President Barack Obama asked the Federal Communications Commission to impose utility-type regulation on broadband service providers, taking a harder line on net neutrality than FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler has planned to do. Shares in Comcast (CMCSA), Time Warner Cable (TWC), Verizon Communications (VZ) and Charter Communications (CHTR) fell on the stock market today after Obama released a video statement, in which he asked the FCC to reclassify the
Some big-cap telecom and cable companies are lagging in IBD’s accumulation/distribution ratings as institutions sell those shares amid stock-market volatility. IBD’s accumulation-distribution rating tracks the relative degree of institutional buying (accumulation) and selling (distribution) in a particular stock over the past 13 weeks. It appears in IBD’s daily research tables, stock checkup at Investors.com and in charts accompanying the IBD 50 and Big Cap 20. A rating of A or B indicates that funds are buying, or accumulating, the stock. A C rating is neutral, and a D or E indicates net selling, or distribution. Many telecom and cable companies have E ratings. They include AT&T (T), Akamai Technologies (AKAM), Charter Communications (CHTR), Comcast (CMCSA), Dish Network (DISH), T-Mobile US (TMUS), Time Warner Cable (TWC), Verizon Communications (VZ) and Vodafone (VOD). In the wireless industry, there’s concern over a price war that has erupted as subscriber growth slows. Tablet computer users now account for most new subscriber additions. Heading into Q3 earnings results, investors are also waiting to see how Apple’s (AAPL) launch of the iPhone 6 has impacted subscriber turnover and mobile phone upgrades at AT&T, Sprint (S), T-Mobile and Verizon. Europe’s slowing economies amid fierce wireless competition, meanwhile, have taken a toll on Vodafone’s stock.
Cable TV companies are morphing into broadband companies. No. 1 cable firm Comcast (CMCSA) is on track to serve more Internet subscribers than video customers in 2015, which already is the case with Time Warner Cable (TWC) and Charter Communications (CHTR). In Q2, the top cable TV firms lost 510,000 video subscribers but gained 381,000 broadband customers, says research firm LRG. The trend has implications for Internet video competition and cable