#competition

Good luck guys!

To top off this glorious performance by our SLT…today the founders of Poppi launched a product directly targeting Gatorade. They’re laughing all the way to the bank while flipping Pepsi the bird. Truly amazing Pepsi bought Poppi from them for most $2B but didn’t think to add a clause in the purchase to prohibit them from launching another product directly in competition with another Pepsi product?!?!?! If this isn’t cause for the whole lot of SLT to be replaced, what next hairbrained move will they make to nail the final nails in the coffin??? (Project. Mustang, Poppi and now the Jetty Hydration debacle.) I can’t make this sh-t up - truly remiss!!!!

All the old-timers seem to be stuck in a modem-era mindset. What else can we expect? No fresh thinking, no new ideas, and no appetite for innovation. It’s always a catch-up game, following what other companies are doing and staying 3–4 years behind the competition.

US car companies have been protected and bailed out too many times and are now not only completely uncompetitive on the global market, but set up to be completely demolished as EVs take over.
Their bad leadership and overall inefficiency mean that either investors are going to pay a massive price, or US consumers are going to pay a massive price. If we keep on pushing up consumer costs by propping up bad manufacturers with protectionism and bail outs, the US's entire economy is dr-g down by that.
There needs to be some creative destruction, ruthless culling of the least efficient manufacturers, so that their best workers can go to the better manufacturers, if the US is ever going to be a top tier car manufacturer again.

Oracle’s main problem is that AI is about to become very cheap.

A year ago, anything but a frontier model was absolutely stupid and barely usable. But now they are OK-ish, and in a year they will be actually very good. Why, then, pay an expensive "frontier model tax"? It’s like, if a Ford can get you to work as much as a Bugatti, why buy the Bugatti?

So Amazon Bedrock I somehow grasp (and each of the other big three is developing "cheaper chips than NVIDIA" on top). But Oracle looks weirdly expecting that people will just like that continue to pay premium pricing.

Is every club over run with more books than they have space for.. same with clothing ! What is with these buyers . Our clothing looks like a flea market I’ve shopped in Florida lol. Books are so jammed backed with so many stupid books no one buys.. and have 2 pallets still not stocked . Do our buyers think having the clubs look junky is competition with costco ? Costco clothing is always neat and not over run with extra cr-p.. they barely have books except seasonal books. Sam’s has become a bigger dirtier junkier Walmart

Local and state officials have expressed deep concern following We Soda's announcement of approximately 350 layoffs. The company cited economic pressures within the soda ash industry, including increased global competition, as the primary reason for the workforce reduction. These job losses are expected to have a substantial impact on Sweetwater County and its residents. State and local governments are mobilizing resources to assist the affected employees and explore future economic opportunities. The phased closure of specific mining operations will begin in early January 2027.

Sweetwater County, Wyoming

https://www.sweetwaternow.com/leaders-react-to-we-soda-layoffs-reorganization/

We wiped the floor with the competition again, great numbers reported

That aged well. Dan, keep your head stuck in the sand and living in denial. It seems to be working for you. I guess we are gonna need some bigger layoffs now, right?

Qualcomm signs major 5G infrastructure deal with SpaceX for Starlink Mobile network

SpaceX plans to launch its full direct-to-device mobile satellite service in the first half of 2028, while initial terrestrial 5G and satellite rollout milestones are scheduled to start in 2027.

2027: SpaceX plans to begin launching next-generation direct-to-cell Starlink satellites using Starship and deploy tens of thousands of terrestrial base stations powered by Qualcomm Dragonwing Cellular Infrastructure chips.

Early to Mid 2028: SpaceX projects commercial "5G-quality" mobile satellite services for standard smartphones to go live.

https://www.qualcomm.com/news/releases/2026/11/spacex-selects-qualcomm-to-accelerate-starlink-mobile-s-nationwi

https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/qualcomm-signs-major-5g-infrastructure-deal-with-spacex-starlink-mobile-network-2026-11-04/

SpaceX struck a multiyear deal with Qualcomm to build out base stations for its U.S. mobile carrier, Starlink Mobile, which is trying to take on Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile.

https://www.cnbc.com/2026/11/04/spacex-strikes-deal-with-qualcomm-for-mobile-network-infrastructure.html

All I see from BNSF is slandering Union Pacific. It’s all the ceo talks about. It’s on their homepage for crying out loud and most of their Facebook posts. Union Pacific lives in their head. It’s like they are scared to death of their competition. Its crazy. It’s laughable.

The conversation has shifted from answering “why are you still getting your a-s kicked by T Mobile” to “what are you going to do about SpaceX” he is the happiest person on earth

2027 was going to expose this fraud but I fully expect him to stay in as CEO until 2030. He will be 90 years old

In an updated IPO filing on Monday, Anthropic said it has entered into purchase commitments and lease agreements with an aggregate committed spend of approximately $895.4 billion. An earlier version of the filing didn’t include that figure. Anthropic also said its revenue was $17 billion in the third quarter, up from $1.4 billion a year earlier. Anthropic was founded in 2021.

Then there is Teradata…

SpaceX "Starlink" now running to Boost Mobile.

■ It (Still) takes both AT&T, and T-Mobile's approval.

■ It will (Still) take 5-7 years for SpaceX "Starlink" to build a Fully-Functioning Cellular Network.

■ Satellite (Does Not) provide Indoor or Dense Population Coverage so still (Inferior).

☆ Musk still does (Not) have a clue.

SpaceX "Starlink" now running to Boost Mobile.

■ It (Still) takes both AT&T, and T-Mobile's approval.

■ It will (Still) take 5-7 years for SpaceX "Starlink" to build a Fully-Functioning Cellular Network.

■ Satellite (Does Not) provide Indoor or Dense Population Coverage so still (Inferior).

☆ Musk still does (Not) have a clue.

He will want nothing to do with ATT.

As much as I despise the Muskrat,, I gotta admit this is a smart strategy.
An outright purchase maybe with a financial value around $3-5 billion with a potential strategic value to Musk/Starlink @ $5-10 billion
Boost's primary network is AT&T, with additional tMobile network access.
Boost Mobile customers do not always receive the same network priority as AT&T's own postpaid customers, but ran-to satellite handoff threshold parameters ( maybe for a fee, or alternative subscription price plan option) could possibly resolve that issue.
FirstNet, Frontline, and T-Priority would lose some of their value add.
Another consideration is if one of the big 3 carriers decides to cave and be the first to partner up with Starlink in order to get a more favorable deal.

Comcast used to be seen as a strong grwth company because its internet business kept adding customers and charging more, even while traditional cable TV was slowly declining. That changed. Quite a bit... Cable TV losses accelerated, and now Comcast is also losing some broadband customers because fiber and wireless internet from companies like VZ and TMobile have become real competitors. All investors now worry that Comcast's most important business may be shrinking. The stock price suffers.

We still make a lot of money and own solid businesses like Universal Studios, theme parks, Peacock/NBC... Wireless is growing. But stocks are priced mainly on what investors think profits will look like in the future, not just what the co earns today. Plus: Comcast also has a lot of debt and made some stupid and expensive acquisitions, so investors have become cautious. That is why the stock is down.

Well said, @ab+1m3mzk34j.

We keep delaying while others sign deals. We are going to let it slip through our hands while others tie up the best opportunities.

It is easy to be a good company when the business is growing. The real colors come out when times are tough. Comcast was good. Enter competition and management denial finally over. Hatchet job and dump employees as fast as you can. Who would rank it good now?

Ford CEO Jim Farley says the company's next generation of electric vehicle technology could give Ford a significant efficiency advantage over Chinese automaker BYD.

Speaking during Ford's Q3 2026 earnings call on October 29, Farley claimed that Ford's new electric motors, gearboxes and inverters are approximately 30% more efficient than BYD's.

According to Farley, the improvements are part of Ford's efforts to develop more efficient electric powertrains while keeping vehicle costs under control.

The potential impact goes beyond efficiency. Higher powertrain efficiency could allow Ford to achieve competitive driving range with smaller battery packs, potentially reducing one of the biggest costs of manufacturing electric vehicles.

Farley's comments also come as Ford prepares to introduce its new Universal Electric Vehicle (UEV) platform, which is expected to underpin the upcoming Ford Fathom, an electric midsize pickup with a starting price of $28,350 in the United States.

The 6,047 U.S. EV sales included roughly 5,574 Mustang Mach-Es and 289 F-150 Lightnings for the third quarter.

This goes to show no one wants to buy Ford EV. Ford projected to lose $4 billions in 2026 for Model E division.

Let's see if Ford can sell 30,000 EV for 2026. This division will be out of business in 2027.

https://resources.telegeography.com/how-starlink-conquered-oceania?hs_amp=true

Seriously, how bad can AT&T look. The company does not live out it's own slogan. The CEO is an absolute joke. His explanation for why the stock is tanking was so predictable and a waste of oxygen.

The reason the stock is tanking is that a new competitor has entered the market. It is not just any new competitor, but it is a competitor with a real CEO in Elon Musk. The politest and most conservative way to describe it is that Starlink will destroy AT&T. Elon will own the Stink. AT&T under the Stink has no chance to compete with Starlink. AT&T is all debt, no cattle. Stinkey is absolutely embarrassing.

If an employee is leaving HCSC for a direct competitor, would management just have them leave the same day they inform their manager, even if the employee gives 2 weeks notice?

https://www.opportimes.com/en/the-competition-between-the-coca-cola-company-and-pepsico-the-gap-widens/

SpaceX is moving fast on both Starlink Mobile as well as Starlink Broadband. Last week, Bloomberg reported that the company was talking with tower companies to possibly lease up to 80,000 wireless towers to build a standalone mobile network.

Schulman said today, “I operate under the assumption that everything SpaceX says they will do, they will do. And that they will execute flawlessly.”

He said, “We always knew that they needed a terrestrial network to have any chance at providing a competitive service. And so, I think that SpaceX realizes this. And they’re exploring a potential path to creating a terrestrial network. I think we should take it quite seriously.”

“Snowflake (NYSE:SNOW) and Oracle have launched Snowflake's AI Data Cloud as a native, first party service on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure.

Oracle customers can now provision and manage Snowflake directly on OCI within their existing Oracle environment.

The arrangement introduces unified pricing and billing so enterprises can access Snowflake services through Oracle contracts and invoices.

This new native Snowflake AI Data Cloud integration on OCI is a meaningful shift.

Simply Wall Street

I personally think they are setting up Comcast to be sold off either as a whole or in chunks. All the businesses that the "new" Comcast will be in (cable, internet, home security, mobile) are hypercompetitive and hard to survive in. Then NBC/Sky etc. can be the growth end.

Sounds a bit far-fetched to me.

Dan said SpaceX will need at least 4-6 years to fully build out its Starlink Mobile U.S. carrier network
Elon replied it will take 2 or 3 years
so Who is correct ?

Imagine having to compete with 60k former Microsoft employees?

Nothing gets a market ready faster than another mystery market tour.

The store closest to the airport gets 5 deliveries in 2 days, every SAVVY priority gets activated, and suddenly there are 15 displays on the floor.

F&D at 35% and losing share, but you’d never know it today.

Get the pictures on Viva Engage because this is apparently what every store should look like every day.

Just don’t wander into the backroom and see all the empty pallets or the competition’s racks waiting patiently for the tour to end.

The "Big Three" U.S. carriers—AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon—have united to lobby the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to fight a new satellite-to-phone spectrum proposal primarily because they fear it will degrade their existing 5G terrestrial networks through signal interference, strip away their control over spectrum licensing, and fast-track a massive new market competitor in SpaceX's Starlink Mobile.
The FCC's proposal, scheduled for an October 29, 2026 vote, aims to open an additional 482 MHz of spectrum for Supplemental Coverage from Space (SCS), expanding eligible satellite bands from 5 to 13.
The specific reasons the wireless carriers are fiercely opposing the changes through their trade group, the CTIA, include:

1. Severe 5G Network Interference

The carriers are demanding that the FCC remove the 2.5 GHz and 3.45 GHz frequencies from the proposal, which would take 290 MHz off the table.
• TDD Conflict: T-Mobile relies heavily on the 2.5 GHz band, and AT&T operates on the 3.45 GHz band. Both use Time-Division Duplexing (TDD), meaning their cell towers and consumer phones share the exact same radio bands to both send and receive data.
• Signal Degradation: The carriers argue that if a satellite flies overhead using these exact same workhorse 5G bands, it will cause severe technical and interference challenges, ultimately slowing down or disrupting service for over 300 million terrestrial wireless users.

1. Loss of Spectrum Control and Rights

Under current FCC frameworks, satellite operators are required to lease spectrum from ground carriers, giving the cellular providers full veto power and control.
• Frequency Sharing: The FCC proposal wants to replace these rigid leasing frameworks with flexible agreements that allow satellite and ground operators to share frequencies.
• The Pushback: The carriers are fighting to preserve mandatory carrier consent, termination rights, and absolute control over who uses the spectrum they invested billions of dollars to license. They contend that cellular providers—not the FCC—should dictate if a satellite company can utilize their airwaves.

1. Fending Off Starlink Mobile as a Direct Carrier Competitor

While the carriers support satellite-to-phone connectivity in theory (and have executed their own partnerships), the FCC’s sudden push directly clears the path for SpaceX to become an independent fourth major U.S. mobile carrier.
• Market Disruption: The FCC recently approved SpaceX’s acquisition of Tristar's AWS-3 spectrum and cleared 15,000 next-gen Starlink Mobile satellites capable of beaming 100x the bandwidth directly to ordinary smartphones.
• Massive Stakes: SpaceX is actively looking to build terrestrial infrastructure and secure massive blocks of spectrum to back up its satellites on the ground. Wall Street responded to the threat of a dominant, space-blended Starlink network by sending Verizon and AT&T stock tumbling. By locking down the 2.5 GHz and 3.45 GHz bands, the Big Three are trying to starve SpaceX of the massive spectrum depth it needs to fully compete with them.
Former FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, currently acting as CEO of the CTIA, has formally joined the carriers' push, meeting with current FCC Chairman Brendan Carr to urge the commission to drop the contested 5G bands from the satellite expansion draft entirely.
Would you like to know more about how SpaceX's current deal with T-Mobile differs from its new standalone carrier ambitions, or would you like details on the AT&T and Verizon partnership with AST SpaceMobile?

Verizon Stock Is Up 10% This Year. Is It Still Buy Ahead of Earnings?
As competitive threats loom, here’s what we’ll be looking for.Verizon Communications is set to release its third-quarter 2026 earnings
report on Oct. 26. Here’s Morningstar’s take on what to look for in
Verizon’s earnings and the outlook for its stock.What to Watch for in Verizon Communications’ Q3
Earnings
Continued improvement in postpaid phone customer churn and net
additions. Verizon set a goal of capturing 10%-15% of industrywide
postpaid phone net customer additions in 2026, up from a low-to-mid
single-digit percentage in recent years. The firm aims to achieve most
of this improvement through lower customer defections (churn), and it
has seen some improvement in this metric so far this year. But it still
has a long way to go to get back to industry-leading levels.

Stabilization in average revenue per customer and a continued
decline in phone upgrade rates. Verizon has cut pricing to improve
retention, but it has offset this with less generous phone upgrade
offers. We think this shift was smart, moving pricing more in line with
T-Mobile. If average revenue per customer takes another leg down,
though, our view could change.

Solid cash flow and debt reduction. Verizon has generated strong
cash flow thus far in 2026, and we expect that to continue. The firm
has started repurchasing shares rather than repaying debt, a move we
think was premature given current leverage metrics. We’d like to see
the firm shift its tone to emphasize debt reduction more explicitly,
given the potential for an expensive spectrum auction in 2027.
Verizon shares are undervalued, in our view, but we would prefer T-Mobile
among the major US wireless carriers. Verizon’s yield is nice, but we think
T-Mobile’s lower dividend payout ratio of free cash flow and stronger
balance sheet give it more flexibility amid elevated uncertainty around
SpaceX.The following are excerpts from Morningstar’s company report on Verizon
Communications.With its 4-star rating, we believe Verizon Communications’ stock is
moderately undervalued. We expect Verizon to gradually lose postpaid wireless market share to
smaller rivals T-Mobile and AT&T as the firms’ shares slowly converge.
With a rational competitive environment and stable service pricing, we
expect revenue per postpaid customer to grow modestly but steadily over
the long term.
Over the next five years, we expect average annual wireless service
revenue growth of about 2%, with acceleration to 3% in 2028 after most
customers move to new rate plans. After a bump from the Frontier
acquisition in 2026, we expect consumer fixed-line broadband revenue to
grow 13% annually through 2030 as Fios continues to attract broadband
customers and pricing power remains strong.We assign Verizon a narrow economic moat, stemming from the wireless
industry’s efficient scale characteristics. Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile
dominate the US wireless market, claiming around 90% of retail postpaid
phone customers.
The massive consolidation across the industry over the past 15 years and
the inability of several interested parties to enter the market with their
own networks provide evidence of efficient scale. We don’t believe
building a terrestrial wireless network would be a rational financial
decision for the industry’s latest threat, SpaceX, but it has very deep
pockets and could choose to push forward anyway.Verizon transformed its balance sheet when it took on more than $65
billion of incremental debt in 2014 to finance the purchase of Vodafone’s
45% stake in the Verizon Wireless joint venture. Following that transaction,
net debt leverage increased to 2.5 times EBITDA. Net debt stood at $164
billion at the end of the second quarter of 2026, putting net leverage at
about 3.2 times normalized EBITDA.
Management’s leverage targets now exclude debt secured by receivables
and a partial credit for the equity component of its junior subordinated
notes. The firm hopes to maintain unsecured leverage between 2.00 and
2.25 times EBITDA. On this basis, leverage currently stands at 2.5 times,
up from 2.3 times a year ago.
The firm has started to repurchase shares, despite leverage sitting above
the targeted range. Management expects net leverage to return to its
target by 2027, but we would prefer the firm move more quickly to repay
debt given the potential need to invest in additional wireless spectrum or
other assets.We’ve raised our Uncertainty Rating to High from Medium, as SpaceX
continues to threaten to enter the US wireless market. Verizon primarily
faces regulatory and technological uncertainties, as well as the potential
for irrational competition. SpaceX embodies all three, as it has developed
new communications technologies, successfully lobbied regulators, and
amassed the resources to compete aggressively in traditional telecom
markets if it chooses.
Regulators control wireless spectrum licensing, which creates
opportunities to influence the wireless industry. A flood of new spectrum
could drive down prices, further easing entry into the wireless business.
Wireless and broadband services are often considered necessary for
social inclusion in terms of employment and education. If Verizon’s
services are deemed insufficient or overpriced, regulators or politicians
could step in.Wireless technology continues to evolve, enabling more efficient use of
spectrum. Technology could eventually lower barriers to entry for firms
that have long wanted to enter the business, including the large cable
companies. Satellite technology could also improve to threaten both the
wireless and broadband businesses.

Space Exploration Technologies reportedly is looking to lock down at least 80,000cell sites to help turn Starlink into a nationwide wireless carrier. AT&T, VerizonCommunications and T-Mobile US tumbled on competition fears, while cell toweroperators such as Crown Castle (CCI) shot up 9% in late trade, signaling a move above its 200-day
moving average.
On Tuesday night's earnings call, SpaceX management reaffirmed plans to become a
major U.S. mobile operator leveraging a combination of satellites, cellphone towers,
and terrestrial locations already using Starlink's broadband network.
On Oct. 8, SpaceX said it planned to buy up to 14 megahertz of spectrum in the
800MHz band from Grain Management, subject to regulatory approval. The Federal
Communications Commission recently granted SpaceX approval to launch an
additional 15,000 next-generation Starlink satellites as part of its Starlink Mobile
service.

Due fierce competition and also AI , Nutanix closing office in SAN JOSE probably by early next year

SpaceX could be on the cusp of buying 80,000 cell towers. This is in addition to to spectrum they are beginning to accumulate. If Dan does not have a realistic strategic response to this threat on next week's earnings call and responds with the predictable
"We welcome the competition" than Verizon has waived the white flag. I began my career with NYNEX and this will be the most important earnings call of my tenure. A new Value Prop won't right this threat. Dan had better rise to the occasion!

Comcast is preparing for its third-quarter earnings report amidst significant challenges. The company is planning widespread job cuts across its cable TV, broadband, and wireless divisions. These workforce reductions are part of a larger corporate reorganization. Additionally, Comcast is set to spin off its NBCUniversal cable networks into a separate public entity. Intense competition from SpaceX's Starlink is also contributing to concerns about the company's future.

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

https://stocktwits.com/news-articles/markets/equity/cmcsa-stock-slips-premarket-ahead-of-earnings-as-comcast-plans-layoffs-amid-spinoff-space-x-competition/cZxw26hRBwj

Then maybe you should have more competitive pricing. How could it be that a standard TMobile plan is less expensive than the employee discount? When you can answer that question you’ll understand why you hear that ringtone, John.