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1/ A few thoughts on $ATUS, the smaller, more levered version of $CHTR.
On the one hand, you have a higher margin business with a more aggressive timeline for converting to fiber.
On the one hand, you have a higher margin business with a more aggressive timeline for converting to fiber.
2/ They have cut costs further than anyone thought possible and used the savings to buy back stock hand over fist.
On the other hand, these cost cuts come at a price. I spoke to a former exec in their News and Advertising business who described morale as low.
On the other hand, these cost cuts come at a price. I spoke to a former exec in their News and Advertising business who described morale as low.
3/ They were basically down to a skeleton crew before he left. The ethos at $ATUS is not to invest to drive growth but instead to only invest in things that have already shown growth.
4/ He said when new management came in they decided that no employee should make more than X and then proceeded to thin the ranks.
5/ To be fair, cable is a business where you can treat both employees and customers terribly and probably have very little effect on your outcomes in the near term.
6/ Rutledge at Charter went the other way and spent significant amounts to improve customer service and raise employee wages for the long term health of the business and NPS. Another important thing to remember is Drahi's lack of concern for minority shareholders.
7/ He is in the process of trying to steal Altice Europe $ATC.NA with a lowball bid and will almost certainly attempt it with $ATUS at some point in the future. If
8/ a management team can be so callous with their employees (read some Glassdoor reviews), their customers, and their shareholders, how good of an investment can it be?
9/ So, the question in some respects is not whether you think $ATUS will grow in intrinsic value, it is whether you think current management will let shareholders participate in it.
10/ Does the current high FCF yield of the equity imply not only a fear of leverage but also of corporate governance? $ATUS $CHTR @maffei_fake @ignorenarrative
