#strategy

How do you get to be an executive and not understand the golden rule of always tell the truth. People respect you when you are truthful and explain why painful things have to be done.
Guess who has z e r o respect? The coward who cannot even answer a question that many employees want to know. What products are considered core?

Someone posted: It had better be a damn good plan that gets unveiled soon.

Based on what he has shown = nothing - is just a CONCEPT of a plan

I look forward to receiving via email all of the discount coupons I get from CVS. I love my CVS discount coupons; I also like going to my local CVS store. I think CVS should focus on its core business and sell the non-core businesses it has acquired over the past decade.

AT&T (T) chief executive John Stankey will speak at Tuesday’s UBS Global Media & Communications Conference where he will discuss the company’s network and financial outlook.

Besides the mid-band spectrum the company agreed to acquire from EchoStar (SATS), AT&T (T) expects to continue to accelerate the pace of its fiber reach through an agreement to acquire substantially all of Lumen’s (LUMN) Mass Markets fiber internet connectivity business.

This transaction is expected to close in early 2026 and will enable the company to reach more than 60 million total fiber locations by the end of 2030.

The company said it is also on track to achieve its 2025 financial goals and return $4 billion to shareholders through share repurchases in 2025 and $20 billion of share repurchase capacity during 2025 and 2027.

This includes consolidated service revenue growth in the low single-digit range, adjusted EPS in the higher end of $1.97 to $2.07 range, and adjusted EBITDA growth of 3% or better.

Subscriber net additions to its mobility business will be higher during the second half of 2025 than it reported during the first half, including an expectation for seasonal trends in net adds during Q4.

Additionally, AT&T (T) expects its net debt-to-adjusted EBITDA ratio will return to its 2.5x target within roughly three years of closing the EchoStar transaction and achieve “strong free cash flow” from the Lumen and EchoStar acquisitions.

NetDocuments acquired eDocs from Opentext. Does anyone know of any other noncore solution being sold off?

https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/opentext-sells-non-core-business-120629553.html

Guys, do a little research the same main investors are on both sides Vanguard, black rock etc I’m pretty sure they where told to move asset meaning field to a better performing asset Mastec because it’s been said several times over and over there NPS has been 85% for ten years.

You gotta hand it to The Stankmeiser. He really knows the landscape and how to be a wheeler dealer.

I've been "out" for awhile now and while I do believe there's value in the brands...and there's a host of great, talented people there...it is, as it stands, a sinking ship and one not worth staying on. It will for sure get worse before it gets better...and "better" might mean just a little bit better not thriving. You have a leadership team at this point that is swamped by arrogance, short-term incentives and a lack of understanding of people, team, engagement and leadership...the things that actually will grow the company long-term.
Too much debt. Sacrificing too much to protect dividend. Macro pressures. Bad leaders. A strategy that probably would work but requires a focus that isn't there. Cutting the wrong people and teams at the wrong time.

This post deserves its own thread. Found at @q4+1kbdjtt9e.

If anything, the better you are at your job, the higher the odds you get cut. The only guiding principle has been the short-term bottom line. Not long-term stability, and definitely not some bold strategic vision. That would require effort. So brace for yet another round of shedding talent and competence.

With the plan of divesture and consolidation and rationalisation etc, will the new CEO just continue along this path ?

Could the CEO change course again ?

YL repeatedly promotes the ‘This is Shell’ moto, yet his messaging focuses almost entirely on LNG, Trading, and short-term shareholder value. If this is truly Shell’s identity now, what does that mean for the rest of the company? What should the logo or tagline really be?

https://www.phonearena.com/news/verizon-layoffs-not-enough-to-turn-things-around_id176364

Verizon’s version of the Big Short. Layoffs for short term stock gains.

https://youtu.be/Ihs2r2O-b5s?si=cCIxaxPOkfkSIOOr

Hearing chatter that Dell’s new cost-cutting strategy is quietly targeting s-xagenarians.

For the board monitors - A s-xagenarian is just someone in their 60s. That’s the whole mystery.

Upstream: Cold Lake, Kearl, Syncrude
Downstream: Strathcona, Sarnia, Nanticoke, Terminals, Pipelines
Chemical: Sarnia

Or does it make more sense DW finally recommends to the EM board to buy the minority interest of IOL (30%)?

There are rumors spreading over MN SoC organization that due new strategy of CEO custom silicon is dead end and HW designers will be laid off, nvidia will be sole silicon provider.
Anyone knows something ? All of this seems unreal…

IBM will continue layoffs until it finds a business model that works and works reliably for many years. For the last two decades, Software, Hardware, and Services have taken turns playing the IBM not-me game. I won’t make profit, but I will amplify that other team which will directly own your profit. Without my synergy, you will surely fail, so you must keep me. Every couple years, a new profit maker is anointed and a new round of the game begins.

Even if they find a model, it needs to work reliably for many years. Not so long ago at the beginning of Watson (AI), a Watson kick-off meeting was held in Austin for the entire Watson management team. The business plan presented would rapidly accelerate to stratospheric heights in 3 or better yet 2 years and remain there for 20-30 years before starting a gradual and still profitable decline. Commoditization utterly destroyed this plan and business in 18 months. Models fail even faster in 2025.

In a world of cheap vanilla-grade CPUs, RAM, networking, and storage and completely free software, it’s hard to find a higher grade product that people will pay for outside of regulated businesses. And those who do unquestionably need the value add point to the cheap stuff and demand lower pricing. And the cowards in sales fear losing 100% of their commission and decide that a steep discount benefits both them and their client.

This is nothing new; it’s just come to IBM’s corner of tech now. In the 80’s there was a battle between two consumer video storage systems: Betamax and VHS. The cheaper — in both senses — won out. There were superior alternatives to Compact Discs for audiophiles, but the CD wiped them off the market. MP3 audio compression is terrible, but it dominated the music streaming and download business for a long time.

All 3 of IBM’s pillars (Hardware, Services, and Software) have experienced their own versions of this. That’s why they play not-me. IBM has 3 future strategies. Hybrid Cloud, which can’t sustain an IBM-sized business. AI which is already deep into the commoditization spiral and has as an industry accumulated over a trillion dollars in debt. IBM has already stepped off the AI stage, preferring to serve as high-end salesmen for partners’ actual products packaged up with an IBM bow. Quantum Computing: how many non-governmental clients will actually need this capability badly enough to shoulder some risk, finance the development costs, and pay ongoing support. Quantum computing could be the opening for IBM to become the CocaCola Bottling company of tech — providing a low-profit product that makes others fabulously wealthy.

Until these things change, IBM will have to undergo periodic amputations. When it ends in one or more passes through Bankruptcy Court, then we will discover how bad things can get.

A once failing tech company called Apple righted itself for a while by leaving the tech industry and joining the fickle fashion industry. Is there another industry where centenarian IBM might fit well?

Buckle up folks … and prepare for turbulence for the duration of the flight.

Perfectly said, @tq+1kb1metdd.

a year that's going to the executive board and put it back into the network and customer service.

Wow! I read through customer comments on Reddit. Dan claims he’s going to focus on customer experience and customer value. Given that Hans has blasted thousands of holes into the side of the SS Verizon and we are taking on water by the ton, how long will it take to repair the damage he caused? Simply making better offers for customers is not going to cut it. Customer Service (outsourced) needs to migrate back to the US and the network needs massive attention based on the comments of people complaining about how it used to be good and now it’s awful.

I’m not buying into Dan’s comments as they are the same words Hans used, so either it’s another distraction or an actual plan. If it’s real, there is no way to quickly fix the issue so customers are going to continue to flee quarter after quarter.

How long would it take to fix Han’s legacy?

Phase 2: The Premium IPO (Years 3-5)
The endgame is not a utility sale. A rebranded "Tech-Enabled Communications Platform" targets 10-11x EV/EBITDA—more than double VZ’s current segment multiple—by shifting the investor narrative from "low-growth utility" to "digitally enabled service platform."

MetricLegacy VZ SegmentModeled ServCo (Year 5)EBITDA Margin25%38%EV/EBITDA Multiple5-6x10-11xWhy Verizon is the Perfect Case Study

CEO Dan Schulman's track record—scaling PayPal’s asset-light model—aligns perfectly with a ServCo mindset. Separation would allow him to:
Shed Valuation Drag: Instantly move ~$20B in annual CapEx off the P&L.
Focus on Growth: Reinvest freed capital into service innovation and customer experience.

Enhance Transparency: Attract differentiated, growth-focused funds for ServCo and stable income funds for NetCo.

The Precedent is Clear: BT/Openreach, Telstra InfraCo, and KKR/Telecom Italia have already demonstrated double-digit valuation re-ratings once infrastructure and services were properly delineated.

The ServCo, long viewed as the weaker half, could become the crown jewel—reborn as a high-margin, digitally transformed growth vehicle commanding a premium Wall Street multiple.

This isn't financial engineering; it's the structural precondition for sustainable growth. The sum of the parts is clearly worth more than the whole.
hashtag#Telecom hashtag#Verizon hashtag#PrivateEquity hashtag#Valuation hashtag#ApolloGlobalManagement hashtag#Strategy hashtag#StructuralSeparation
likelovesupport

"That 25% of non-core business, including SMB and consumer cybersecurity, DevOps, and analytics, is going to be a hole worth almost $1.3 billion to fill however, so the shrink to grow strategy better work, and the new CEO may need some patience given to them."

https://www.iteuropa.com/news/opentext-shrink-grow-strategy-may-mean-it-has-13bn-sales-hole

JD absolutely burned Nike, pure failure no question. His strategy was cost reduction and DTC, no real tech chops as PK hoped, fitting of a consultant. Company value cut in half 2020-2024 during his time!

How does PK wipe the egg off his face after hand selecting JD, demoralizing employees, and scaring off shareholders? Go back to the safety of Nike DNA roots picking EH a former Dallas Cowboy trainer for his friend JJ.

Cronie nepotism at its best. EH is WAY over his head, he’s a salesman not a CEO. Nike has a very uncertain future ahead, it’s worrisome.

What’s next people? More excuses ahead of earnings coming certainly…

it has been more than one year since EH got CEO job.

I know Nike production is made and delivered in 6 to 9 months to consumers through Futures program to their store.

Now he has no excuse to use JD's incompetence as excuse for having top of the line classic Nike product in Nike store's HASH WALLS by tons with deep discount.
EH was one who OKd Air Jordans to be relegated to Hash Wall in Nike store!!!
And he launched Skims line after looong delays
And I have seen CNBC interview which he seemed to come out with typical corporate BS during entire interview!!

One might say that one year is too short to judge a CEO performance but when you don't see anything positive then it is better to do it early rather than later

He has not come out with any new significant new trent or styles and at the same time he has relegated Nike classics to trash status.

Is there any winner in Beaverton?

Any insight on what this message means?

"[We will be] initiating a two-year, $200M "cost-out" program that simplifies our matrix, improves agility and decision-making speed and enables greater investments in growth of New BD."

the centralization bias is real

Please join us for the next TAAP Town Hall on December 10.

We'll share strategic business updates and news to keep you informed as we prepare for what's ahead in 2026.

We'll also reserve time for Q&A to address any questions you may have. If you have a question for the TAAP leadership team, submit it here by December 9.

We look forward to seeing you there.

VZ CEO from 11/17/2025 In my opinion the union is done after watching this. So start maneuvering

I try to keep up with the stocks and stuff and it seems like we did so bad this year then i saw the other day that we lost another contract in Fla and then the tax credits for our market place plans are going away. And then the medicaid cuts are gonna lose us more members. does it feel like maybe this company won't be around very long?

Saying “the strategy is working” feels almost like a joke. Illumina’s board has made a string of questionable decisions — approving the Grail acquisition despite clear EU regulatory risks, then later giving in to activist pressure and spinning it off at the lowest possible value. They brought in a CEO from a company with a decade-long track record of minimal innovation and stagnant growth. Now the focus has shifted to aggressive cuts in both capex and opex, trying to make margin expansion the only story to sell in the absence of real growth. RIFs have practically become an annual event.

Given all this, calling the current strategy a success is hard to take seriously.

Turn it around employees. Zero identity or evolution.

To EH: this isn’t 2010. Try something new for once. The old playbook is dusty.

Fondly,
Former shareholder

Starting this thread to discuss the key wins and strategic successes of the most successful Five9 executive who has turned our ship around (its the wrong way however.)

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/verizon-plans-harsh-change-major-201300564.html

Verizon plans a harsh change after major customer losses

Patricia Battle
Fri, November 14, 2025 at 3:13 PM EST
Verizon has been on a downward spiral this year after it frustrated its phone customers with a series of price increases rolled out over the past few months.

During the third quarter of this year, Verizon lost 7,000 postpaid phone customers, as its churn rate reached 0.91%, according to its latest earnings report. This loss is alarming, given that during the same quarter in 2024, the phone carrier attracted 18,000 new postpaid phone customers.

Don't ask "how do they expect [any function] to continue?". They don't. Verizon will look completely different very quickly and your job, if you still have one, is going to change. Whether it's a sale, merger, or complete dismantling, the old phone company is no more.

Notice how after a layoff, the Lumen higher ups like to post about the "wonderful awards" they seem to garner from this group or that group, and directors like to post about "brain storming" sessions with subordinates that they are working on things like AI and NAAS, but not addressing the real elephant in the room regarding declining revenues on the services that are still paying the bills? "look at this shiny thing over her, while we run Lumen into the ground" Kate and Kye are truly lost, it's no wonder why they jump from company to company, and bring all their friends with them.

Here's an scheme to detox Amazon:

1) Eject Andy and his entire S-team.
2) Close 80% of offices. Go remote first (i.e. remote like the Cloud).
3) Remove 70% of managers, keep the top 30% based on team feedback/metrics.
4) Get rid of LPs. Stop saying that it's day 1 - Amazon has operated since July 5, 1994 - i.e. at least day 11000 (for those that can count).
5) Get rid of Forte, PIP, and URA targets.
6) Modify the hiring process so that most talented candidates are actually hired! Actually look at/study their background.
7) Reassign ICs to teams where they will grow and perform well.
8) Make comp way more competitive (i.e. Meta, NVIDIA, Netflix) and with actual refreshers.
9) Stop supporting Republicans tyrants!

Between $50B in spectrum, and billions more in buildout, we flushed money down the toilet to be able to say we had “Real 5G”. Users didn’t care. A rose by any other name.

Incremental speed increases to keep networks delivering richer content within user expectations is sufficient. Aside from that, they want USABLE, contiguous signal.

Not full bars at a busy lunch spot and all your apps are saying “No Internet Connection”. Not SOS at the same cabin in the mountains from 3 years ago when you still had 3G service.

When a brand has substance, your reputation precedes you and you can ki-l it each quarter with cheesy or basic advertising. When a brand is commoditized, and differentiators are all removed, the GLUE that kept that 1% churn rate is gone.

Shameful waste of marketing $ over past 5 years. Using almost anybody from SNL. We lose Hans but gain Franz. Really??? SNL full circle

1-15k layoffs
2-Looking to gain subs from frontier

What about, 2026 strike?

He didn't invent PayPal, just took over 20 years later. Good Luck