Top 15 Telecommunications Services Stocks by Marvin Score
Marvin ranks 15 telecommunications services stocks above about $300 million in size by Overall score. Verizon, Anterix and ATN International lead, and scores are relative to industry peers.
Telecommunications services companies sell connectivity, such as phone, internet, satellite and cable services. Building and running networks is costly, so many of these businesses carry meaningful debt. That makes margins, cash generation and debt levels especially useful to check.
This list shows the 15 companies in the industry that Marvin's rules ranked highest by Overall score. The group is mixed: large phone and cable providers, satellite companies and smaller specialists. Their figures vary widely, so each pick below gives a cautionary note next to its strengths.
Keep in mind that a score describes how a company compares with others in its industry today. It is not a forecast, and a high score does not mean a stock will rise.
The list
How Marvin ranked these stocks
Marvin included companies above about $300 million in size and ranked them by Overall score, highest first, within the Telecommunications Services industry. Marvin's scores run on a scale up to one hundred and are relative to each company's own industry, so a score compares a company with its telecom peers rather than with the whole market. Quality and Opportunity scores are shown alongside the Overall score where useful.
Companies above about $300 million in size, ranked by Marvin scores (0-100, relative to each company's own industry). The Telecommunications Services industry, highest Overall score first.
The stocks, one by one
Verizon Communications Inc. VZ
Verizon has the top Overall score at 95, with Quality at 88. Its operating margin of 20.5% and return on equity of 15.4% look solid. Caution: revenue growth was only 2.5%, and debt-to-equity of 1.79 shows heavy reliance on borrowing.
Anterix Inc. ATEX
Anterix scores 91 overall and has the highest Quality score in the list at 95. Revenue growth was 7.8% and return on equity is 23.0%. Caution: its operating margin of 1011.3% is far above typical levels, so read it with care, and no debt figure is available.
ATN International, Inc. ATNI
ATN International has the highest Opportunity score in the list at 95, with an Overall score of 84. Operating margin is 37.7% and return on equity is 27.6%. Caution: revenue growth was -0.2%, a slight dip, and free cash flow margin is only 5.6%.
T-Mobile US, Inc. TMUS
T-Mobile US posts an Overall score of 87 and a Quality score of 91. Revenue growth of 8.5% is decent for the group, and free cash flow margin is 20.0%. Caution: its Opportunity score of 69 is lower, and no debt figure is available.
Iridium Communications Inc. IRDM
Iridium Communications has an Overall score of 76, with a free cash flow margin of 32.6% and an operating margin of 23.8%, both healthy. Caution: revenue growth was a modest 4.9%, its Opportunity score of 72 trails Quality, and no debt figure is available.
AT&T Inc. T
AT&T has an Overall score of 80 and an Opportunity score of 87. Operating margin is 20.1% and return on equity is 17.1%. Caution: revenue growth was modest at 2.7%, debt-to-equity is 1.29, and no free cash flow margin is available.
Comcast Corporation CMCSA
Comcast has an Overall score of 72, a free cash flow margin of 16.4% and debt-to-equity of 1.01, lower than several larger peers. Caution: revenue growth was -0.0%, essentially flat, and operating margin of 14.7% is lower than most top-ranked names.
Globalstar, Inc. GSAT
Globalstar has a Quality score of 84 and revenue growth of 9.0%, among the faster rates here. Its Overall score is 69. Caution: operating margin is thin at 4.7%, return on equity is negative at -17.7%, and no free cash flow figure is available.
IDT Corporation IDT
IDT Corporation has an Overall score of 65, gross margin of 38.3% and return on equity of 23.0%. Revenue growth was 5.4%. Caution: operating margin of 9.3% is thin, free cash flow margin is only 5.2%, and no debt figure is available.
Array Digital Infrastructure Inc AD
Array Digital Infrastructure shows revenue growth of 58.3%, return on equity of 42.3% and debt-to-equity of 0.94, moderate for this industry. Its Overall score is 61. Caution: free cash flow margin is deeply negative at -158.3%, meaning it spent far more cash than it generated.
Ooma, Inc. OOMA
Ooma has an Overall score of 53, gross margin of 61.5% and low debt-to-equity of 0.62. Revenue growth was 6.5%. Caution: operating margin is thin at 3.6%, and its Opportunity score of 38 is among the lower ones here.
Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. TDS
Telephone and Data Systems has a low debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24 and an operating margin of 37.0%. Its Overall score is 50. Caution: revenue growth was -5.3%, a decline, free cash flow margin is negative at -36.0%, and return on equity is only 8.1%.
Charter Communications, Inc. CHTR
Charter Communications has an operating margin of 23.3% and return on equity of 29.0%, with an Overall score of 46. Caution: debt-to-equity of 5.54 is the highest in this list, and revenue growth was -0.6%, a slight decline.
AST SpaceMobile, Inc. ASTS
AST SpaceMobile reported revenue growth of 1505.2%, a very large figure that often comes from a small starting base. Return on equity is -25.8%. Caution: its Quality score is only 22, Overall is 37, and no operating margin is available.
Shenandoah Telecommunications Company SHEN
Shenandoah Telecommunications grew revenue by 9.1%, one of the faster rates here, and has debt-to-equity of 0.83. Caution: operating margin is negative at -7.6%, free cash flow margin is -68.1%, and its Quality score of 26 is low.
Common questions
Why do telecommunications companies often carry a lot of debt?
Building and upgrading networks takes large upfront spending, and many telecom companies borrow to pay for it. That is why debt-to-equity is a useful figure to check, with higher values meaning heavier reliance on borrowing.
What does Marvin's Overall score tell me?
It summarizes how a company compares with others in its industry today, drawing on Quality and Opportunity. It describes the present and does not predict future returns.
Why are some figures missing for certain stocks?
Marvin only shows a figure when the data is available for that company. Where a debt, margin or cash flow figure is missing, treat the picture as incomplete and look at the company's own financial reports.
Keep reading
- Top 15 Communication Services Stocks by Marvin Opportunity Score
- Top 15 Communication Services Stocks by Business Quality
- Top 15 Communication Services Stocks by Marvin Score
- Top 20 Large-Cap Stocks Right Now, Ranked by Marvin Scores
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Marvin's scores (0-100) compare each company with others in its industry today. Growth and margin figures come from SEC filings. This is general information, not personal investment advice or a recommendation to buy or sell anything. Do your own research.