Sprint's Q1 Earnings Report (May 5th, 2015)

[irev210]

irev210, I have no grudge with you.  I appreciate your input.  But your over the top response is silly.

 

Of course, analysts offer opinions for a living.  However, those opinions should be based on objective analysis.

 

And I as I believe the stock market is a farce, I really do not give a whit what most analysts say about Sprint.  But now that Joan Lappin has gone quiet, there is one notable exception.

 

For years now, Craig Moffett seems to be on a vendetta against Sprint.  High, low, good times, bad times, he is always doom and gloom about Sprint.  He has a negative fixation on Sprint, more so than any analyst should.

 

Can that pathological opinion possibly be based on objective analysis?  I say not.  It is based on emotion.  I think he wants Sprint to fail.

 

Of course, that is my opinion.

 

AJ

 

Over the top was what I was going for

 

Analysts definitely don't do objective analysis.  They look at objective data, subjective data, and everything else inbetween and develop opinions (subjective analysis) on what that data means and communicate it to those that care to listen.

 

I dunno why Craig is so anti-sprint but oddly enough people pay him a lot of money for that opinion.

 

Look at Meredith Whitney.  She rose to fame for her opinion and quickly fell after being very wrong (she closed up shop and everything).

 

At some point, you have a track record.  If Craig is wrong over and over, he only destroys himself.  Analysts know this, they have no vendetta against any company.  It's just his very loud and well received opinion.  He has a $2 price target on Sprint stock.  If Sprint stock goes to $20, he is going to look very stupid and people will pay less attention to him as it becomes more obvious he doesn't know what he is talking about.

 

Bizarre?  Absolutely.

 

If you are curious, you can read Jennifer's reports from Wells Fargo - she loves Sprint.  Just another view, another opinion.

[WiWavelength]

Over the top was what I was going for

 

Analysts definitely don't do objective analysis.  They look at objective data, subjective data, and everything else inbetween and develop opinions (subjective analysis) on what that data means and communicate it to those that care to listen.

 

I dunno why Craig is so anti-sprint but oddly enough people pay him a lot of money for that opinion.

 

I still say that Craig lacks adequate objectivity in viewing data and formulating opinions -- at least, regarding Sprint.  For a parallel, imagine if a TV analyst always picked against the Patriots.  Would you value that analyst's opinion?

 

And, as you insinuated beyond my quoted portion of your post, maybe Craig is on his way out of relevance.  He is no longer at Sanford Bernstein.  He left, possibly under duress, and ventured out on his own.  My hope is that his Chicken Little act about Sprint gets deep fried soon.  Robert certainly would appreciate that.

 

AJ

[Houston_Texas]

The word volte. That's it.

 

 

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Darn.

[WiWavelength]

To see Fierce Wireless getting called out for a biased headline, read the comments following this article:

 

http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/sprint-clings-no-3-carrier-spot-q1-tablet-customer-additions-mask-phone-los/2015-05-05

 

AJ

[S4GRU]

To see Fierce Wireless getting called out for a biased headline, read the comments following this article:

 

http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/sprint-clings-no-3-carrier-spot-q1-tablet-customer-additions-mask-phone-los/2015-05-05

 

AJ

All in all, the most readable comments on a Sprint article I can recall for a long time. Most of the detractors either curbed their comments or were completely basis. Like the lady who claimed Sprint was lying in their release.

 

But the quantity of vitriol was way down. And the average readability of the comments was tolerable. Sprint must be turning a corner.

 

Using Moto X² on Tapatalk

[Arysyn]

You seem to harp on Sprint CS a lot.  Here is a revelation:  all big four domestic wireless operators have less than stellar CS.  It comes with the territory of trying to serve roughly 50-100 million customers.

 

AJ

 

AJ is spot on with this comment.

 

One just has to read comments on these companies' Facebook pages to see this. Sometimes it is humorous to read how bad the companies' responses are to these customer complaints, realizing immediately after that it also is very sad.

[maxsilver]

I dunno why Craig is so anti-sprint but oddly enough people pay him a lot of money for that opinion.

Because as an short-term investment, Craig's mostly right. The math isn't working out to investors favor, there's a lot of risk that's unaccounted for. There's a 80% chance that Sprint's stock price won't rise in a huge way in the near future, and a 99.999% chance that they won't post dividends for at least half a decade.  

 

An investors opinion on a business isn't a signal as to how good/bad the business itself is. It represents how good/bad the current investment opportunity with that business is, in comparison to every other opportunity on the market today.

 

If you want a low risk chance of profit on your particular investment in the next 1 to 12 quarters, Sprint is one of the worst places to put your investment money. 

 

That doesn't mean Sprint as a *business* is bad. Sprint could be making all the right moves, Sprint could be doing *literally everything* right to fix their business (in customer service, in network quality, in promotions, in marketing, everything). They could do everything right, be an awesome business, but still be a bad investment -- these two aren't actually directly related in any way.

 

 

I've seen no evidence that Craig is actually anti-Sprint in general. In fact, most of his recent articles start out by saying something like "Sprint's making the right business moves, with promotions / pricing / network improvements / whatever". He then launches into the financials -- the fact that if you give Sprint a dollar today, your not getting two dollars back. Or even one dollar back, anytime soon. And that's where he gets really negative. Frankly, from that particular perspective, I don't think he's wrong there.

 

 

- - -

 

Getting mad at Craig because he's writing advice to a certain class of investors, and not to telecom fans, seems counterintuitive. His advice seems pretty accurate for his target audience. It's just that, if your reading S4GRU, your probably not his audience -- your not looking at the financials from the perspective his audience typically is.

[Arysyn]

I have an opinion about this fiscal report I haven't seen anyone else here mention yet, so I'm going to go ahead and say it.

 

First though, I want to report that I'm beyond satisfied with Sprint. I got my Nexus 6 situation resolved, as I now have an actual brand new device unit of it, along with some credit for the original shipment. The representative at the store was very helpful, and we were out of the store with the device in an hour. Also, despite the initial 3g scare outdoors I had while traveling in the car in an area with 4g service, since changing the settings on the device, I'm now getting a very strong 4g signal, even indoors, where its at a near constant band 26 800 mhz signal, with a minimum 9 mbps indoor data speed. This in the same area where my previous MetroPCS service got either very slow HSPA or 2g service, with the voice service not available at times. Speaking of voice service, I called my mother 30 minutes ago, and the voice quality difference between Sprint and MetroPCS/T-Mobile is huge! Sprint sounds so much better, clearer/much less static, despite that she still is using her ancient T-Mobile 1900 mhz-only Samsung bar-style telephone. I'm interested in hearing the difference while talking with her through Skype to Nexus 6, or Samsung Gear S smartwatch to Nexus 6, if she decides to get the smartwatch.

 

Anyways, now to my opinion of the fiscal report...

 

As much as I love my new Nexus 6 device and Sprint service, I didn't like hearing the fiscal report, which I'm still listening to. I'm glad Sprint has added subscribers, disappointed they have lost money, but mostly this, I think Sprint isn't displaying/portraying themselves well enough. What I mean by that is this... No offense to Marcelo Claure, as the most important thing he can do as CEO, is to increase business, both customer numbers and finances, along with customer satisfaction and network quality, of course. However, right now Sprint is in closest competition with T-Mobile, yet they both appear as very different companies. Sprint has an awful reputation despite that it is proving that reputation to not be valid anymore, in most cases. Whereas T-Mobile, whose network quality is dwindling in many places, along with a desperate need for more spectrum where the network is suffering, seems to be able to maintain a reputation where it is a winning company. Sprint's reputation, unfortunately, seems to be the opposite.

 

Many people are giving opinions on how Sprint could improve that reputation, the main ideas being to continue improving the network, other ideas being a name change. I think both have validity, though the name change has some drawbacks, while improving the network not being a bad thing at all might not be enough on its own, at least for some time. Yet, while I listen to the fiscal report, I keep thinking how the information is being presented, in how different it is from T-Mobile's recent fiscal report, in both style and presentation. Now, while there is a lot I don't like about T-Mobile's display of itself publicly, particularly John Legere's immaturity, the fact is, they are successful at it. Although, it doesn't have to mean companies should copy it exactly, but just the mere aspect of being more public with itself, as a consumer-focused company.

 

I believe Sprint could benefit from doing this, but doing so professionally. Rather than an audio clip of scripted reading of reports, why not have a video broadcast of it, with the company leaders all together not only giving out the reports, but promoting its causes, its mission, and its strategies as a unified force. Maybe do something like Dominos did by admitting openly that their network sucked, but that now its getting better, bolder, and stronger. Say exactly what is making the new network so much different, but do so openly in public forums, rather than just news reports. Possibly have a public relations campaign of town hall meetings and such, where former Sprint users are invited to converse with Sprint leaders about why their former experience was so bad, and have Sprint show them what has changed and why they should give Sprint another try. Basically Sprint should do everything fiscally responsible to prove publicly, directly to former users and potential new users alike, why their reputation is wrong, given the new Sprint initiatives. Also, take back the power these biased blogs have against Sprint and turn it around on them by speaking directly to the people.

[lou99/maximus1987]

That would be possible but only once all the major cities have spark.

Otherwise, you'd risk someone from a b25-only city being chosen for the town hall.

 

But in general, yes TMO is better at marketing and presentation.

 

Sprint should start taking some questions from twitter or from this very site.

 

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[S4GRU]

I don't have time tonight for a full financial analytical response, but you are more likely to get that "$2" from them than from any of the other major wireless carriers. Because it is easier for Sprint to double its stock price now than any other carrier.

 

It is really hard to imagine Verizon or AT&T doubling their current stock price. Especially while getting pressure from Sprint and t-mobile.

 

Using Moto X² on Tapatalk

[Arysyn]

That would be possible but only once all the major cities have spark.

Otherwise, you'd risk someone from a b25-only city being chosen for the town hall.

 

But in general, yes TMO is better at marketing and presentation.

 

Sprint should start taking some questions from twitter or from this very site.

 

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While I realize the issues of this site being affiliated with Sprint in an way, it is a nice thought if Sprint were to be accepting of S4GRU in its entirety, because this site has the most Sprint supporters I've seen online, who also are the most dedicated/devoted to Sprint service. I think if anyone other than Sprint itself could convince the Sprint haters and former Sprint customers to give Sprint another try, it is the people on S4GRU.

 

While I've never had Sprint before now, had it not been for this site, I would not have bothered trying Sprint, maybe not even if Sprint did do what I'm suggesting it do, as Sprint's reputation on other sites would likely have kept me away from Sprint. It shows just how influential S4GRU has been in my decision, which I'm very glad/grateful for, and I believe S4GRU can indeed be a great benefit to Sprint in such a public marketing strategy, if Sprint were willing enough to work with this wonderful site.

[maxsilver]

Maybe do something like Dominos did by admitting openly that their network sucked, but that now its getting better, bolder, and stronger. Say exactly what is making the new network so much different, but do so openly in public forums, rather than just news reports. 

 

The biggest problem with that option, is that they've sort-of already used it a couple of times. That path isn't effective the third time you use it.

 

Their current option (promoting RootMetrics results) seems much better. Regardless of whether it's true or not, no one believes Sprint when Sprint says they've fixed things. They need a respected independent objective third-party to say that, and promote the third-party's message.

 

RootMetrics isn't perfect, but they are probably the closest fit for that need right now.

[lou99/maximus1987]

The biggest problem with that option, is that they've sort-of already used it a couple of times. That path isn't effective the third time you use it.

 

Their current option (promoting RootMetrics results) seems much better. Regardless of whether it's true or not, no one believes Sprint when Sprint says they've fixed things. They need a respected independent objective third-party to say that, and promote the third-party's message.

 

RootMetrics isn't perfect, but they are probably the closest fit for that need right now.

I don't get why they don't have a 2-week trial that's FREE.

 

 

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[utiz4321]

I don't get why they don't have a 2-week trial that's FREE.

 

Cost. Their return rate is probably to high to justify the added business it would drive.

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[Deval]

It was good. Hope they can maintain sub 2%. At some point you end up rid of all the customers who could leave easily. Think they're getting down to customers who really are tied to sprint and who would find it very difficult to leave. 

 

I think they can. Customers who are on AT&T and Verizon are noticing the upgraded network and better services, and taking a chance with Sprint. 

[sbolen]

I don't have time tonight for a full financial analytical response, but you are more likely to get that "$2" from them than from any of the other major wireless carriers. Because it is easier for Sprint to double its stock price now than any other carrier.

 

It is really hard to imagine Verizon or AT&T doubling their current stock price. Especially while getting pressure from Sprint and t-mobile.

 

Using Moto X² on Tapatalk

I went long and big on S when it bottomed. It's been a wild ride (today had a $0.26 swing, for instance), but you're right - doubling is easy! The 52 week high would essentially be double current value (and triple the 52 week low).

[maxsilver]

I don't have time tonight for a full financial analytical response, but you are more likely to get that "$2" from them than from any of the other major wireless carriers. Because it is easier for Sprint to double its stock price now than any other carrier.

 

I don't think that's true though -- currently, you are more likely to get that $2 from other major carriers.

 

For instance, simply holding a share of AT&T's stock, would have earned you $1.84 last year in dividends, in addition to the $1.50 that the per-share price rose.

 

As an investment, AT&T's made their investors $3.34/share profit over the course of 2014, while Sprint's stock lost their investors $4.12/share

 

Now, AT&T also spent last year slipping on their network rankings in many markets, while Sprint started gaining in them. Again, this isn't a measure of the business in any way, just the measure of the investment opportunity. A bad business can make investors a good offer. A good business can make investors a bad offer.

 

EDIT : Is it more likely that Sprint's stock will double than AT&T's? Absolutely. But that chance is still super small, with super high risk. And AT&T still a better/safer investment in the eyes of investor, even if their stock price never rises this year -- it's still less risk and more profit, more reliably.

[S4GRU]

Super high risk? Do you know how many people have doubled their money on Sprint in the past 3 years? It is absurd to call a Sprint investment as "super high risk." Not even Moffet will call it that. To be super high risk, there would have to be a good chance of bankruptcy in the next six months.

 

Stop with the grandiose superlatives, please. We won't stand to be Moffeted. Sprint will likely be the first carrier to double its current stock price from today's price than any other carrier. Sprint gaining $5 per share is much more likely than Tmo or AT&T gaining $30 or VZW gaining $50 per share.

 

Sprint has almost nowhere to go but up. Given the aggressiveness of current leadership and Son's backing, they aren't going back to where they were. At worst, they will be static.

 

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[lou99/maximus1987]

Super high risk? Do you know how many people have doubled their money on Sprint in the past 3 years? It is absurd to call a Sprint investment as "super high risk." Not even Moffet will call it that. To be super high risk, there would have to be a good chance of bankruptcy in the next six months.

 

Stop with the grandiose superlatives, please. We won't stand to be Moffeted. Sprint will likely be the first carrier to double its current stock price from today's price than any other carrier. Sprint gaining $5 per share is much more likely than Tmo or AT&T gaining $30 or VZW gaining $50 per share.

 

Sprint has almost nowhere to go but up. Given the aggressiveness of current leadership and Son's backing, they aren't going back to where they were. At worst, they will be static.

 

Using Moto X² on Tapatalk

I yearn to see how much Son's backing will

Be worth for the 600 auction.

 

 

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[WiWavelength]

I yearn to see how much Son's backing will

Be worth for the 600 auction.

 

Is this your failed attempt at haiku, maximus?

 

Try this...

 

I yearn for 2016

Will auction succeed?

Or will it even happen?

 

AJ

[lou99/maximus1987]

Is this your failed attempt at haiku, maximus?

 

Try this...

 

I yearn for 2016

Will auction succeed?

Or will it even happen?

 

AJ

Broadcasters said they WANT fcc to eat a target for 120mhz nationwide.

 

 

 

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[cortney]

All in all, the most readable comments on a Sprint article I can recall for a long time. Most of the detractors either curbed their comments or were completely basis. Like the lady who claimed Sprint was lying in their release.

 

But the quantity of vitriol was way down. And the average readability of the comments was tolerable. Sprint must be turning a corner.

 

Using Moto X² on Tapatalk

For FierceWireless it has been calmer with a level of sanity recently, but the T-Trolls are currently over at TMoNews.

 

Oh, and I'll try poetry (regarding T-Mobile):

 

Still just number four.

Promises span through next year.

Not yet accomplished.

Edited May 6, 2015 by cortney

[WiWavelength]

Is this your failed attempt at haiku, maximus?

 

Try this...

 

I yearn for 2016

Will auction succeed?

Or will it even happen?

Broadcasters said they WANT fcc to eat a target for 120mhz nationwide.

 

Mine is also a failed attempt at haiku -- albeit, much better than yours.

 

Here is a real one for you...

 

Broadcasters say this

But they want mega money

Auction may backfire

 

AJ

[lou99/maximus1987]

Mine is also a failed attempt at haiku -- albeit, much better than yours.

 

Here is a real one for you...

 

Broadcasters say this

But they want mega money

Auction may backfire

 

AJ

If it happens, there's nothing broadcasters can do to take back their licenses.

 

There's always kelo vs new London.

 

 

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[NYC126]

Correct me if I m wrong,why the critics say that Sprint without a very dense band 41 network is in big trouble aND it wI'll take 7 years. I understand they need to dense the network,but every week we see new rootmetrics.Com reports about tied for 1st or or two.

 

The network is improving at a fast pace compared with a year ago,but the mangetrolls are in denial.