Verizon CommunicationsVZCOMMENTNov 30, 2016Stock price when the opinion was issued
As of Oct 23, 2026. Market Open.
Starlink is a bit of a red herring -- Elon is a promoter, and this is a long-dated opportunity (if it happens at all).
Stocks overreacted to the downside. About 80% of the 1-day fall was made up in 5-6 days. Produces significant cashflow. CEO is more of an entrepreneur. Great opportunity. Yield is almost 6%.
A changed company. Older business model was volume-based, now has a bit more of an entrepreneurial spirit and is a bit more growthy. Cutting back on getting the customer at any price to a higher-quality customer. New focus is turning up in cashflow. Returning a lot of cash to investors, lots of buybacks.
Defensive play. Yield is 5.67%.
Sold his holdings about 2 or 3 weeks ago, because of interest rates being on the rise and the yield curve steepening. That is generally not good for telcos, as it lessens the impact of the dividend. They also tend to carry a large amount of debt on their balance sheet, which is not a great thing in a rising interest rate environment.