Although the global economy has been booming as of late, the latest fiscal data in the U.S. suggests that the country is in dire straits, but this information has been skewered by the impact of the hurricanes that ravaged the southeastern U.S. The economy still managed to grow at a 3.1% rate in the third quarter, 0.1% ahead of the second quarter and topping the consensus estimate of 2.5%.
Altice USA Inc (NYSE:ATUS), Qualcomm, Inc. (NASDAQ:QCOM) and Sprint Corp (NYSE:S) all made headlines over the weekend over new agreements, a potential takeover and a failed merger.
Altice USA Inc (ATUS)
Altice USA has inked a deal with Sprint as the company seeks to keep more customers under its fold.
Altice and Sprint, the fourth-largest cable operator and fourth-largest cable network in the U.S., have entered an agreement that will use Sprint’s network to offer voice and data services in the U.S.
The carrier will benefit by using Altice’s cable infrastructure to roll out cellular data to the masses, while also developing 5G, the future of data services. The move comes only a day after Sprint’s proposed merger with T-Mobile US Inc (NASDAQ:TMUS) fell through for good.
The move makes sense as Sprint still has some catching up to do with the other three top carriers as Sprint only has 54 million subscribers, below T-Mobile’s 70.7 million, AT&T Inc.’s (NYSE:T) 138.8 million and Verizon Wireless Communications Inc.’s (NYSE:VZ) 147.2 million, as of the carriers’ latest earnings calls.
It is unclear what the timeline is regarding when the agreement will start benefiting consumers.
ATUS shares have declined 30.9% year-to-date.
Qualcomm, Inc. (QCOM)
Qualcomm is reportedly the subject of a potential takeover.
Rival Broadcom Corporation is reportedly considering a $100 billion takeover bid — about $70 per share — to acquire Qualcomm, despite the latter not seeking to be bought out.
Such a deal would reportedly be larger than Qualcomm’s attempted acquisition of NXP, and it would also see Broadcom taking NXP over as part of the agreement.
A formal announcement could be coming to the public this week. Neither Qualcomm nor Broadcom have confirmed nor denied the move so far.
Broadcom has made mention of potentially becoming a U.S.-based company rather than having its headquarters in Singapore, which hints at the potential partnership.
Sprint Corp (S)
The announcement of Sprint’s merger talks with T-Mobile finally dying came Saturday.
The Sprint blog said that the companies were incapable of finding a deal that would appeal to both sides. President and CEO Marcelo Claure said the companies were unable to ink a merger, despite the fact that such an agreement may have benefited the company.
“However, we have agreed that it is best to move forward on our own. We know we have significant assets, including our rich spectrum holdings, and are accelerating significant investments in our network to ensure our continued growth,” the Sprint boss continued.
Claure suggested that the Altice partnership is simply the beginning as Sprint will seek new ways to break into multiple industries and increase its status as a U.S. carrier.
“We are determined to continue our efforts to change the wireless industry and compete fiercely,” he added. “We look forward to continuing to take the fight to the duopoly and newly emerging competitors.”
S shares are down 20.8% year-to-date, while TMUS shares have risen 2.4% in 2017.
As of this writing, Karl Utermohlen did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.
