Altice USA (NYSE: ATUS) today makes the following statement following the sale of a portion of Altice USA shares by Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments):
Moody's Investors Service, ("Moody's") assigned a B1 corporate family rating (CFR), B1-PD probability of default rating (PDR), and SGL-1 speculative grade liquidity (SGL) rating to CSC Holdings, LLC (CSC Holdings). Moody's has also withdrawn all ratings, and the stable outlook at Cablevision Systems Corporation (Cablevision), following the debt repayment and debt push-down of all outstanding debt issued at Cablevision Systems Corporation in Q4 2019.
While BlackBerry (BB) beats on fourth-quarter fiscal 2020 earnings on year-over-year revenue growth, Nokia (NOK) launches an innovative platform to aid users with reliable network connectivity.
(Bloomberg) -- The broadband sector could become a safe haven for investors looking to store cash in the event of a financial crisis.Demand for internet access will be recession-proof, if history is an indicator. A Bureau of Labor Statistics analysis from 2009 to 2010 showed total household spending declined year-over-year while computer information and cable services spending increased. That may be even more the case now amid the coronavirus outbreak, as many Americans are working remotely from home and relying on streaming services like Netflix Inc. for entertainment.“The criticality of broadband has increased since the global financial crisis,” Gregory Williams, an analyst covering cable and satellite services at Cowen, said in a note to clients. It’s “now considered a fairly price inelastic utility-like necessity.”AT&T Inc., Charter Communications Inc., Comcast Corp. and Altice USA Inc. are among the long list of potential benefactors providing internet-based services across the U.S. Pure-play businesses like Charter are seen best positioned for upside. Shares of the Stamford, Connecticut-based company have fallen just 8% since the beginning of the year, compared to a 20% decline in the S&P 500 Index.Michael McKenzie, managing director of private investment firm Grain Management, said that broadband connections grew 15% from 2008 to 2009. While there’s no guarantee that will happen this time, the sector is likely to fare better than cable or entertainment peers as consumers look to cut discretionary spending.“I think it’s highly unlikely that [broadband connectivity] declines in a recession,” McKenzie said in an interview. It “should be a safe bet” given its historic stability, he said.McKenzie said there may be some “depressed” spending in certain sectors like hospitality. But in general, stocks linked to mobile network operators and tower owners will “tend to benefit from what we see coming out of this crisis.”(Corrects broadband connection growth in fifth paragraph.)For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
Americans are abandoning pay television, but the pandemic has highlighted the value of the other service cable companies provide: broadband internet access.
Altice USA (NYSE: ATUS) will host a conference call on Thursday, April 30, 2020 at 4:30 p.m. EDT to discuss financial and operating results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2020. A press release reporting the results will be issued at 4:05 p.m. EDT.
Altice USA (NYSE: ATUS) today reports results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2020.
Cable TV firms Comcast, Charter Communications and Altice USA report earnings this week. Comcast stock has lagged while Charter stock has climbed following its successful $3 billion debt offering.
ATUS earnings call for the period ending March 31, 2020.
(Bloomberg) -- Apple Inc. has relaxed a controversial policy that took a 30% cut of payments when video apps on its platform sold TV shows and movies.Amazon.com Inc. started taking advantage of the change on Wednesday, selling and renting movies via its Prime Video service on Apple devices without needing to give Apple a share of the money.“Apple has an established program for premium subscription video entertainment providers to offer a variety of customer benefits,” the Cupertino, California-based technology giant said in a emailed statement. The program applies to multiple services, including Amazon Prime Video. Canal+, a unit of Vivendi SA, started participating in 2018. Altice One, a cloud-based video service from Altice USA Inc., signed up in February.The program lets these premium services charge viewers via their own payment method instead of Apple’s in-app-purchase system, which takes a 30% cut. “Customers have the option to buy or rent movies and TV shows using the payment method tied to their existing video subscription,” Apple said in the statement.Apple said the program also provides a number of other benefits, including “integration with the Apple TV app, AirPlay 2 support, tvOS apps, universal search, Siri support and, where applicable, single or zero sign-on.”Most other types of apps and services on Apple devices like the iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV require the use of Apple’s in-app-purchase system for downloads and upgrades. Some developers, including Spotify Technology SA, have said Apple’s system is an antitrust issue and have had to raise their prices by 30% for iPhone users to offset Apple’s fees.Read more: Apple and Google Face Growing Revolt Over App Store ‘Tax’ (Updates with details of program participants in fourth paragraph.)For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
Today we will run through one way of estimating the intrinsic value of Altice USA, Inc. (NYSE:ATUS) by projecting its...
J.P. Morgan telecom analyst Philip Cusick cut his rating on AT&T to Neutral from Overweight. Goldman Sachs telecom analyst Brett Feldman added Verizon to the firm’s “conviction list.”
The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Qualcomm, Arista Networks, Nokia, Altice USA and Knowles
Goldman Sachs analyst Brett Feldman made some changes to his positioning on telecommunications stocks Wednesday, elevating Verizon Communications Inc. shares to Goldman's 'conviction list' while dropping Comcast Corp. and Altice USA Inc. from the list. He also downgraded shares of CenturyLink Inc. and Intelsat SA to sell from neutral. On Verizon, he said that the stock offers "the most attractive combination of total return and risk owing to its stable wireless business, well-covered dividend (4.6% yield) and strong balance sheet." He worries about "cord-cutting, advertising and [small-and medium-sized business] exposure" for Comcast and Altice USA but kept buy ratings on those stocks even while removing them from the conviction list. Feldman is concerned that the COVID-19 outbreak could put additional pressure on CenturyLink's wireline business and thus its earnings, and he has a more downbeat view on Intelsat due to the company's cruise-ship, aviation, and traditional media exposure.
In response to the COVID-19/coronavirus pandemic, Altice USA has taken several steps to ensure that Americans within the communities we serve have reliable access to high-speed broadband connectivity to keep them connected to the people, information, and resources they rely on.
Altice USA (NYSE: ATUS) announces today it is making more content available to its residential Optimum and Suddenlink video customers by offering access to live and on demand programming from Hallmark Channel, Hallmark Drama, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, Cooking Channel, DIY Network, Science Channel, and Discovery Family now through April 22nd at no additional cost.
(Bloomberg Opinion) -- What was once sacrosanct is no more. Apple Inc. seems to have blinked.Late Wednesday, Bloomberg News reported that Apple has relaxed its rules requiring a 30% cut for any content sold inside video apps on its iOS platform. The tech giant said its program allows “premium subscription video” providers the ability to charge consumers directly using their own payment systems without paying a commission to Apple.For customers of Amazon.com Inc., which started taking advantage of the change on Wednesday, it means Amazon’s Prime Video subscribers in the U.S., U.K. and Germany, can now buy or rent video content using the e-commerce company’s app on Apple’s platforms. Amazon.com Inc. had previously only allowed video purchases outside of Apple’s ecosystem, such as its website. Canal+, owned by Vivendi SA, and Altice USA Inc.’s Altice One had already joined Apple’s program in recent years.As recently as last year, Apple CEO Tim Cook told CBS News the company didn’t have a dominant position in any market. But analysts have said Apple’s App Store may be the one business where it actually had excessive power over developers, because of the steep commission it was able to demand in exchange for allowing their apps, in-app purchases and subscriptions to be sold on its platforms. (The 30% subscription fee is lowered to 15% after the first year.)The Apple App Store’s high commission structure has been infuriating for many companies. In 2019, music-streaming company Spotify Technology SA filed a complaint against Apple with the European Commission, while Epic Games Inc. CEO Tim Sweeney, whose company makes Fortnite, has consistently railed against Apple’s commission structure as unjustified. Netflix Inc. even abandoned using Apple’s payment system altogether to avoid the fee in 2018.Why did Apple budge? Perhaps it’s a move to preempt further pressure from regulators. Whatever the reason, once the first step is made toward lower fees, there is no turning back.It’s only a matter time before other companies such as Netflix, Spotify and countless others ask for better terms as well. Lower middle-man fees can also be good news for consumers if it leads to lower prices, too.This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Bloomberg LP and its owners.Tae Kim is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering technology. He previously covered technology for Barron's, following an earlier career as an equity analyst.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinionSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
In the first quarter, Altice (ATUS) sees record demand for its broadband service and achieves the best-ever quarterly performance with 50,000 broadband net additions.
Altice USA (NYSE: ATUS) today announces that Dexter Goei, Altice USA CEO, will participate in the MoffettNathanson 7th Annual Media & Communications Summit on Tuesday, May 12, 2020 and the 48th Annual J.P. Morgan Global Technology, Media and Communications Conference on Wednesday, May 13, 2020.
Altice (ATUS) offers access to a plethora of free on-demand family-friendly content and Internet services with seamless broadband connectivity amid coronavirus pandemic.