Craig Moffett

Craig Moffett, a telecom specialist from MoffettNathanson, and Michael Nathanson, an expert in media and advertising, dive deep into the collapse of cable stocks and the challenges facing traditional advertising agencies. They discuss Apple's AI shortcomings and the surge in youth unemployment due to AI disruptions. The conversation highlights the need for streaming consolidation and analyzes the shocking leadership shakeup at Verizon. With insights into the future of advertising and the implications of AI, this discussion is both timely and thought-provoking.

Craig Moffett has covered the telecommunications industry – first as a management consultant and later as a Wall Street analyst – for more than thirty years. He has been elected to Institutional Investor Magazine’s All-American Research Team in the U.S. Telecom and/or Cable & Satellite sectors on seventeen separate occasions, including nine separate appearances as the #1 analyst in America in either U.S. Telecom and/or Cable & Satellite. Prior to founding MoffettNathanson, Mr. Moffett spent more than ten years at Sanford Bernstein & Co., LLC as a senior research analyst. He was previously the President and founder of the e-commerce business at Sotheby’s Holdings, the venerable auction house, where, in 1999, he led Sothebys.com to what was then the highest first year sales of any consumer website ever launched. Mr. Moffett spent more than eleven years at The Boston Consulting Group, where he was a Partner and Vice President specializing in telecommunications. He was the leader of BCG’s global Telecommunications practice from 1996 to 1999. While at BCG, he led client initiatives in the U.S. local, long distance, and wireless sectors, in both consumer and commercial services, and advised companies outside the U.S. in Europe, Latin America, and Asia. Mr. Moffett graduated from Harvard Business School with Honors in 1989. He received a BA from Brown University, where he was magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, in 1984. Detailed Show Notes - 5:41 - Why Silicon Valley Bank is a good fit for MoffettNathanson 6:50 - Why telecom is a hard business 7:40 - The history of US telecom 10:10 - How cable incubated an industry under AT&T/telecom's business 15:52 - How does cable compete with fiber going forward? 17:47 - High splits, node splits, who gives a split? 22:50 - Cable strategy and why high splits are the current strategy 29:09 - Wireless vs. broadband going forward 35:00 - The physics of wireless 46:00 - Verizon's big strategic decision was correct but implementation left something lacking 51:10 - Cable's wireless offering and how it fits into the competitive set 58:44 - What does broadband's growth runway look like? 1:03:45 - How do fiber overbuilders factor into the future? 1:08:00 - The fiber bubble will burst.  Then some Altice discussion.

Join Kabir Ahmed Shakir, CFO at Tata Communications, as he discusses how tariffs affect global telecom strategies and client decisions. Craig Moffett, a founding partner at Moffett Nathanson, analyzes the significant merger between Charter and Cox Communications and its implications for the cable industry. Katie Hubbard, EVP at Walton Global, shares insights on the housing market, emphasizing rising multifamily construction and affordability challenges. Together, they unravel the complex interplay of geopolitics, telecom dynamics, and housing trends.

Craig Moffett, a top analyst in the telecommunications industry, returns to discuss cable companies potentially having a cost advantage in the wireless business. The podcast covers the impact of convergence on the cable business, the importance of cable companies in providing wireless services, and the challenges faced by wireless providers. Moffett also talks about founding MoffettNathanson, a research firm specializing in media communications.

Craig Moffett, Founding Partner at MoffettNathanson, shares his bold downgrade of Apple stock, citing challenges in China and declining iPhone shipments. Sandra Matz, a Columbia Business School professor, delves into her research on predicting human behavior through data, highlighting the downside of tech companies' misaligned incentives. The conversation also touches on the intrusive nature of data collection and its impact on consumer behavior, raising concerns about mental health and regulatory needs in the digital age.