post earnings conference call He said the Dallas based company had lost market share in the quarter AT T and Verizon have also been buying up assets that they need for a next generation or 5G network with faster downloads and applications that would enable self driving cars Verizon has made an offer for Straight Path Communications Inc A STRP a source told Reuters topping an earlier bid from AT T in a move that started a bidding war for a company holding spectrum used in 5G technology On the call AT T reiterated that it had five business days to match or exceed the bid and that it would make a decision in that timeframe AT T is trying to diversify by buying Time Warner Inc N TWX in a 85 4 billion deal that would give it control of cable channels like HBO and CNN as well as film studio Warner Bros AT T has said the deal would close by the end of the year AT T also acquired DirecTV for 48 5 billion in 2015 making it the largest U S pay TV operator In November it introduced a streaming service called DirecTV Now for consumers looking for a cheaper alternative to bigger cable bundles For the quarter AT T said that new DirecTV Now customers helped offset declines in linear television subscribers which fell by 233 000 AT T s total operating revenue fell nearly 3 percent to 39 37 billion mainly due to record low sales of wireless handset sales Net income attributable to AT T was 3 47 billion or 56 cents a share down from 3 80 billion or 61 cents a share in the year ago period Excluding items earnings per share matched analysts consensus estimate of 74 cents according to Thomson Reuters I B E S Revenue was expected at 40 53 billion AT T also said it would no longer give a full year revenue forecast due to the unpredictability of wireless handset sales |
CSCO | Explainer Securing the 5G future what s the issue | By Jack Stubbs BARCELONA Reuters The security of next generation 5G networks has dominated this year s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona with conflicting views on the risks of moving to the new technology being debated on stage and in backroom meetings 5G promises super fast connections which evangelists say will transform the way we live our lives enabling everything from self driving cars to augmented reality glasses and downloading a feature length film to your phone in seconds But there are also security concerns some of which have fueled a drive by the United States and others to remove Chinese made equipment from Western networks The concerns can be broken down into three main areas CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE As 5G becomes embedded in everything from hospitals to transport systems and power plants it will rapidly become a part of each country s critical national infrastructure This makes the consequences of the networks failing or being deliberately sabotaged in a cyber attack significantly more serious What makes people concerned is that you are not going to use 5G only for smartphones and consumers you will connect over time infrastructure that is at the very core of our societies said Thomas Noren head of 5G commercialization business area networks at equipment maker Ericsson BS ERICAs Ericsson Huawei and Nokia HE NOKIA are the world s leading suppliers of telecoms equipment MORE CONNECTIONS As 5G makes high speed internet increasingly available the number of devices in the network will increase dramatically These will include traditional mobile and broadband connections but also internet enabled devices from dishwashers through to advanced medical equipment Industry association GSMA forecasts the number of internet enabled devices will triple to 25 billion by 2025 The larger the network the more opportunities there are for hackers to attack meaning there is an increasingly complex system with more parts that need protecting Once you have complexity across a broader system regardless of what it is the complexity itself is a vulnerability said Gee Rittenhouse senior vice president for security at networking gear maker Cisco NASDAQ CSCO You don t have a coherent view through the system and once you don t have that coherent view there are gaps and the adversaries take advantage of those gaps which open up security holes DISTRIBUTED SYSTEM One of 5G s biggest changes is the ability to take the advanced computing power usually kept in the protected core of a network and distribute it to other parts of the system This will provide more reliable high speed connections and also means that future technologies such as augmented reality glasses will not need inbuilt computing power because they can pull it from the network instead But it also means engineers will no longer be able to clearly segregate the sensitive and less restricted parts of the system It is going to fundamentally change the architecture of the network Nokia CEO Rajeev Suri told Reuters The United States and others have warned that this means equipment made by Chinese companies such as Huawei Technologies which Washington has accused of spying for Beijing will have access to protected information
Huawei has denied the allegations |
VZ | Chart Of The Day Verizon Heading Toward Channel Bottom Eyeing 40 | by Pinchas Cohen
Verizon NYSE VZ the telecommunications and entertainment giant is scheduled to report Q3 2017 earnings this coming Thursday before the market open
Consensus EPS forecast for the quarter is 0 97 versus 1 01 EPS for the same quarter last year on revenue of 33 06 billion revenue versus 34 13 billion for the same quarter last year
The company s long term revenue base is in question and its margins are shrinking Currently revenues are predominantly derived from wireless equipment and especially services
Consensus expects this quarter s decline to slow to just a negative 5 8 percent YoY When this happens it may mean that the company is turning around Or not
Whatever the case it also suggests that the concurrent decline in the company s stock price till now may also slow down
The post 2008 crash was followed by an uptrend since October 2008 As we can see that trend remains intact
We also see that while the price in July eked out a higher peak than the previous peak in 2013 officially keeping the trend alive a gain of less than 5 percent in 4 5 years while the S P 500 climbed 65 percent during that same period just doesn t cut it and certainly doesn t provide any real reason to be confident of Verizon s continued uptrend
Moreover despite the aforementioned possibility of a slower decline in revenue which might suggest a recovery is underway the price of the stock actually entered a downtrend in the medium term as can be seen visually via the falling channel That spells out the balance of supply and demand which may or may not include informed money people within a small circle who know more than the public
Specifically since mid June the short term rise was within the shape of a rising wedge which holds bearish implications signaling short term over eager sentiment among buyers even while supply is drying out Note that the apex of the wedge is pointing at the channel top where supply overruns demand
Trading Strategies
Conservative traders should not trade against the primary trend which is still up
Moderate traders may take the risk of a short after the price confirms the resistance of the channel top or alternatively after a decisive close beneath the bearish rising wedge
Aggressive traders may risk a long position with a stop loss beneath yesterday s 47 71 low and rejoin the medium trend with a short as it nears the 50 level |
VZ | Yahoo s first quarter revenue jumps 22 percent | Reuters Yahoo Inc O YHOO reported a 22 1 percent increase in quarterly revenue on Tuesday ahead of the sale of its core internet business to Verizon Communications Inc N VZ Yahoo said revenue from Mavens the mobile video native and social advertising units that it has touted as key emerging businesses rose 35 6 percent to 529 million in the first quarter ended March 31 Net income attributable to Yahoo was 99 4 million or 10 cents per share in the quarter compared with a net loss of 99 2 million or 10 cents per share a year earlier Revenue rose to 1 33 billion from 1 09 billion Verizon in February agreed to buy Yahoo s core business which includes its internet search and email assets for 4 48 billion lowering its original offer by 350 million in the wake of two massive cyber attacks at the internet company
Yahoo said on Tuesday it expects the deal to close in June |
CSCO | Cisco Shares Rise on Top and Bottom Line Beats | Investing com Investors were cheered by Cisco Systems NASDAQ CSCO second quarter results and its guidance as the stock rose in after hours trading
Shares of Cisco gained 3 8 postmarket
The company reported earnings per share of 0 73 on revenue of 12 45 billion Analysts polled by Investing com expected EPS of 0 72 on revenue of 12 41 billon
That compared to EPS of 0 63 on revenue of 11 89 billion in the same period a year earlier
Looking ahead Cisco predicts fiscal third quarter adjusted earnings per share of 0 76 to 0 78 in line with analysts forecasts according to Briefing com It sees revenue for the quarter growing 4 to 6 year over year
Revenue in its application software business rose 24 percent to 1 47 billion beating estimates of 1 35 billion
Sales in its security business which offers firewall protection and breach detection systems rose 18 percent to 658 million above estimates of 628 9 million
Sales in its infrastructure platform business which includes the company s traditional business of supplying switches and routers rose 6 percent to 7 13 billion Analysts had expected revenue of 7 05 billion according to Refinitiv
Reuters contributed to this report |
CSCO | Cisco Rises 3 | Investing com Cisco NASDAQ CSCO rose by 3 16 to trade at 49 01 by 09 30 14 30 GMT on Thursday on the NASDAQ exchange
The volume of Cisco shares traded since the start of the session was 2 15M Cisco has traded in a range of 48 78 to 49 25 on the day
The stock has traded at 49 2200 at its highest and 46 3000 at its lowest during the past seven days |
CSCO | Cisco Rises 4 | Investing com Cisco NASDAQ CSCO rose by 4 23 to trade at 49 53 by 09 34 14 34 GMT on Thursday on the NASDAQ exchange
The volume of Cisco shares traded since the start of the session was 3 97M Cisco has traded in a range of 48 78 to 49 67 on the day
The stock has traded at 49 6500 at its highest and 46 3000 at its lowest during the past seven days |
CSCO | Israeli software firm DriveNets raises 110 million in first funding round | TEL AVIV Reuters Israeli networking software company DriveNets said on Thursday it raised 110 million in its first round of financing led by Bessemer Venture Partners and Israel s Pitango Growth with the participation of several private investors
The new financing will help the company expand its product portfolio and penetrate new markets it said
DriveNets said its software allows communication service providers to handle growing demand without sacrificing profitability Bringing networking to the cloud can accelerate new service rollouts it said
DriveNets was founded in late 2015 by Ido Susan and Hillel Kobrinsky and has been self funded until now
It achieved its first major contract in 2017 with a top North American service provider and has since recorded tens of millions of dollars in revenue The company has 150 employees and plans to expand to 200 by the end of the year
Susan co founded Intucell which was acquired by Cisco NASDAQ CSCO for 475 million while Kobrinsky founded Interwise which was acquired by AT T NYSE T for 121 million |
VZ | T Mobile US Seeks FCC Permission For LTE A Network Trial | T Mobile US Inc NYSE T recently requested for Special Temporary Authority STA from the Federal Communications Commission FCC to test pre commercial LTE Advanced LTE A in El Paso Texas and Augusta Georgia The third largest wireless operator in the United States will conduct LTE A trial runs using multiple spectrum bands 700 MHz PCS and AWS spectrum licensed to T Mobile US as well as AWS 3 spectrum that is held by the FCC
In the Augusta and El Paso markets the company will use the base stations of Nokia HE NOKIA Corp NYSE NOK and Ericsson BS ERICAs AB NASDAQ ERIC respectively T Mobile US plans to transmit data using 2155 2160 MHz and 1755 1760 MHz bands in El Paso and 2165 2170 MHz and 1765 1770 MHz bands in Augusta The LTE Advanced network is likely to raise the data packet transmission speed by more than 50
Notably in March 2014 AT T Inc NYSE T became the first wireless operator in the United States to launch LTE A services in Chicago In August 2016 Verizon Communications Inc NYSE VZ completed a major upgrade of its 4G LTE networks to LTE A technology covering 461 cities in the United States Verizon claimed that its two channel carrier aggregation generates peak download speeds of up to 225 Mbps while three channel carrier aggregation has clocked speeds of more than 300 Mbps
Wireless network standards are continuously evolving globally to offer faster speed After significant growth of the next generation 4G LTE network LTE A wireless network standard is gradually finding a solid foothold worldwide LTE A is the more powerful version of the legacy LTE network offering increased speed and network capacity Carrier aggregation is the most important part of LTE A technology as it allows wireless operators to create large spectrum assets by combining different frequency bands
Price Performance of T Mobile US
T Mobile US shares have increased 2 65 a shade better than the s gain of 2 55 over the past 90 days The company currently carries a Zacks Rank 3 Hold You can see
Looking for Stocks with Skyrocketing Upside Zacks has just released a Special Report on the booming investment opportunities of legal marijuana Ignited by new referendums and legislation this industry is expected to blast from an already robust 6 7 billion to 20 2 billion in 2021 Early investors stand to make a killing but you have to be ready to act and know just where to look |
VZ | Yahoo accused of mismanaging funds meant for Chinese dissidents | By Brendan Pierson Reuters Yahoo NASDAQ YHOO Inc has been hit with a lawsuit saying it failed to safeguard more than 17 million it pledged to help jailed Chinese dissidents in a 2007 settlement The lawsuit filed on Tuesday in federal court in Washington by a group of Chinese dissidents accuses Yahoo of willfully turning a blind eye while Harry Wu a high profile political activist charged with administering the funds used them for personal gain The company had a legal duty to make sure the funds were used properly but instead used the settlement as window dressing to stem the immense criticism over Yahoo s complicity in egregious human rights violations the lawsuit says Only 700 000 of the 17 3 million settlement fund has actually been used to help jailed dissidents according to the lawsuit Yahoo spokesman Mike Sefanov declined to comment saying the company does not discuss ongoing litigation Yahoo originally established the fund to settle a lawsuit brought by the company s users in China who were jailed for expressing their political views after Yahoo turned over information about them to the Chinese government The company appointed Wu as administrator of the fund and its own general counsel as trustee according to the lawsuit The Shanghai born Wu a U S citizen who died last April was director the Laogai Research Foundation a Washington based human rights organization His estate is also named as a defendant in the lawsuit It was not immediately clear if a lawyer had been hired to represent the estate in the matter and an operator said there was no listed telephone number for the foundation A number associated with Wu s last address was not in service The dissidents claim that Wu immediately began using the funds for personal gain giving himself and his wife substantial raises He and his foundation bought two Washington properties for 1 45 million and 2 55 million that were used to house a museum on Chinese prison camps the lawsuit says The dissidents also contend that Wu used settlement funds to defend himself against lawsuits accusing him of sexual harassment and misusing federal grant money Yahoo ignored numerous red flags including direct warnings from an employee of the foundation and concerns from a shareholder the dissidents said The lawsuit demands that the full amount of the settlement fund be replenished and that the settlement be modified to ensure that dissidents are the sole beneficiaries
Yahoo is expected to be acquired by Verizon Communications Inc NYSE VZ later this year |
VZ | Verizon considering topping AT T s bid for Straight Path sources | By Liana B Baker and Greg Roumeliotis Reuters Verizon Communications Inc N VZ is considering making a buyout offer for Straight Path Communications Inc A STRP which would top AT T Inc s N T 1 25 billion bid people familiar with the matter said Shares of Straight Path a holder of wireless spectrum licenses sought after by service providers like Verizon and AT T rose 9 4 percent to 100 03 in after market trading Straight Path said in a regulatory filing on Thursday that a third party which it did not name was evaluating making an offer that would top AT T s bid The party had also been bidding to acquire the company before AT T made its offer Straight Path said Verizon declined to comment on what it called rumors and speculation AT T did not immediately respond to requests for comment and Straight Path declined to comment Straight Path on Monday agreed to be acquired by AT T the No 2 U S wireless carrier for 95 63 per share The price represented a hefty 162 1 percent premium to Straight Path s April 7 closing price The wireless spectrum held by Straight Path is expected to play a large role in the latest 5G networks Both AT T and bigger rival Verizon have been conducting 5G trials Verizon is testing a 5G fixed wireless service with equipment maker Ericsson BS ERICAs in 11 markets in the United States and expects a commercial launch as early as 2018 Separately AT T had made a 910 million bid in the broadcast airwaves spectrum sale in a government auction on Thursday the U S Federal Communications Commission said while Verizon opted not to bid Straight Path said in January it was hiring investment bank Evercore Partners to help explore strategic alternatives including a sale of assets
Shares of AT T and Verizon were unchanged in extended trading |
CSCO | Former executive of Duo Security Zscaler joins IronNet as co CEO | NEW YORK Reuters IronNet Cybersecurity Inc a startup led by former U S National Security Agency chief Keith Alexander has appointed William Welch as co chief executive the company told Reuters on Monday
Welch former chief operating officer of Duo Security a venture capital backed cybersecurity company that was sold to Cisco Systems Inc NASDAQ CSCO for 2 35 billion last year will serve as co CEO along with Alexander who ran the NSA from 2005 to 2014 the company said
Prior to Duo Security Welch was COO of cybersecurity firm Zscaler Inc which went public in 2018
IronNet a provider of cyberdefense products has raised over 110 million in two rounds of financing since it was founded in 2014 Investors include ForgePoint Capital Kleiner Perkins Caufield Byers and London based C5 Capital
The company declined to disclose its valuation
IronNet also said on Monday the customer base of its threat sharing technology dubbed IronDome has expanded since its launch in 2017 to include companies in the financial services energy healthcare and telecommunication sectors
The company declined to name the companies citing customer confidentiality |
CSCO | Austria calls for European stance on Huawei to ensure competition | VIENNA Reuters Europe should agree a joint position on whether or not Chinese firm Huawei is allowed to equip 5G networks for next generation mobile networks to ensure fair competition Austria s technology ministry said on Wednesday The European Commission is considering a de facto ban on Huawei s 5G network equipment due to security concerns U S Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and U S Vice President Mike Pence have been lobbying European politicians this week to ditch the Chinese firm s network products The Austrian ministry said in a statement that it considers it useful to address the issue at a European level and to define a common approach However it must also be ensured that competition in Europe and Austria is not restricted it added Huawei the global networks market leader with annual sales exceeding 100 billion is the subject of U S security concerns over its ties with the Chinese government and suspicion Beijing could use its technology for spying It denies the allegations and said on Wednesday it was ready to work with governments and tackle extra security measures to address the issues A1 Telekom Austria controlled by Mexico s America Movil and the Austrian state said that it does use Huawei parts and Nokia HE NOKIA is its main network supplier although its Chief Executive Thomas Arnoldner said a decision regarding 5G equipment has not been made yet Local rival T Mobile Austria Deutsche Telekom s Austrian unit has said it is working with Huawei Nokia and Cisco NASDAQ CSCO and is re evaluating its procurement strategy Deutsche Telekom DE DTEGn has proposed a series of technical and compliance measures to safeguard security including setting up an independent laboratory to scrutinize all equipment used in critical infrastructure before it is deployed Hutchison Whampoa s Drei Austria has said that Huawei played a minor role as a network supplier at Drei
Without Chinese hardware without American software we can t perform in the world of the global players One could discuss certification and security measures but raising walls is certainly the wrong way it said |
VZ | U S FCC chairman plans fast track repeal of net neutrality sources | By David Shepardson WASHINGTON Reuters The chairman of the U S Federal Communications Commission is moving quickly to replace the Obama administration s landmark net neutrality rules and wants internet service providers to voluntarily agree to maintain an open internet three sources briefed on the meeting said Thursday FCC Chairman Ajit Pai a Republican appointed by President Donald Trump met on Tuesday with major telecommunications trade groups to discuss his preliminary plan to reverse the rules the sources said The FCC declined to comment but Pai previously said he is committed to ensuring an open internet but feels net neutrality was a mistake The rules approved by the FCC under Democratic President Barack Obama in early 2015 prohibited broadband providers from giving or selling access to speedy internet essentially a fast lane to certain internet services over others As part of that change the FCC reclassified internet service providers much like utilities Pai wants to overturn that reclassification but wants internet providers to voluntarily agree to not obstruct or slow consumer access to web content two officials said late Tuesday The officials briefed on the meeting said Pai suggested companies commit in writing to open internet principles and including them in their terms of service which would make them binding It is unclear if regulators could legally compel internet providers to adopt open internet principles without existing net neutrality rules As part of that move the Federal Trade Commission would assume oversight of ensuring compliance Three sources said Pai plans to unveil his proposal to overturn the rules as early as late April and it could face an initial vote in May or June Internet providers like AT T Inc NYSE T Verizon Communications Inc NYSE VZ and Comcast Corp NASDAQ CMCSA have argued net neutrality rules would make it harder to manage internet traffic and investment in additional capacity less likely Websites worry that without the rules they might lose access to customers AT T and major trade groups sued the FCC in 2015 over the net neutrality rules Democrats and privacy advocates say net neutrality is crucial to keeping the internet open Pai in December predicted that net neutrality s days were numbered He told Reuters in February he believes in a free and open internet and the only question is what regulatory framework best secures that Pai and congressional Republicans have moved quickly to dismantle Obama era telecommunications rules Trump on Monday signed a repeal of Obama era broadband privacy rules a victory for internet service providers and a blow to privacy advocates Politico Pro reported some details of the meeting with trade groups on Thursday |
CSCO | Rallying Qatari Al Attiyah wins his third Dakar Toyota s first | LIMA Reuters Qatar s Nasser Al Attiyah became a three times Dakar Rally winner on Thursday taking no risks on the last stage to Lima and finishing with a 46 minute lead while Australian Toby Price took the motorcycle crown The triumph in a grueling endurance event now run entirely in Peru and featuring cars bikes and trucks was a first for Japanese constructor Toyota Spaniard Carlos Saint last year s car champion won the closing 10th stage from Cisco NASDAQ CSCO with Al Attiyah 12th and some nine minutes slower Saint s compatriot Nan Roman in an X Raid Mini finished second overall with nine times rally world champion Sebastian Loeb runner up in the stage completing the podium with a privately entered Peugeot in the absence of a works entry Al Attiyah previous Dakar wins were with Volkswagen DE VOWG p in 2011 and Mini in 2015 Overall runner up in 2018 the 48 year old led after every stage bar the second day in this year s event when South African team mate Gin de Villagers was ahead It s fantastic No mistakes during the entire rally It was a very very difficult rally for everybody said Al Attiyah The good thing was that from day three we were leading and we built on our time every day until we came to the last day with a big big lead We felt when we came that in Peru with no other country there would be a lot of sand dunes so we could do what we know we re good at Price battling a wrist injury suffered before the rally started had led overnight but with only a minute between him and Chilean Pablo Quintal The Australian clinched his second Dakar title on a RTM after he won the stage his first victory of this year s event and Quintal fell Pretty much all I can say is that it feels like there are about five people driving a knife in my wrist now said Price after 10 agonizing days of being jolted and bumped across the dunes and desert Now I ll just wait and see what damage I ve done to my wrist At the end of the day the pain and torture has been worth it I thought I would only be able to do two stages and then pull out and that would have been me done but the support from everyone back home in Australia and then having some things go my way and a bit of luck it just worked out in the end Russian Eduardo Nikolai secured his third successive Dakar title and fourth in total in the truck category with Kamal
For a photo essay of the Dakar Rally landscape Reporting by Ossian Shine Alan Baldwin in London Editing by Toby Davis |
CSCO | Illumio raises 65 million J P Morgan Asset Management leads round | By Angela Moon NEW YORK Reuters Cyber security firm Illumio said on Thursday it raised 65 million in a funding round led by J P Morgan Asset Management that will be used to help the money losing company expand outside the United States The investment values the company at a significant increase from its previous round Chief Executive Andrew Rubin told Reuters He declined to be more specific Illumio raised 125 million in a June 2017 round that valued it at 1 18 billion according to Pitchbook Six year old Illumio s investors include 8VC Accel Andreessen Horowitz DCVC and General Catalyst It sells software that large organizations use to segment computers from each other in a bid to prevent hackers from gaining access to large networks by compromising a single machine Competitors include VMware Inc and Cisco Systems Inc NASDAQ CSCO Rubin said the company was open to making acquisitions to bolster its technology offerings and also bring in talent from acquired companies The company has raised more than 332 5 million to date |
VZ | T Mobile And Sprint Shares Pop On Renewed Merger Chatter | Shares of T Mobile NYSE T and Sprint NYSE S moved higher on Tuesday morning this time on the back of a new report that the two wireless carriers are in active talks regarding a merger
According to sources cited by both companies and their respective parents Deutsche Telekom NYSE T and Softbank NYSE T have engaged in frequent conversations related to a stock for stock merger that would see Deutsche Telekom emerge as the majority owner of the new wireless giant
Nevertheless CNBC s sources said that the companies are still weeks away from finalizing a deal and there is still a chance the merger could fall through Apparently the two sides have not yet agreed on an exchange ratio for the deal
Still the news was enough for investors to get excited about both stocks T Mobile shares gained over 3 in early morning trading hours on Tuesday while Sprint climbed nearly 8
Today s rumors are the latest twist in what has been an ongoing story ever since Softbank completed its acquisition of Sprint in mid 2013 Softbank s enigmatic CEO Masayoshi Son has been an outspoken proponent of the deal but the two sides have thus far been met with regulatory headaches and differing expectations
In fact the companies had advanced to the late stages of merger talks as far back as 2014 but the Obama administration quashed the deal opting to maintain a four player mobile market
For the third and fourth largest players in that market however consolidation seems like a reasonable goal A combined T Mobile Sprint would still fall behind both AT T NYSE T and Verizon NYSE VZ in number of wireless subscribers but the new company would create billions in cost synergies almost immediately
What s more M A activity in the broader telecom and media space continues to heat up and with the rollout of 5G networks set to begin over the next few years the wireless carrier industry is on the cusp of what should be a transformational period
For now investors will have to wait and see whether all parties involved can agree on an exchange ratio and the leadership structure of the new company All accounts indicate that T Mobile CEO John Legere would be at the helm of the merged brand but Son has also said that he wants a say in the direction of the company
Make sure to check back here at Zacks for the latest updates to this ongoing story
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VZ | AT T T Vs Verizon VZ Which Wireless Stock Should You Buy | As news began to fly earlier this week surrounding the renewed possibility of a T Mobile NYSE T and Sprint NYSE S merger other wireless companies and investors took note A deal between two of the largest U S wireless carriers has the potential to shake up the entire industry
Though the deal is still weeks away from being completed and is certainly not a lock investors are likely waiting with great anticipation to see what comes of this possible mega merger
AT T NYSE T and Verizon NYSE VZ the second and first largest carriers in the U S might not be worried about a potential merger just yet but investors are likely starting to consider the possible ramifications a stronger third competitor could have on both companies
For now let s take a look at the two biggest U S wireless carriers and their fundamentals to help investors who might soon have to weigh their options more heavily decide which stock is the best investment right now
AT T Inc T
AT T is the second largest wireless carrier in the U S but its stock price has fluctuated greatly over the last year Shares of AT T now rest almost 5 below their 52 week high of 43 03 per share
In AT T s second quarter the company beat Wall Street expectations posting earnings of 0 79 per share and revenues of 39 84 billion The company s revenues dipped slightly from last year but the wireless carrier s earnings experienced growth AT T is currently a Zacks Rank 3 Hold stock but it sports an A grade for Value in our Style Scores system as well as an overall VGM grade of B
What s more many key figures support the stock s A grade for Value The company s 3 05 PEG ratio matches the industry average and its P B ratio of 1 86 also hovers right around the Wireless National industry norm AT T stock is currently trading at 12 93x earnings which is stellar compared to the overall market and looks even more favorable against the average of 35x earnings posted by its industry peers
AT T s 16 42 cash flow growth also helps to show that the company is on a solid growth trajectory especially compared to the industry s nearly double digit decline However the stock has slumped 5 27 over the past year Furthermore its sales numbers are projected to fall slightly this quarter and for the full year based on our current consensus estimates
Within the past 60 days AT T has received mixed revisions for its current quarter earnings estimates with six positive revisions and eight negative revisions For AT T s full year estimates there have been 15 upward revisions within the last 60 days compared to four downward revisions
However AT T s earnings are expected to climb 2 28 this quarter and gain 4 08 for the year to hit 2 93 per share AT T has only missed earnings expectations once in the last 11 quarters
Verizon Communications Inc VZ
Verizon the number one wireless provider in the U S has shared a fate similar to its counterpart The company matched earnings expectations in its second quarter after it posted earnings of 0 96 a share and Verizon s sales of 30 55 billion beat quarterly revenue projections
Still much like AT T its stock price has gone on a wild up and down ride over the last 52 weeks and has experienced a 7 57 drop since the start of the year Shares of Verizon currently sit roughly 5 per share below their 52 week high of 54 83 However VZ also has a B Value grade in our Style Scores system and is currently a Zacks Rank 3 Hold
Our current consensus estimates call for Verizon s sales to see slight gains this quarter and next quarter but dip 1 58 for the year to hit 126 89 billion Next year Verizon s revenues are projected to gain 0 95 In terms of projected EPS growth our consensus estimates call for the company s earnings to fall 3 19 this quarter and 1 88 for the full year
Verizon stock is currently trading at 13 03x earnings which is strong compared to the market as a whole But the company s 3 72 PEG ratio and P B ratio of 7 52 are both above the industry average
Verizon has received split positive and negative earnings estimate revisions for the current quarter within the past 60 days For the company s full year estimates it has received 12 upward revisions along with six negative amendments
Bottom Line
A looming merger between the third and fourth biggest U S wireless carriers could pose a threat to both companies but a more formidable opponent could also help spur one or both of these giants to innovate more quickly
Both companies are currently Zacks Rank 3 Hold stocks and it seems that with their mixed earnings estimates revisions the companies could stay in this position for the time being Nevertheless AT T and Verizon also both present strong value for investors
However AT T s recent track record of earnings beats is a bit stronger than Verizon s which has failed to meet expectations in two of its last three quarters On top of that Verizon s negative cash flow growth could make it harder for the company to spend more money if a T Mobile and Sprint deal were to happen
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VZ | Verizon hires ex Ericsson CEO sets new operating structure | By Anjali Athavaley Reuters Verizon Communications Inc N VZ said on Friday that Hans Vestberg the former Ericsson BS ERICAs chief executive officer has joined the company and will lead a team building out its fiber network infrastructures amid growing competition from smaller rivals It shows with Vestberg that they want to go back to having that network superiority which has been increasingly eroded said Roger Entner an analyst at Recon Analytics The move also sets up Vestberg 51 as a potential successor to Verizon Chief Executive Officer Lowell McAdam he said The No 1 U S wireless carrier said Vestberg will initially be based in Sweden but join the U S based team later this spring What bringing someone in for the outside means is you need a new perspective Entner said Verizon also said it is restructuring operations into three areas including Vestberg s team The media and telematics unit will focus on new businesses in digital media including integrating its pending acquisition of Yahoo Inc O YHOO It will be led by Marni Walden as executive vice president for media and telematics The customer and product operations team led by John Stratton will work on operating and growing Verizon s established businesses such as Verizon Wireless and Verizon Enterprise Solutions Walden and Stratton are also both seen as potential successors to McAdam according to industry analysts Vestberg was CEO of Ericsson ST ERICb O ERIC one of the world s largest equipment suppliers to the telecommunications industry for six years He was ousted last year amid pressure from shareholders unhappy with financial results amid pressure from Finland s Nokia HE NOKIA and China s Huawei HWT UL
Ericsson is working with Verizon on trials for a next generation 5G network and Vestberg and McAdam have known each other for years industry watchers said |
CSCO | Cisco Falls 3 | Investing com Cisco NASDAQ CSCO fell by 3 11 to trade at 42 69 by 15 06 20 06 GMT on Wednesday on the NASDAQ exchange
The volume of Cisco shares traded since the start of the session was 18 68M Cisco has traded in a range of 42 57 to 44 92 on the day
The stock has traded at 48 2000 at its highest and 42 6200 at its lowest during the past seven days |
CSCO | Huawei s Rapid Growth Alleged Theft Helped Sow Mistrust in U S | Bloomberg Huawei Technologies Co wanted a better way to test its telephone handsets so it sent an engineer to see Tappy the robot in partner company T Mobile US Inc s laboratory in Bellevue Washington
Tappy computer driven and tireless taps on touch screens simulating weeks of use in a day The Huawei engineer was curious about Tappy s fingertips So he slipped one into a laptop bag and left with it in an act T Mobile branded theft
The 2013 incident described in a lawsuit filed the next year by T Mobile is the sort of alleged behavior by China s top telecommunications equipment maker that has alarmed security experts Now some are warning against the use of Huawei gear in the next generation 5G network being assembled to connect factories vehicles homes utility grids and more
They ve surpassed everyone else and the way they ve done that is through copycat technology and ruthlessly stealing intellectual property from Western companies said Jeff Ferry an economist with Coalition for a Prosperous America an advocacy group close to the Trump administration and its China hawks
Representatives of Huawei s Chinese headquarters referred calls to Chase Skinner a San Francisco based Huawei spokesman who declined to comment Huawei has regularly denied that it steals intellectual property or unfairly copies technology from other companies It said this week that blacklisting its equipment without proof will hurt the industry and disrupt the development of new high speed technology
But Huawei s conduct is drawing renewed scrutiny after the Dec 1 arrest in Vancouver of Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou on allegations she defrauded banks to violate Iranian sanctions The daughter of Huawei s billionaire founder Ren Zhengfei she now faces extradition to the U S in a case that s sparked a diplomatic row
Meng s arrest follows a long string of allegations by the U S government about a potential threat to network security The U S has pushed European governments to avoid Huawei s gear saying it s an enabler for Chinese espionage which the company has always denied
In 2012 the House Intelligence Committee published a report that described Huawei as a company that has not followed United States legal obligations or international standards of business behavior The committee called on the U S intelligence community to remain vigilant and said national security officials must block acquisitions involving Huawei or fellow Chinese gear maker ZTE Corp HK 0763
Years earlier Cisco Systems NASDAQ CSCO Corp sued to stop Huawei from selling data traffic switches and routers allegedly based on Cisco s patents and copyrights The litigation ended with Huawei agreeing to stop selling disputed products in 2003
In 2010 the company failed to reach agreements to buy U S software and wireless gear makers reportedly because the sellers doubted the company would win approval In 2008 Huawei and Bain Capital Partners LLC abandoned a bid for gear maker 3Com Corp after failing to assuage security concerns raised by U S officials
The Tappy caper involved a machine that used its mechanical arm to repeatedly poke and prod phone screens in imitation of a human user helping T Mobile to improve the reliability of its handsets Huawei wanted to know the size of the finger and the material out of which the conductive tip was made T Mobile told a federal court in Seattle
The Huawei engineer left alone in the lab first slipped the fingertip behind a computer monitor then three hours later tucked it into his bag T Mobile told the court
There is some truth to the complaint Huawei spokesman William Plummer said at the time He blamed employees acting inappropriately in their zeal Another worker had furtively taken photos of Tappy according to T Mobile
T Mobile dropped Huawei as a supplier and in 2017 a jury awarded the American company 4 8 million in damages for breach of contract but rejected allegations of misappropriation of trade secrets The two sides later agreed to drop the case after settlement talks Michael Kipling an attorney in the case for T Mobile declined to comment and attorney Bo Yue for Huawei didn t respond to a request for comment
The largest U S mobile providers after urging by U S officials have shunned Huawei network gear and small providers are concerned they may be forced to rip out and replace Huawei products as the Federal Communications Commission moves against Huawei
U S intelligence and law enforcement agencies harbor a deep suspicion of Huawei exacerbated by its ties to China s People Liberation Army said James Lewis director of the technology policy program at the Center for Strategic International Studies in Washington
Deep connections with the PLA industrial espionage and subsidies from the Chinese government there you have it Lewis said in an interview
Customer Trust
A company executive reiterated this week that it abides by international law and challenged its accusers to produce evidence of their claims about security risks
Despite the efforts to create fear about Huawei and to use politics to interfere with industry growth we re proud to say that our customers continue to trust us Ken Hu one of several Huawei rotating chairmen told reporters during a press event at its manufacturing base in Dongguan the company s largest campus worldwide
Hu slammed U S accusations about Huawei s independence and alleged role in espionage
Lots of countries have various concerns on 5G Most of these concerns are reasonable and based on technology Hu said With regard to such concerns we ll work with governments and operators to clear them up
The company also released a diary entry it said Meng wrote which described an outpouring of support from around the world It was entitled There Is Always Good in People and explained how a letter writer from Japan said she was very sad for Meng s arrest in Canada and cannot keep silent any longer
Ren Huawei s founder joined the People Liberation Army s engineering corps in 1974 and rose to become a deputy director but without military rank according to a biography by the company Ren established Huawei in 1987 now the company reports annual sales of about 600 billion yuan or 93 billion
House Report
The 2012 House report noted that the ruling Chinese Communist Party maintains a committee within Huawei and said the company failed to explain its relation to the government Huawei has said the government plays no role in its business decisions or staffing
But the company is working against hardened sentiment in the Trump administration Lewis said The government in general has decided that the Chinese will never stop misbehaving unless we push back Lewis said
Meng s case exists alongside a shadow cast by Huawei s reputation said Paul Triolo who leads global technology studies at the Eurasia Group consultancy and who regards the matters as linked
It s definitely connected to the broad concerns about Huawei and its central role in 5G Triolo said The fear of the U S and its allies is that a 5G network built by Huawei represents a risk a security risk
Vulnerability is heightened because 5G systems will rely on software that can be penetrated to a greater extent than 4G networks and because so many machine to machine connections will rely on 5G raising the stakes for a disruption or espionage Triolo said
In Europe carriers and major customers from Orange SA PA ORAN to BT Group LON BT Plc and Deutsche Telekom AG DE DTEGn have voiced their concerns about Huawei s gear on top of existing bans in Australia New Zealand and the U S
The U S Embassy in Germany said allies and partners are being urged to be vigilant in ensuring network security including when carriers award equipment contracts
Updates with comments from Hu in 20th paragraph |
CSCO | Cisco Falls 3 | Investing com Cisco NASDAQ CSCO fell by 3 07 to trade at 40 56 by 12 21 17 21 GMT on Monday on the NASDAQ exchange
The volume of Cisco shares traded since the start of the session was 16 70M Cisco has traded in a range of 40 56 to 41 81 on the day
The stock has traded at 46 6200 at its highest and 40 5300 at its lowest during the past seven days |
CSCO | Cisco Rises 3 | Investing com Cisco NASDAQ CSCO rose by 3 21 to trade at 41 57 by 12 13 17 13 GMT on Wednesday on the NASDAQ exchange
The volume of Cisco shares traded since the start of the session was 11 55M Cisco has traded in a range of 40 40 to 41 58 on the day
The stock has traded at 45 9900 at its highest and 40 2700 at its lowest during the past seven days |
CSCO | Cisco Falls 3 | Investing com Cisco NASDAQ CSCO fell by 3 02 to trade at 41 34 by 10 39 15 39 GMT on Thursday on the NASDAQ exchange
The volume of Cisco shares traded since the start of the session was 4 84M Cisco has traded in a range of 41 31 to 42 41 on the day
The stock has traded at 43 5500 at its highest and 40 2500 at its lowest during the past seven days |
CSCO | Cisco Rises 3 | Investing com Cisco NASDAQ CSCO rose by 3 07 to trade at 42 33 by 10 51 15 51 GMT on Friday on the NASDAQ exchange
The volume of Cisco shares traded since the start of the session was 7 48M Cisco has traded in a range of 41 54 to 42 38 on the day
The stock has traded at 43 5500 at its highest and 40 4000 at its lowest during the past seven days |
CSCO | Top Picks 2019 Arista Networks Inc ANET | Arista Networks ANET is bringing networking into the age of the cloud Cloud networking brings efficiency and scale benefits to legacy networking environments explains Argus Research analyst Jim Kelleher
Arista s CloudVision campus for unified wireless wired leverages its acquisition of Mojo Networks In our view Arista has a huge untapped potential with telcos ISPs and cloud titans
In August Cisco NASDAQ CSCO and Arista ended their patent infringement battle Arista paid Cisco 400 million in cash ending a cash drain and the uncertainty of litigation
Revenue and EPS are growing faster than the company s share price In 3Q18 revenue rose 28 from the prior year and non GAAP EPS rose 31 Management s 4Q18 guidance calls for roughly 30 revenue and EPS growth Its full year forecast calls for EPS growth of 39
Valuations are attractive The stock has retraced with the Technology sector and the overall market even as analysts continue to raise their EPS estimates
The shares are trading at a two year forward relative P E of 1 65 close to the five year average of 1 60 the PEG ratio of 1 47 is below the average of 2 0 for peers Year end weakness in the stock has provided an attractive entry point Our 12 month target price is 320
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VZ | Keysight s KEYS Earnings Decline In Q3 Revenues Up Y Y | Share price of Keysight Technologies Inc NYSE KEYS has had an unstable run since the company announced its third quarter fiscal 2017 results on Aug 30 Following the announcement the stock rallied 1 6 on Aug 31 but declined 0 8 to close at 40 55 on Sep 1 Keysight reported non GAAP earnings of 61 cents per share that declined 2 6 from the year ago quarter The Zacks Consensus Estimate was pegged at 54 cents Non GAAP revenues surged 21 4 from the year ago quarter to 863 million Core revenue excluding the impact of currency and revenue from acquisitions completed within the last twelve months increased 4 year over year and was better than management s guidance of 2 growth Geographically core revenues grew 1 in the Americas 8 in Europe 2 in Japan and 6 in Asia excluding Japan Keysight Technologies Inc Price Consensus and EPS Surprise Orders grew 24 year over year to 879 million The robust growth reflects strong demand for Keysight s solutions The company s focus on launching new solutions for growth markets like 5G Internet of Things IoT next generation wireless high speed datacenters and automotive energy are key catalysts Keysight has gained 10 9 year to date outperforming the 9 1 rally of the it belongs to Segment DetailsCommunications Solutions Group CSG includes commercial communications CC and aerospace defense government ADG end markets Revenues decreased 1 4 to 418 million and accounted for 49 of total revenue CC revenues were almost flat as growth in wireless was partially offset by sluggish infrastructure spending ADG revenues declined reflecting softer spending in the United States due to budget approval delays Keysight stated that orders for 5G solutions more than doubled on a year over year basis in the quarter The company s expertise in high frequency and millimeter wave technologies is helping it to partner innovators like Verizon Communications Inc NYSE VZ in the domain IoT also presents significant growth opportunity based on the company s broad and diverse portfolio that effectively addresses the needs of customers related to power consumption RF performance interoperability and conformance testing Electronic Industrial Solutions Group revenues increased 14 1 to 218 million The segment accounted for 25 of total revenue General electronics semiconductor measurement solutions and automotive energy solutions all reported double digit growth Moreover management noted that growing demand for electric and hybrid cars bodes well for the company s product portfolio Further increasing electronic content in vehicles radar technologies for autonomous driving and high power devices and applications are driving demand for the company s solutions in this end market Services Solutions Group SSG revenues were 107 million up 11 5 The segment accounted for 12 of total revenue The year over year growth was driven by strength in repair calibration services and increased sales of remarketed solutions The newly constituted Ixia Solutions Group ISG delivered revenues of 120 million and accounted for 14 of total revenue The company achieved strong growth among service provider customers while the enterprise spending was sluggish in the United States Moreover Keysight believes that strong demand for 400G optical technology and higher spending will drive growth going ahead MarginsGross margin expanded 170 basis points bps on a year over year basis to 61 Segment wise CSG and SSG gross margin contracted 50 bps and 60 bps respectively EISG gross margin expanded 40 bps from the year ago quarter Research development R D as percentage of revenues expanded 40 bps to 14 7 Selling general and administrative SG A as percentage of revenues expanded 180 bps to 27 6 in the quarter As a result operating expenses as percentage of revenues increased 240 bps to 41 9 Non GAAP operating margin contracted almost 70 bps to 19 in the quarter Balance Sheet Cash FlowKeysight ended the third quarter with cash cash equivalents of 873 million Cash flow from operations was 98 million while free cash flow was 77 million Moreover the company paid 240 million of debt related to the Ixia acquisition GuidanceKeysight projects non GAAP revenues to be in the range of 875 905 million representing 3 core growth at the midpoint for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2017 Management stated that ADG orders have stabilized and spending is expected to improve in the fourth quarter However the company stated that it is difficult to predict exactly when the flow of funding will return to a steady state in this end market Keysight expects semiconductor measurement solutions growth to be moderate in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2017 and first quarter of fiscal 2018 Related to the ISG segment management expects to achieve annualized run rate cost synergies of 40 million by third quarter of fiscal 2018 The company remains committed to deliver the full 60 million cost synergies over time Non GAAP earnings are expected to be in the range of 59 69 cents per share or 64 cents at the mid point For fiscal 2018 Keysight expects non GAAP earnings to be at the high end of the previously provided range of 8 10 annual growth Zacks Rank Key PicksCurrently Keysight has a Zacks Rank 3 Hold Fitbit Inc NYSE FIT and Orbotech Ltd NASDAQ ORBK both carrying a Zacks Rank 2 Buy are two stocks worth considering in the same sector You can see Long term earnings growth rate for Fitbit and Orbotech are pegged at 22 5 and 18 8 respectively Zacks 10 Minute Stock Picking SecretSince 1988 the Zacks system has more than doubled the S P 500 with an average gain of 25 per year With compounding rebalancing and exclusive of fees it can turn thousands into millions of dollars But here s something even more remarkable You can master this proven system without going to a single class or seminar And then you can apply it to your portfolio in as little as 10 minutes a month |
CSCO | Loop Capital A Cisco Luxtera deal threatens AAOI FNSR | A Cisco CSCO 1 8 deal for optical chipmaker Luxtera would likely be negative for Applied Optoelectronics AAOI 0 4 and Finisar FNSR 1 6 Loop Capital says The combination would create a stronger rival to Applied Opto in the PSM 4 market analyst James Kisner says and both AAOI and Finisar could see growth threatened if Cisco added its resources to Luxtera s in CWDM 4 h t Bloomberg He s maintaining a Sell rating on AAOI with an 8 price target implying 59 downside Meanwhile he s maintaining Finisar set to be acquired by II VI IIVI 1 7 at Hold with a 20 price target implying 11 downside He also has a Hold rating on Cisco with a 45 price target 6 1 downside Previously Cisco 1 4 on Luxtera bid report Dec 11 2018 Now read |
CSCO | Cisco Falls 3 | Investing com Cisco NASDAQ CSCO fell by 3 04 to trade at 46 02 by 09 51 14 51 GMT on Friday on the NASDAQ exchange
The volume of Cisco shares traded since the start of the session was 2 77M Cisco has traded in a range of 45 99 to 46 50 on the day
The stock has traded at 48 4800 at its highest and 45 8100 at its lowest during the past seven days |
CSCO | Cisco Falls 3 | Investing com Cisco NASDAQ CSCO fell by 3 04 to trade at 44 42 by 14 55 19 55 GMT on Monday on the NASDAQ exchange
The volume of Cisco shares traded since the start of the session was 18 45M Cisco has traded in a range of 44 41 to 45 99 on the day
The stock has traded at 48 4800 at its highest and 44 4100 at its lowest during the past seven days |
VZ | AT T T Expands 5G Technology Trials In Three New Cities | U S telecom behemoth AT T Inc NYSE T is looking forward to spread its 5G technology trials to three new cities by the year end The cities include Waco TX Kalamazoo MI and South Bend IN In fact the company will allow participants access to faster broadband services over a 5G internet connection and watch live TV via AT T s DirecTV Now Colleges hospitals churches restaurants and other small businesses are also likely to be included as participants in AT T s new trial In December 2016 AT T already initiated next gen 5G technology trials in partnership with Ericsson NASDAQ ERIC using the millimeter wavelength technology in Austin TX In mid March 2017 the company announced its plans to offer standard based mobile 5G services to consumers from late 2018 This came up on the back of 3rd Generation Partnership Project s 3GPP decision to accelerate some elements in the 5G New Radio specification Advantages of 5G AT T claims that the trial of 5G network in Austin provided a download speed of 1 Gbps gigabit per second which is 200 times the throughput of the currently available standard 4G LTE network Moreover latency period of data delivery were well below ten milliseconds Furthermore 5G technology is designed to be more power efficient than any other standard wireless networks available these days Therefore 5G enabled mobile devices are likely to last longer than their 3G or 4G counterparts Also superfast 5G mobile networks will be of utmost importance to manage exponential growth in Internet connected devices popularly known as Internet of Things In this regard the U S telecom industry has lately emerged as an intensely contested space where success thrives largely on technical superiority quality of services and scalability Thus in order to stay ahead of competitors existing players need to be constantly on their toes to introduce innovative products At this juncture we believe AT T s drive for 5G wireless network bodes well for the company s future growth This apart Verizon Communications Inc NYSE VZ is also conducting field trials on 5G fixed wireless network Regional wireless operator such as United States Cellular Corp NYSE USM is reportedly considering 5G fixed wireless network as a means to deliver last mile broadband connectivity to underserved rural communities as well Price Performance Zacks RankAT T s price performance has been dull over the last three months The stock was down 2 6 compared with the s decline of 1 2 in the same period AT T currently carries a Zacks Rank 3 Hold You can see One Simple Trading IdeaSince 1988 the Zacks system has more than doubled the S P 500 with an average gain of 25 per year With compounding rebalancing and exclusive of fees it can turn thousands into millions of dollars This proven stock picking system is grounded on a single big idea that can be fortune shaping and life changing You can apply it to your portfolio starting today |
VZ | Major Telecom Carriers Opt For Legacy Services Shutdown | Discontinuation of legacy voice services and Ethernet services has become a growing trend in the wireline segment of the telecommunication industry The decision to terminate the services stems from lack of demand Customers are migrating from these older services toward newer options and latest technologies Given the low number of subscribers and high costs of support for these services the shutdown of these services seems appropriate Meanwhile telecom service providers are moving toward IP based networks as an increasing number of enterprise customers are opting for IP enabled cloud services Accordingly to shut down any of its services the respective company carrier has to seek permission from the U S telecom regulator Federal Communications Commission FCC clearly stating the reasons behind the closure of the service Let s have a look at the service discontinuations by different service providers U S telecom behemoth Verizon Communications Inc NYSE VZ is seeking permission fromthe FCC to discontinue its four legacy interstate DS0 services in multiple New York wire centers These four legacy interstate special access services include Voice Grade Service WATS Access Line Service Digital Data Service DDS and DIGIPATH Digital Service II On or after Dec 15 2017 subject to FCC approval Verizon will stop accepting orders from new customers for these services Existing subscribers will no longer be able to purchase additional circuits for these services on or after Jul 1 2018 The services are expected to get discontinued on or after Sep 2 2019 in specified New York wiring centers The company claims that these four legacy services have become outdated legacy voice grade and data transmission services which are no more preferred by bunch consumers As an alternative product Verizon is planning to offer fiber based voice services Fios Internet Switched Ethernet Service Private Internet Protocol Service DS1 services machine to machine services and LTE Another U S telecom behemoth AT T Inc NYSE T has also appealed to FCC to shut down its legacy Ethernet services GigaMAN and DecaMAN citing weak interest and the migration of customers to its newer dedicated service lines AT T will discontinue offering GigaMAN and DecaMAN services in 11 states including Arkansas California Illinois Indiana Kansas Michigan Missouri Ohio Oklahoma Texas and Wisconsin Beginning on or after Sep 30 2017 the company will no longer offer these services to both new customers as well as existing customers The termination of the services is currently planned for Sep 30 2022 GigaMAN and DecaMAN is expected to be replaced with AT T Dedicated Ethernet ADE services which include new protocols provisioned over fiber facilities Notably during the second quarter of 2017 the service provider continued to see challenges in the business segment due to wireline pressure from legacy services and equipment sales Business Solutions segment revenues were 17 1 billion down 2 7 year over year due to continued declines in legacy services and fewer wireless equipment upgrades partially offset by growth in strategic business As for AT T the telco has earlier requested the FCC for permission to discontinue a series of legacy services including collect calling person to person calling bill to third party Busy Line Verification Busy Line Interruption and International Directory Assistance in Jun 2016 In Dec 2016 AT T has sought permission from FCC to shut down 13 legacy TDM Time division multiplexing services of its wholly owned subsidiary Southwestern Bell Telephone Company Southwestern Bell Telephone Company operates in Arkansas Kansas Missouri Oklahoma Texas and parts of Illinois Similar Service Termination IssuesIn January 2017 telecom service provider Cincinnati Bell Inc NYSE CBB unveiled its plans to discontinue offering Local Area Service LAS in the Butler Falmouth Glencoe Warsaw and Williamstown exchanges within the Kentucky portion of the telco s operating area In November 2016 telecommunications and data service firm Windstream Holdings Inc NASDAQ WIN announced plans to discontinue the DSL service it offers to SMBs small and medium sized business and residential customers in CLEC competitive local exchange carrier territories across 25 states Currently 300 customers avail the service In June 2016 Level 3 Communications Inc NYSE T had sought permission from the U S telecom regulator Federal Communications Commission FCC to discontinue its legacy voice services based on outdated TDM time division multiplexing technology The service is expected to shut down effective Aug 25 2016 subject to the FCC s approval All affected users will be shifted to high speed IP based network before the termination of the legacy voice system All the above mentioned stocks currently carry a Zacks Rank 3 Hold You can see One Simple Trading IdeaSince 1988 the Zacks system has more than doubled the S P 500 with an average gain of 25 per year With compounding rebalancing and exclusive of fees it can turn thousands into millions of dollars This proven stock picking system is grounded on a single big idea that can be fortune shaping and life changing You can apply it to your portfolio starting today |
VZ | Here s Why Investors Should Retain Crown Castle CCI Stock Revised | On Aug 28 we issued an updated research report on Crown Castle International Corp NYSE CCI a leading wireless communication tower operator in the United States
The company currently carries a Zacks Rank 3 Hold You can see
On Jun 26 2017 Crown Castle finally completed the acquisition of privately held Wilcon Holdings LLC With this buyout Crown Castle will attain ownership rights of over 28 000 route miles of fiber The company s ongoing effort to reposition itself as a fiber provider focused on small cell opportunity from being a tower company looks impressive In the last few years it has purchased three fiber operators FPL FiberNet Holdings LLC in January 2017 Quanta Fiber called Sunesys in April 2015 and 24 7 Mid Atlantic Network in September 2014
The deployment of 5G network should also drive growth of the company s tower and small cell assets as the wireless carriers look to expand and enhance their networks
Crown Castle s extensive tower portfolio increased demand for infrastructure strong business outlook healthy leasing activity continued acquisition of towers and growing demand for mobile broadband have been major positives for its expansion prospects Wireless services are gaining ground based on technological advancements and network upgrade
Majority of the infrastructure and upgrades require effective site management Crown Castle capitalizes on this opportunity as over 90 of its quarterly revenues come from wireless service providers like Verizon Communications Inc NYSE VZ AT T Inc NYSE T and T Mobile US Inc NYSE T
The company has acquired 9 700 wireless towers from AT T and taken over 7 200 wireless towers of T Mobile US
Shares of Crown Castle have outperformed the industry s gain in the past three months The stock has added 3 4 outshining the gain of 0 2
However the company s continuous operation in a consolidated wireless industry has reduced demand for cell tower deployment and consequently is expected to dent the top line considerably New technologies have reduced demand for site leases
We are reissuing this article to correct a mistake The original article issued on Aug 28 2017 should no longer be relied upon |
VZ | Deutsche Telekom core profit growth to halve as U S motor slows | By Georgina Prodhan BONN Germany Reuters Deutsche Telekom DE DTEGn forecast its core profit growth would halve this year as earnings engine T Mobile US O TMUS slows strengthening the case for a U S mobile merger that Deutsche Telekom has long desired Adjusted earnings before interest tax depreciation and amortization EBITDA are expected to rise by just under 4 percent to around 22 2 billion euros 23 4 billion in 2017 below the average estimate of 22 7 billion in a Reuters poll T Mobile US where Deutsche Telekom has been reaping the rewards of 20 billion euros in investments over the past three years is expected to see its adjusted EBITDA growth rate slow to 7 percent this year from 29 percent in 2016 the German group said on Thursday Shares in Deutsche Telekom Europe s biggest telecoms operator by revenue and market value were down 1 6 percent at the bottom of a flat German DAX GDAXI by 1211 GMT The full year 2017 outlook for adjusted EBITDA looks disappointing a Frankfurt based trader said Chief Executive Tim Hoettges reaffirmed that Deutsche Telekom was keen to participate in consolidation in the U S market T Mobile US has in the past tried to merge with AT T N T and with Sprint N S Are we rather seller or buyer It always depends on the quality of the possibilities I don t prejudge We do everything from the point of view of value creation he told a news conference T Mobile US once the smallest U S player overtook Sprint to become number three behind Verizon N VZ in 2015 thanks to a mix of marketing creative customer contracts and network quality improvements Meantime Deutsche Telekom has returned to growth in the mature German market its current investment focus where it competes with Telefonica MC TEF Deutschland DE O2Dn Vodafone L VOD and a host of smaller mobile and cable providers COMPLICATED Deutsche Telekom is making the most of its large fixed and mobile networks as well as TV content deals to sell bundled packages that are more expensive than single services and tend to keep customers more loyal Adjusted EBITDA in Germany rose 3 percent in the fourth quarter and 0 1 percent over the year to 8 8 billion euros Group EBITDA growth was driven once again by T Mobile US which reported results two weeks ago Mobile service revenues in Germany slipped 0 3 percent in the quarter compared with a 2 8 percent decline at Telefonica and no change at Vodafone Sales and profit fell in the rest of Europe as Deutsche Telekom spent aggressively on marketing amid tough competition in countries such as Austria the Netherlands and Poland Ailing IT services unit T Systems reported a 21 percent drop in adjusted EBITDA as it set aside provisions of about 100 million euros for two legacy outsourcing contracts It s complicated wrote Jefferies analyst Ulrich Rathe who rates Deutsche Telekom underperform Germany is on track in 4Q but T Systems and Europe miss EBITDA by a margin Deutsche Telekom also said its sales should rise by an unspecified amount this year and free cash flow should increase by 12 percent with a corresponding dividend hike Last year s free cash flow rose 9 percent allowing Deutsche Telekom to raise its dividend by the same percentage to 0 60 euros per share Deutsche Telekom was pushed to a net loss of 2 12 billion euros in the fourth quarter by a 2 2 billion euro writedown of its 12 percent stake in Britain s BT L BT whose shares were hit by the UK s vote to leave the European Union last year The German operator expects a further writedown after the first quarter during which BT uncovered an accounting scandal at its Italian operations that wiped another 8 billion pounds 9 8 billion off its value
Hoettges said he nonetheless wanted to keep the stake as BT s strong UK market position across fixed line mobile and media fitted with Deutsche Telekom s own strategy |
VZ | Verizon sought 925 million discount for Yahoo merger got 350 million | By Anjali Athavaley NEW YORK Reuters Verizon Communications Inc N VZ sought almost triple the price reduction that it ultimately obtained for Yahoo Inc s O YHOO core assets following two massive cyber attacks at the internet company according to a Yahoo filing The closing of the deal which Verizon first announced in July for a purchase price of 4 83 billion had been delayed as the companies assessed the fallout from two data breaches that Yahoo disclosed last year The No 1 U S wireless carrier had been trying to persuade Yahoo to amend the terms of the agreement following the attacks In early February Verizon Chief Executive Officer Lowell McAdam told Yahoo director Tom McInerney a price reduction as high as 925 million could be appropriate according to the filing McInerney later told McAdam at a meeting in Verizon s New York offices that Yahoo s board was unwilling to agree to such a big discount Verizon said in late February it had agreed to a purchase price of 4 48 billion lowering its original offer by 350 million A Verizon spokesman declined to comment on why it agreed to a lower discount that it had sought
The filing also said Yahoo Chief Executive Marissa Mayer would get a severance package of 23 million if she were terminated |
VZ | Justice Department to announce indictments in massive Yahoo hack source | By Joseph Menn SAN FRANCISCO Reuters U S Justice Department officials are expected to announce indictments on Wednesday against suspects in at least one of a series of hacking attacks on Yahoo Inc O YHOO according to a source briefed on the matter The accused men live in Russia and Canada the source said with the Canadian far more likely to face arrest Russia has no extradition treaty with the United States It could not immediately be learned whether the group was suspected in the hacking of data about 1 billion Yahoo users or a separate hack of 500 million email accounts The indictments were first reported by Bloomberg News Yahoo and the Justice Department declined to comment
The two largest hacks and Yahoo s much criticized slow response and disclosure forced a discount of 350 million in what had been a 4 83 billion deal to sell Yahoo s main assets to Verizon Communications Inc N VZ |
CSCO | TIBCO to buy data management firm Orchestra Networks sources | By Carl O Donnell and Liana B Baker
Reuters TIBCO Software Inc a large privately held business software provider is acquiring French data management company Orchestra Networks in a move that will bolster its ability to help clients organize customer data according to sources familiar with the matter
The deal which could be announced as soon as Tuesday values Orchestra in the low hundreds of millions of dollars the sources added
TIBCO declined to comment and Orchestra could not be reached for comment
Palo Alto California based TIBCO was taken private by software focused buyout firm Vista Equity Partners in 2014 for 4 3 billion
Founded in 2000 in Paris and owned mostly by its founders Orchestra Networks primary product EBX allows customers to manage and share a wide array of data assets and comply with regulations The two companies have some large banking customers in common one of the sources said
The General Data Protection Regulation brought in by the European Union in May to protect personal information in the internet age has led to global corporations spending more on tightening data controls and using software to help
The deal will allow TIBCO to add a new feature to its software platform which it calls its Connected Intelligence Cloud TIBCO sells software to enterprises that help them integrate disparate data sets manage application programing interfaces and analyze data
TIBCO has made more than 30 acquisitions over the course of its history including Scribe Software earlier this year and Cisco NASDAQ CSCO s data virtualization business last year |
CSCO | Cisco Falls 3 | Investing com Cisco NASDAQ CSCO fell by 3 03 to trade at 47 27 by 15 57 20 57 GMT on Tuesday on the NASDAQ exchange
The volume of Cisco shares traded since the start of the session was 23 48M Cisco has traded in a range of 47 25 to 49 14 on the day
The stock has traded at 49 1300 at its highest and 45 0900 at its lowest during the past seven days |
CSCO | Cisco Falls 3 | Investing com Cisco NASDAQ CSCO fell by 3 04 to trade at 46 92 by 14 01 19 01 GMT on Friday on the NASDAQ exchange
The volume of Cisco shares traded since the start of the session was 15 74M Cisco has traded in a range of 46 86 to 48 49 on the day
The stock has traded at 49 1400 at its highest and 46 1200 at its lowest during the past seven days |
VZ | Verizon Communications VZ Restructures Unlimited Data Plans | U S telecom behemoth Verizon Communications Inc NYSE VZ has restructured and modernized its unlimited wireless data plans so as to reach out to customers more diversified needs Beginning from today Verizon Unlimited is evolving into Go Unlimited Beyond Unlimited and Business Unlimited For prepaid lovers there s also a Prepaid Unlimited plan for 80 per month with unlimited data talk and text DVD quality streaming and free calling to Mexico and Canada Without line limitations in Business Unlimited Verizon Communications aims to target business entities The company s Go Unlimited Plan 75 a month for one line or 40 a line for four lines will display DVD quality video at 480p on smartphones Standard definition SD and 720p on tablets HD The Beyond Unlimited plan 85 a month for one line or 50 a line for four lines offers HD quality streaming at 720p on smartphones and 1080p on tablets Also Verizon will slow a phone s regular Internet connection by an undisclosed amount at times of network congestion in the cheaper plans Data speed will be slowed in pricier plans only when a customer exceeds 22GB gigabytes of data in a month Moving forward HD video on all legacy plans will also match Beyond Unlimited s HD quality The company is striving to ensure that all customers will have a great experience on their network There will be no significant difference in quality on a smartphone or tablet when video is shown at higher resolutions than 720p on phones and 1080p on tablets Customers who had signed up earlier this year for Verizon Communication s unlimited plans will automatically get 5 GB additional mobile hotspot data with no additional charges Video Throttling IssueWhile remodeling its unlimited data plans Verizon Communications seems to have compromised with the quality of streaming video We believe that the company s decision to throttle the quality of streaming video is an attempt to check how consumer s preference over network and video streaming varies with the prices charged Charging customers who want high resolution video can help Verizon Communications make more money off the unlimited plans Again the addition of a cheaper plan also indicates the company s attempt to strengthen its base in the competitive and saturated wireless space by luring more subscribers from its rival carriers Plan ComparisonsThere is no doubt over the fact that Verizon Communications unlimited data plans have always heated up the wireless industry With the latest renovations in the plan structure Verizon s cheapest plan still looks more expensive than those offered by other top wireless carriers in the United States Sprint Corp s NYSE S Unlimited plan costs from 60 to 160 Though the carrier is running a promotion of 100 for up to five lines for the first year T Mobile US Inc s NYSE T T Mobile One Plan is priced at 70 plan with DVD level video streaming AT T Inc s NYSE T economic version is 60 but it caps data speeds at a slow 3 megabits per second Winding UpWe appreciate such a move on Verizon Communication s part and believe that it will add to the company s long term growth prospects Moreover the company has always attempted to diversify its business model in fields like communications technology wireless industry Internet of Things IoT and the media video and digital platform Moreover it has witnessed the addition of 614 000 postpaid customers and 19 000 prepaid customers in the last reported second quarter 2017 compared with a loss of 307 000 postpaid and 17 000 prepaid customers in the first quarter of 2017 We believe that this huge user addition came on the back of the company s previously launched unlimited data plans in Feb 2017 Over the past three months shares of Verizon Communications have inched up 6 31 outperforming the 0 41 loss of the it belongs to Verizon currently carries a Zacks Rank 3 Hold You can see 4 Surprising Tech Stocks to Keep an Eye on Tech stocks have been a major force behind the market s record highs but picking the best ones to buy can be tough There s a simple way to invest in the success of the entire sector Zacks has just released a Special Report revealing one thing tech companies literally cannot function without More importantly it reveals 4 top stocks set to skyrocket on increasing demand for these devices I encourage you to get the report now before the next wave of innovations really take off |
VZ | 3 Strong Buy Large Cap Value Mutual Funds For Steady Returns | Large cap funds are better than small or mid cap funds for risk averse investors These funds have exposure to large cap stocks with a long term performance history and more stability than what mid or small caps offer Companies with market capitalization of more than 10 billion are generally considered large cap However due to their significant international exposure large cap companies might be affected by a global downturn Meanwhile investors looking for a bargain stocks trading at a discount are mostly interested in in value funds which pick stocks that tend to trade at a price lower than their fundamentals i e earnings book value debt equity and pay out dividend In the long run value stocks are expected to outperform the growth ones across all asset classes and are less vulnerable to trending markets However investors interested in choosing value funds for yield should check the mutual fund yield as not all value funds comprise solely companies that primarily use their earnings to pay out dividend Below we share with you three top ranked large cap value mutual funds Each has earned a Strong Buy and is expected to outperform its peers in the future Investors can American Funds American Mutual Fund Class F 1 invests heavily in common stocks of companies based in the U S and Canada These companies contribute in the growth of the U S economy AMFFX also invests in debt securities and bonds which include those issued by the U S government and several federal agencies The fund seeks growth of income and capital as well as preservation of capital American Funds American Mutual Fund Class F 1has three year annualized returns of 8 As of June 2017 AMFFX held 224 issues with 3 28 of its assets invested in Verizon Communications Inc NYSE VZ Vanguard Equity Income Fund Investor Shares seeks to provide a high level of income and growth of capital for the long run VEIPX invests heavily in mid and large cap equity securities which generally provide above average dividend income Companies with growth potential are also considered for investment Vanguard Equity Income Fund Investor Shareshas three year annualized returns of 8 7 VEIPX has an expense ratio of 0 26 compared with the category average of 1 04 TIAA CREF Large Cap Value Fund Premier Class seeks returns over the long run primarily through growth of capital TRCPX invests the lion s share of its assets in equity securities of large cap companies which are expected to be undervalued The fund invests in companies as defined by the fund s benchmark Russell 1000 Value Index TIAA CREF Large Cap Value Fund Premier Class has three year annualized returns of about 6 Athanasios Tom Kolefas is one of the fund managers of TRCPX since 2004 To view the Zacks Rank and past performance of all large cap value mutual funds investors can Want key mutual fund info delivered straight to your inbox Zacks free Fund Newsletter will brief you on top news and analysis as well as top performing mutual funds each week |
VZ | AT T T Time Warner Agreement Stands On Mixed Approvals | U S telecom behemoth AT T Inc NYSE T made progress with its proposed 85 4 billion acquisition of the media giant Time Warner Inc NYSE TWX with the latest approval from the Mexican telecommunications and broadcasting services regulator Federal Telecommunications Institute IFT However the deal awaits further clearances from other regulatory bodies Brazilian competition regulator Administrative Council for Economic Defense Cade have expressed concern over the pending deal on anti competitive ground The competition regulator stated that AT T already owns pay TV operator Sky Brasil If this pending deal goes through then both Sky and Time Warner will have significant market power and the merger could create incentives for the companies to disrupt the licensing programming market According to Cade the deal would allow Time Warner to gain access to sensitive information from competitors through Sky Similarly AT T would have access to conditions negotiated by its rivals through Time Warner The new company would also have the capacity and incentive to discriminate competitors in both markets thus driving down competition Hence the regulator is keenly looking into recommendations to curb potential anticompetitive consequences the deal could cause Since the announcement of the deal in October 2016 the industry has been rife with speculation over whether the deal will get regulatory approval The pending merger has been approved by antitrust officials in 16 countries and is waiting for the same from Chile Brazil and the United States The deal is currently under review by the U S Department of Justice DOJ and competition authorities in other foreign countries DOJ will scrutinize the planned merger thoroughly and assess its impact With such mixed speculations AT T still expects the deal to close by the end of the year Deal ProspectsIf the proposed merger finally goes through the combined entity will become a major player in the consolidated telecom media space The proposed merger with Time Warner will provide AT T a portfolio of lucrative content Time Warner s media empire includes HBO and Turner Broadcasting which has the rights to sports telecast It also owns the Warner Bros film studio and cable networks TNT TBS and CNN Moreover Time Warner owns a 10 stake in Internet video provider Hulu Therefore the company will enjoy control over both high quality content and distribution medium Telecom Media Convergence The U S pay TV industry has been currently witnessing massive consolidation between telecommunication and media companies aiming to remain more competitive while widening and retaining its position in the industry Massive growth of smartphone and tablets together with continuous development of super fast data transfer technologies have acted as a key driver of the convergence of the Telecom and Media sectors Cable TV giant Comcast Corp NASDAQ CMCSA became a media mogul after acquiring NBC Universal in 2011 Notably if the pending deal goes through then AT T will be involved in a face off with Comcast in the wireless segment as the latter has unveiled its wireless service businesses Verizon Communications Inc NYSE VZ has already acquired AOL and the Internet based assets of Yahoo Inc NASDAQ AABA to create a major player in the mobile media and advertising space The company is also mulling over buying out any powerful media giant to remain competitive All the above mentioned companies currently sport a Zacks Rank 3 Hold You can see Price PerformanceOver the past one month share price of AT T rallied 4 69 but failed to beat its s 5 07 growth One Simple Trading IdeaSince 1988 the Zacks system has more than doubled the S P 500 with an average gain of 25 per year With compounding rebalancing and exclusive of fees it can turn thousands into millions of dollars This proven stock picking system is grounded on a single big idea that can be fortune shaping and life changing You can apply it to your portfolio starting today |
VZ | AT T strikes back with wireless plan | Investing com AT T NYSE T announced Thursday that it will open its unlimited wireless data plan to non TV subscribers returning to a plan it ditched in 2011 as competition among wireless carriers heats up
Previously AT T required customers who wanted an unlimited data plan to subscribe to its DirectTV or Uverse television service
Competition for customers and market growth has intensified in recent weeks after rival Verizon Communications Inc NYSE VZ recently announced its plans to offer an unlimited package to customers which would include unlimited data talk time and text for 80 per month 20 dollars lower than AT T s proposed price of 100 a month
Smaller rivals T Mobile US Inc NASDAQ TMUS and Sprint Corp NYSE S have been taking market share from both Verizon and AT T after adopting aggressive pricing strategies eliminating monthly data limits and enticing customers with freebies
In late January AT T revealed fourth quarter earnings followed by forward guidance which was roughly in line with expectations but suffered a loss of 67 000 postpaid phone subscribers Postpaid subscribers represent the most lucrative segment of the sector however AT T said that these losses were low margin subscribers and not its core focus high value customers with higher margins
AT T share price closed at 41 25 up 13 cents or 0 32 but was down in aftermarket trade to 41 23 |
VZ | Verizon Yahoo agree to lowered 4 48 billion deal following cyber attacks | By Anjali Athavaley and David Shepardson Reuters Verizon Communications Inc N VZ said on Tuesday it would buy Yahoo Inc s O YHOO core business for 4 48 billion lowering its original offer by 350 million in the wake of two massive cyber attacks at the internet company The closing of the deal which was first announced in July had been delayed as the companies assessed the fallout from two data breaches that Yahoo disclosed last year The No 1 U S wireless carrier had been trying to persuade Yahoo to amend the terms of the agreement following the attacks Verizon and Yahoo signed the deal on Sunday evening after weeks of talks that included calls with Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer and a meeting between Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam and Yahoo director Tom McInerney in New York earlier this month to agree on the amount of the price reduction a person involved in the talks said The two sides had an agreement in principle about a week earlier that included a liability sharing agreement something that Verizon decided early on that it needed to reach a deal Verizon conducted brand studies and found that Yahoo s reputation was holding up after the hacks the person said The company decided to proceed in part because it continued to believe that the deal made strategic sense and that users were loyal and engaged The companies said on Tuesday they expect the deal to close in the second quarter The data breach may delay some integration of Yahoo with Verizon after the closing the person said The deal brings to Verizon Yahoo s more than 1 billion users and a wealth of data it can use to offer more targeted advertising Verizon will combine Yahoo s advertising technology tools as well as its search email and messenger assets with its AOL unit purchased for 4 4 billion in 2015 Verizon s shares rose 0 3 percent to 49 33 in afternoon trading while Yahoo s shares were up 0 8 percent at 45 48 Under the amended terms Yahoo and Verizon will split cash liabilities related to some government investigations and third party litigation related to the breaches Yahoo however will continue to be responsible for liabilities from shareholder lawsuits and SEC investigations Yahoo said in December that data from more than 1 billion user accounts was compromised in August 2013 making it the largest breach in history
This followed the company s disclosure in September that at least 500 million accounts were affected in another breach in 2014 |
VZ | Verizon to offer 5G to select customers in 11 U S cities | Reuters Verizon Communications Inc NYSE VZ said on Wednesday it would offer its high speed wireless 5G network to certain customers in 11 U S cities in the first half of 2017 Verizon will begin pilot testing 5G pre commercial services in cities including Atlanta Dallas Denver Houston Miami Seattle and Washington D C The company had said last July that it laid out plans to conduct trials for its 5G network this year New 5G networks are expected to provide speeds at least 10 times and up to maybe 100 times faster than today s 4G networks with the potential to connect at least 100 billion devices with download speeds that can reach 10 gigabits per second
AT T Inc NYSE T said in January that it planned to test its high speed wireless 5G network for customers of its online streaming television service DirecTv Now in Austin Texas |
VZ | New FCC chair vows light touch approach to regulation | By David Shepardson WASHINGTON Reuters The new Republican head of the U S Federal Communications Commission promised light touch regulation of areas such as the internet a dramatic shift away from the Obama administration s approach to telecommunications oversight Ajit Pai whom President Donald Trump named in January to chair the FCC said at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona that the agency made a mistake in 2015 when it adopted landmark net neutrality rules reclassifying internet service like a public utility The FCC decided to apply last century utility style regulation to today s broadband networks Pai said in prepared remarks released by his office Our new approach injected tremendous uncertainty into the broadband market he added And uncertainty is the enemy of growth The Obama administration s net neutrality rules which a federal appeals court upheld bar internet access providers from slowing consumers access to web content Pai has not disclosed his plans to reverse the rules but he has emphasized he is committed to ensuring an open internet We are confident in the decades long cross party consensus on light touch Internet regulation one that helped America s digital economy thrive Pai said Our approach will be not zero regulation but light touch regulation rules backed by long standing principles of competition law Pai said on Monday that he would not review AT T NYSE T Inc s planned 85 4 billion acquisition of Time Warner Inc NYSE TWX In December he vowed to take a weed whacker to unneeded rules and said net neutrality s days are numbered Internet providers fear net neutrality rules make it harder for them to manage traffic and discourage investing in additional capacity while websites worry that without the rules they might lose access to customers Pai cannot simply issue an order doing away with the net neutrality rules but must go through an administrative process He has not disclosed his plans saying he will mount a careful look at the regulatory framework Last month Tom Wheeler then the FCC s chairman said reversing the net neutrality rules is not a slam dunk Earlier this month Pai sent letters to Verizon Communications Inc NYSE VZ and AT T to notify them that the FCC was closing investigations into sponsored data or zero rating programs in which mobile phone companies give customers free data for using certain video services The FCC had previously raised concerns about those policies
Pai also is moving to block some stricter privacy rules on internet providers that are set to take effect Thursday |
CSCO | Cisco Rises 5 | Investing com Cisco NASDAQ CSCO rose by 4 80 to trade at 46 46 by 09 31 14 31 GMT on Thursday on the NASDAQ exchange
The volume of Cisco shares traded since the start of the session was 2 14M Cisco has traded in a range of 46 46 to 47 10 on the day
The stock has traded at 48 4400 at its highest and 44 2100 at its lowest during the past seven days |
CSCO | Digital media company Technicolor explores options including sale sources | By Pamela Barbaglia and Liana B Baker
LONDON NEW YORK Reuters Technicolor SA has been exploring options that include a full or partial sale of the French digital media company as its set top box business struggles because of higher prices for memory chips people familiar with the matter said on Friday
A deal would represent the biggest shakeup for the company based in Issy les Moulineaux since it agreed in March to sell its profitable patent licensing business to U S wireless technology provider InterDigital Inc for 475 million
Technicolor has been in discussions in recent months with other companies and private equity firms including Bain Capital about a sale of the company or a merger with a peer the sources said
Technicolor has also been exploring a sale of just its set top box division which it calls connected home the sources said One of the sources said the company received non binding offers for that unit earlier this month
Connected home accounted for 1 billion euros 1 14 billion of Technicolor s total revenue of 1 77 billion euros in the first half of 2018
The sources cautioned that no deal is certain and asked not to be identified because the matter is confidential
Technicolor which trades on France s Euronext and has a market value of 503 million euros declined to comment Bain Capital did not immediately respond to a request for comment
Technicolor operates two main divisions entertainment services and connected home The entertainment services business helps provide the visual effects seen in movies and commercials as well as Blu ray and DVD manufacturing
In 2015 Technicolor acquired Cisco Systems NASDAQ CSCO Inc s set top box business a 600 million deal intended to boost its presence in the home entertainment market and expand its North American footprint
But the bet soured as higher input costs weigh on Technicolor s set top box business Passing these costs on appears difficult given the strong bargaining power of its larger customers and competition in the equipment sector credit ratings agency Moody s Investors Service Inc said in a note earlier this year
Technicolor s adjusted earnings before interest taxes depreciation and amortization from continuing operations fell 30 percent year on year in the six months to the end of July to 57 million euros |
CSCO | Cisco Falls 3 | Investing com Cisco NASDAQ CSCO fell by 3 04 to trade at 44 36 by 14 05 19 05 GMT on Tuesday on the NASDAQ exchange
The volume of Cisco shares traded since the start of the session was 15 85M Cisco has traded in a range of 44 30 to 45 29 on the day
The stock has traded at 47 2500 at its highest and 44 0800 at its lowest during the past seven days |
CSCO | Cisco to acquire UK based Ensoft | Cisco Systems NASDAQ CSCO will acquire UK based Ensoft Ltd a software solution maker for service provider networks Terms weren t disclosed The company adds a strong talent pipeline Cisco s Rob Salvagno says the acquisition is meant to accelerate Cisco s networking software strategy of enabling simplified scalable trusted and automatable IP network infrastructure The deal s expected to close in Q2 2019 Salvagno says Now read |
VZ | Verizon s move to unlimited data ups ante in wireless war | By Anjali Athavaley NEW YORK Reuters Verizon Communications Inc s N VZ announcement that it will once again offer an unlimited pricing plan marks a shift in its thinking as a price war among the four biggest U S wireless carriers accelerates The biggest wireless carrier in the United States said on Sunday that it will offer an unlimited data plan for the first time in more than five years The plan priced at 80 a month for unlimited data talk and text on a single line is cheaper than AT T Inc s N T unlimited plan for DirecTV and U Verse subscribers but costs more than plans offered by smaller rivals T Mobile US Inc O TMUS and Sprint Corp N S On Monday Verizon also said it was offering free smartphones for customers who switched over Shares of all four carriers were down in Monday afternoon trading as investors worried about margin erosion with T Mobile leading the decline The company s stock fell 2 3 percent to 60 93 Meanwhile the price war continued T Mobile said that starting on Friday the company s unlimited plan would include high definition video streaming a feature included in the Verizon plan It also announced a new promotion of two lines for 100 Verizon stopped offering unlimited plans in 2011 largely due to concerns about network capacity and a desire to charge more to customers who were heavier users of data said Dave Heger senior equity analyst at Edward Jones On an earnings conference call with investors in late January Chief Financial Officer Matt Ellis said an unlimited plan was not something we feel the need to do Verizon resisted going back to unlimited if they could Heger said It became obvious that the market wasn t going to necessarily allow that The move could hurt the industry s profit margins putting more pressure on major players to cut costs analysts said As the carrier was the last holdout the announcement solidifies the industry s move back to unlimited plans which ultimately constricts growth and elevates the pressure to drive down network costs Amir Rozwadowski an analyst at Barclays LON BARC said in a note But Jennifer Fritzsche an analyst at Wells Fargo NYSE WFC argued that the move was a fightback moment for the company
Verizon said in January that it added fewer subscribers than anticipated in the fourth quarter Defections among wireless customers who pay bills on a monthly basis increased to 1 10 percent of total wireless subscribers compared with the average analyst estimate of 1 05 percent according to FactSet |
VZ | T Mobile U S quarterly revenue profit beat estimates | By Anjali Athavaley and Aishwarya Venugopal Reuters T Mobile US Inc the No 3 U S wireless carrier reported quarterly profit and revenue above estimates as promotional offers helped add more subscribers The company has been gaining market share from rivals Verizon Communications Inc NYSE VZ AT T Inc NYSE T and Sprint Corp in an oversaturated U S wireless market T Mobile had a number of promotional offers in the fourth quarter including a free iPhone 7 offer with eligible trade in around Black Friday But T Mobile could face more competition following Verizon s announcement this week that it would reintroduce an unlimited data plan as well as from a new promotion launched earlier by Sprint On a conference call with analysts and investors Chief Executive Officer John Legere dismissed such concerns The competitive environment so far is based upon moves that others are making out of desperation he said Net income rose to 390 million or 45 cents per share for the quarter from 297 million or 34 cents per share a year earlier Total revenue rose 23 4 percent to 10 18 billion Analysts on average were expecting a profit of 30 cents per share and revenue of 9 84 billion according to Thomson Reuters I B E S For 2017 T Mobile expects branded postpaid net additions of 2 4 million to 3 4 million Analysts said the numbers may be viewed as disappointing but noted that T Mobile tends to give conservative forecasts at the beginning of the year The company also expects free cash flow to grow between 45 percent to 48 percent annually for the next three years in line with analyst estimates Shares were roughly flat in Tuesday trading on the Nasdaq Industry watchers have long speculated that T Mobile and Sprint the No 3 and No 4 biggest players in U S wireless will combine Asked last week about renewed merger talks with T Mobile Masayoshi Son whose SoftBank Group Corp is a majority shareholder in Sprint said he was keeping his options open Legere said on the call in response to a question on Sprint that T Mobile was a very healthy growing franchise and if we choose to we can continue to drive tremendous shareholder value on our own or participate in various forms of consolidation
T Mobile which had released its subscriber numbers for the quarter in January added 933 000 postpaid phone subscribers or those who pay monthly bills on a net basis in the three months ended Dec 31 Churn or customer defections declined to 1 28 percent from 1 46 percent a year ago |
VZ | Verizon close to Yahoo deal price cut of 250 350 million sources | By David Shepardson and Jessica Toonkel Reuters Verizon Communications Inc N VZ is close to a revised deal to buy Yahoo Inc s O YHOO core internet business for 250 million to 350 million less than the original agreed price of 4 83 billion according to a source briefed on the matter Since last year Verizon had been trying to persuade Yahoo to amend the terms of the acquisition agreement to reflect the economic damage from two cyber attacks A source told Reuters that the deal which could come as soon as this week will entail Verizon and Yahoo sharing the liability from potential lawsuits related to the data breaches Another person familiar with the situation said the price cut was likely to be around 250 million a figure that Bloomberg reported earlier on Wednesday A representative from Verizon declined to comment Yahoo did not immediately respond to requests for comment Maybe this isn t quite as much of a discount as initially thought but it s at least something said Dave Heger senior equity analyst at Edward Jones Verizon hopes to combine Yahoo s search email and messenger assets as well as advertising technology tools with its AOL unit which Verizon bought in 2015 for 4 4 billion Verizon has been looking to mobile video and advertising for new sources of revenue outside an oversaturated wireless market But Sunnyvale California based Yahoo has been under scrutiny by federal investigators and lawmakers since disclosing the largest known data breach in history in December months after disclosing a separate hack The U S Securities and Exchange Commission has launched a probe into whether Yahoo should have disclosed the breaches which occurred in 2013 and 2014 sooner according to a report in the Wall Street Journal last month On Wednesday Yahoo sent a warning to users whose accounts may have been accessed by intruders between 2015 and 2016 as part of a data security issue related to the breach it disclosed in December A person familiar with the matter said notifications have gone out to a mostly final list of users
Yahoo shares rose 1 5 percent to 45 69 in afternoon trading Verizon shares fell 0 7 percent to 47 93 |
VZ | AT T expands access to unlimited plan after Verizon launch | NEW YORK Reuters AT T Inc N T said on Thursday it would make its unlimited data plan available to all wireless customers who pay a monthly bill days after rival Verizon Communications Inc N VZ announced an unlimited option Previously AT T s plan which includes unlimited data talk and text for 100 a month for a single line only applied to its DirecTV and U Verse subscribers Starting on Friday it will be expanded to other customers On Sunday Verizon said it would offer an unlimited plan for the first time in more than five years Analysts said the news reflected an intensifying price war in the wireless industry that could put more pressure on major players to cut costs
Shares of AT T Verizon Sprint Corp N S and T Mobile US Inc were flat in after hours trading |
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