Telecom & Cable Services: Maintain Pref for Wireless Over Cable, D2D JV

Research evidence excerpt

Telecom & Cable Services: Maintain Pref for Wireless Over Cable, D2D JV

Foundation

May 18, 2026 08:02 PM GMT

Morgan Stanley & Co. LLCMTelecom & Cable Services | North America Sean Diffley, CFA

Equity Analyst

Maintain Pref for Wireless Over Sean.DIFFLEY@morganstanley.comBlake Netter, CPA +1 212 761-5868

Blake.Netter@morganstanley.com +1 212 761-4679

Cable, D2D JV Patrick A Ho

Patrick.Ho@morganstanley.com +1 212 761-2764

Let's get rational… US Wireless is showing signs of competitive

Telecom & Cable Services

rationality, while the era of free phones is nearing an end. Cable, North America

on the other hand, faces an uphill battle with both volume & Industry View In-Line

pricing pressures, compounded by fears that Satellite broadband

could be the next FWA.

Key Takeaways

Wireless remains better positioned than Cable, maintain TMUS as Top Pick,

prefer T over VZ, stay Equal-weight CMCSA

Satellite emerges as new competitive risk factor, we believe direct-to-device

(D2D) is more complementary than competitive for Wireless Carriers, for now

The D2D JV is a sign the Carriers are a united front and acting as a more rational

oligopoly with all 3 saying NO to MVNO

AI provides better cust experience & cost savings, while VZ & T have an opty to

leverage their Fiber assets w/ Hyperscalers & TMUS is focused on the edge opty

Cable volume pressures compounded by pricing concerns w/ fears Sat direct-to-

home Broadband becomes the next FWA; stocks are cheap, but path unclear

Investment Outlook: We continue to prefer Wireless over Cable with TMUS our

Top Pick (trades at the tightest spread to the Bells in 5 years on EV/EBITDA at ~1-

turn despite nearly double the EBITDA growth). We maintain a preference for

Overweight rated T over Equal-weight rated VZ, while we believe the cost cutting &