WEBVTT - Facebook Reinstates Trump, Senate Takes on TikTok 0:00:14.720 --> 0:00:18.560 I'm Caroline Hide of Bloomberg's San Francisco Viuro and Imed Ludlow. 0:00:18.720 --> 0:00:24.120 This is Bloomberg Technology Earnings, Earnings, Earnings, TESLA IBM layoffs. 0:00:24.120 --> 0:00:26.279 We know the stories. They come thick and fast they do, 0:00:26.440 --> 0:00:27.960 and the fact that we had such volatile day of 0:00:27.960 --> 0:00:30.479 trading and managed to push off those lows. Microsoft didn't 0:00:30.480 --> 0:00:32.519 manage to hold us down. But we've got to get 0:00:32.560 --> 0:00:34.440 to some of these earnings that still come after the bell. 0:00:34.520 --> 0:00:38.280 Tesla one of them accelerating cost reduction plans as profit 0:00:38.600 --> 0:00:43.519 it tops analysts estimates class The Senate takes up a 0:00:43.600 --> 0:00:48.320 bill to band TikTok nationwide after dozens of universities take 0:00:48.400 --> 0:00:54.000 action to block the Chinese owned app, and the space 0:00:54.200 --> 0:00:58.280 company rocket Lab lifts off from the Virginia Space Area 0:00:58.440 --> 0:01:01.840 as its first US lawn. Could has become a SpaceX, 0:01:02.040 --> 0:01:05.080 a small payloads earnings continuous, and Tesla as the one 0:01:05.080 --> 0:01:07.040 we've been waiting for, partly because there are so many 0:01:07.080 --> 0:01:09.280 headlines all the time, but partly because this is a 0:01:09.280 --> 0:01:13.040 global company with global vision of what's happening with the consumer. 0:01:13.440 --> 0:01:16.199 Tests up a lot of emphasis that it's China plants 0:01:16.240 --> 0:01:18.440 where a lot of the problems were yet comes straight 0:01:18.480 --> 0:01:21.160 to after ours reaction, we bounced around and market wasn't 0:01:21.200 --> 0:01:23.399 really sure what to make of it. Top and bottom 0:01:23.400 --> 0:01:25.880 line be I go straight to fourth quarter adjusted EPs 0:01:25.880 --> 0:01:30.000 a dollar nineteen cents to share because slightly above expectations. 0:01:30.400 --> 0:01:34.319 The big takeaway, I suppose beyond that is Tesla committing 0:01:34.319 --> 0:01:37.880 to this compounded annual growth rate of fifty saying they'll 0:01:37.880 --> 0:01:43.000 do around one point eight million units in production. Three. 0:01:43.080 --> 0:01:46.400 Let's get straight to Bloomberg. Shawn o'caine over in Austin, Texas, 0:01:46.480 --> 0:01:50.680 Sean give us the main takeaways from this earnings print. Well, 0:01:50.720 --> 0:01:52.560 I think one of the big things is that we 0:01:52.680 --> 0:01:55.320 realize there's maybe a little bit of it hit to 0:01:55.360 --> 0:01:57.520 the margins, but I think not as much as people 0:01:57.520 --> 0:02:00.280 are expecting. You know, it's obviously not a kind of 0:02:00.280 --> 0:02:02.880 margin growth that Tesla has been working with over the 0:02:02.920 --> 0:02:05.120 last couple of quarters. But we have to remember that 0:02:05.160 --> 0:02:08.440 their biggest cuts that they've made to their bracing game 0:02:08.520 --> 0:02:10.600 after a Q four. So I think there's going to 0:02:10.639 --> 0:02:13.400 be a lot more of the margin story to be 0:02:13.480 --> 0:02:15.600 told when we get to the next earnings call. So 0:02:15.639 --> 0:02:17.120 from this one, I think one of the big things 0:02:17.160 --> 0:02:19.800 we're looking at, is is really just you know, how 0:02:19.840 --> 0:02:22.639 how much inventory they left the year with sixteen days 0:02:22.639 --> 0:02:26.679 of inventory, the most that they've had since exiting a year. 0:02:26.720 --> 0:02:29.400 And and yeah, those troubles that they had in China, 0:02:30.440 --> 0:02:32.919 Shanna came, thank you for the breakdown. We've just got 0:02:32.960 --> 0:02:35.800 some breaking news coming from another key technology platform, you'll 0:02:35.800 --> 0:02:39.119 know it Meta Platforms making its decision ending the suspension 0:02:39.200 --> 0:02:43.079 of Trump's accounts. Well, we understand they were stand reinstating 0:02:43.080 --> 0:02:47.280 Trump's Facebook and Instagram and accounts after two years of 0:02:47.320 --> 0:02:50.600 course of being banned from the platforms says it's ending 0:02:50.639 --> 0:02:56.480 the suspension of Trump's accounts across Instagram and indeed across Facebook, following, 0:02:56.919 --> 0:02:59.440 of course, what happened on January six and Capitol Hill 0:02:59.520 --> 0:03:02.359 back into twenty one. We'll have more of that a 0:03:02.360 --> 0:03:04.520 little bit later in the show. And indeed Digital World 0:03:04.560 --> 0:03:07.880 that position shares are falling three postmarket in reaction to that. 0:03:08.200 --> 0:03:09.639 But let's get back to the story of the day. 0:03:09.639 --> 0:03:11.919 When it comes to Tesla and of course the numbers 0:03:11.919 --> 0:03:15.000 that we got out from the company and profit meeting Tashchini, 0:03:15.000 --> 0:03:17.120 we please to say Art director of Investment Analysis and 0:03:17.200 --> 0:03:20.680 Institutional Strategies, is with us, and of course your bullish, 0:03:20.680 --> 0:03:22.640 your bullish on Tesla in the long term, in the 0:03:22.680 --> 0:03:26.360 hair and the now, the production focus is there the 0:03:26.400 --> 0:03:30.320 demand to meet it? Well, you're absolutely right, you know, 0:03:30.320 --> 0:03:33.400 our our focus is over the five year forecast. UM. 0:03:33.760 --> 0:03:36.600 You know, Telsa's our top position in our r k 0:03:36.800 --> 0:03:40.040 q E t f UM. But so in terms of 0:03:40.160 --> 0:03:42.800 you know this this production goal, UM, you know they 0:03:42.840 --> 0:03:45.240 did mention. I think if you go back to they 0:03:45.280 --> 0:03:47.840 they're still on track over you know, a number of 0:03:47.920 --> 0:03:51.960 years to meet their compound and your growth rate. I 0:03:52.000 --> 0:03:54.760 think that the fears of UM, you know, margin and 0:03:54.840 --> 0:03:58.360 demand troubles are pretty overblown. You know our research we've 0:03:58.480 --> 0:04:02.160 used right slat of forecast UM Tesla's gross margins over 0:04:02.200 --> 0:04:04.800 time and basically for every cumult of doubling in production, 0:04:05.080 --> 0:04:07.720 you get a corresponding reduction in price. We also know 0:04:07.800 --> 0:04:10.520 that they're unveiling a new vehicle platform which is should 0:04:10.520 --> 0:04:12.720 be roughly half the cost of the Model three and Y. 0:04:13.160 --> 0:04:15.600 I think that could be a custom built autonomous vehicle 0:04:15.800 --> 0:04:18.880 that's gonna help margins. It's gonna give a huge bump 0:04:18.880 --> 0:04:21.760 to margins in the long term, because I think autonomous 0:04:21.760 --> 0:04:25.440 platforms could have really attractive margin structures and recurring revenue 0:04:25.480 --> 0:04:28.040 associated with them. Um. And then you know the last 0:04:28.040 --> 0:04:30.000 thing all hat is like the main story here is 0:04:30.040 --> 0:04:33.120 that evs are growing. Right, So evs as a category 0:04:33.200 --> 0:04:36.000 grew sixty percent year every year, while gas powered cars 0:04:36.000 --> 0:04:39.279 were down like seven percent. So that's where Tesla is. 0:04:39.360 --> 0:04:43.040 I'd i'd be worried about traditional autos if anything. Are 0:04:43.080 --> 0:04:46.040 you're worried in any way about the impact of Elon 0:04:46.120 --> 0:04:48.760 Musk himself on demand for test is going forward? Is 0:04:48.800 --> 0:04:53.360 in any way that being shown up in the demand erosion? Yeah. 0:04:53.400 --> 0:04:56.440 Elon Musk has always been a pretty controversial figure. Um. 0:04:56.640 --> 0:04:58.839 You know, I'd say, at a minimum, what what do 0:04:58.880 --> 0:05:01.760 we have to to go buy? Its really Tesla's results, Um, 0:05:01.800 --> 0:05:03.919 you know, against the Tesla alone in the fourth quarter, 0:05:03.960 --> 0:05:07.560 we know, groove sales by every year, while in that 0:05:07.640 --> 0:05:11.520 same quarter global auto sales were down roughly eight So 0:05:12.040 --> 0:05:14.400 that's what we have to go off of. Um. You know, 0:05:14.520 --> 0:05:16.920 he's a he's a cult figure. I think he's really 0:05:16.920 --> 0:05:20.240 the person to drive the company towards reaching that full 0:05:20.279 --> 0:05:23.120 self driving goal, um, where you can actually launch an 0:05:23.120 --> 0:05:26.400 autonomous ride hill platform. Um. You know, so we're happy 0:05:26.480 --> 0:05:30.279 that he's committed to Tesla and sticking on for that. TSH. 0:05:30.320 --> 0:05:32.680 I want to bring some some more information, I suppose 0:05:32.680 --> 0:05:34.400 to our audience about what you were talking about in 0:05:34.400 --> 0:05:39.440 the shareholder deck. Tesla's talking about its next generation vehicle 0:05:39.520 --> 0:05:42.880 platform under development, additional details to be shared at the 0:05:42.920 --> 0:05:45.880 invested day March the first three I think that's what 0:05:45.920 --> 0:05:48.479 you were saying about your You suspect that that is 0:05:48.560 --> 0:05:52.800 some form of fully autonomous vehicle for the future. I 0:05:52.920 --> 0:05:54.920 wanted being it back to the here and now again 0:05:55.160 --> 0:05:58.479 because a lot of what Tesla hinted at was the 0:05:58.560 --> 0:06:02.760 problems of or were largely China related. It basically talked 0:06:02.760 --> 0:06:06.480 about the production issues largely being centered on the Shanghai plant. 0:06:06.960 --> 0:06:09.000 You look at margins where they came in, you look 0:06:09.040 --> 0:06:12.440 around the narrative on a SPS average selling price. We 0:06:12.480 --> 0:06:15.040 went to our audience, okay, and we said, did those 0:06:15.040 --> 0:06:19.240 price cuts in North America, Europe, China push you to 0:06:19.360 --> 0:06:23.440 consider buying a Tesla? These are the results pretty clear, 0:06:23.440 --> 0:06:25.720 although I would point out they changed over the course 0:06:25.760 --> 0:06:28.160 of the day, you know, with with a good number 0:06:28.200 --> 0:06:32.719 of ballots casts. I suppose yes, testers global price cuts 0:06:32.720 --> 0:06:39.520 have tempted at least our audience to buy affordability. Is 0:06:39.600 --> 0:06:44.560 Tesla too expensive right now for a consumer? You know? 0:06:44.839 --> 0:06:47.240 I think so, first of all, and I'm glad you 0:06:47.240 --> 0:06:48.880 showed that chart. One of the things that we learned 0:06:48.960 --> 0:06:51.000 is that since the price cuts, um, you know, lead 0:06:51.040 --> 0:06:53.200 times have actually extended a bit, so we do not 0:06:53.480 --> 0:06:55.599 you know, we're already getting sort of initial indications of 0:06:55.640 --> 0:06:58.120 demand here. We also know that the price cuts made 0:06:58.600 --> 0:07:02.080 more vehicles eligible tax credits. Of course, we don't actually 0:07:02.080 --> 0:07:04.920 model text credits in our analysis. We think evs are 0:07:04.960 --> 0:07:08.800 the solution longer term compared to gas powered cars, regardless 0:07:08.960 --> 0:07:12.280 of regulation. UM. So you know, I again, I think 0:07:12.280 --> 0:07:15.800 really that that's the picture here, Um that electric vehicles 0:07:15.800 --> 0:07:18.960 are taking share, Tesla's the market leader. Um, they're just 0:07:19.080 --> 0:07:22.960 invested in in additional capacity. Um. You know, they're at 0:07:23.000 --> 0:07:26.200 a single digit low percentage points of total auto sales. 0:07:26.280 --> 0:07:29.560 So I think there's still Tesla is um and evs 0:07:29.600 --> 0:07:32.520 against still single digit percentage of total auto sales as well. 0:07:32.640 --> 0:07:35.280 So I think you know that there's room to grow 0:07:35.280 --> 0:07:37.960 on both of those. We've got a lot of questions 0:07:38.000 --> 0:07:40.480 on Twitter for you from our audience as well, most 0:07:40.520 --> 0:07:43.680 of them related to testas energy business. What did we 0:07:43.800 --> 0:07:46.280 learn about the energy business going forward? Will it be 0:07:46.320 --> 0:07:50.760 more of a star? Yeah, so they did highlight the 0:07:50.840 --> 0:07:54.760 energy business recently and again with that UM factory expansion. 0:07:55.160 --> 0:07:58.040 They talked how you know they've they've they've seen some 0:07:58.040 --> 0:08:00.960 good growth in that business overall. All, like our our 0:08:01.160 --> 0:08:04.560 model is mostly focused on vehicles, we think that they 0:08:04.560 --> 0:08:08.080 should UM. Well, you know, Tesla Energy does offer a 0:08:08.120 --> 0:08:11.280 really interesting proposition to consumers, and actually we've done some 0:08:11.320 --> 0:08:15.280 work to show that energy storage combined with bitcoin mining 0:08:15.320 --> 0:08:19.200 can offer a great proposition to even use um make 0:08:19.240 --> 0:08:22.600 more use of renewable sources. But you know that aside, 0:08:22.920 --> 0:08:25.720 what should you focus on for Tesla UM? In our opinion, 0:08:25.880 --> 0:08:28.960 it's electric vehicles and autonomy. Those are the two main 0:08:29.080 --> 0:08:32.720 stories here that I'd watch over the next five years. Yeah, 0:08:32.760 --> 0:08:35.760 it's really quickly. Gen month Sor of Loot points out 0:08:35.800 --> 0:08:38.959 that they guided to around one point eight million vehicles 0:08:39.120 --> 0:08:42.800 four twenty three, which, if you track a fifty percent 0:08:43.000 --> 0:08:46.960 compound annual growth rate, doesn't make any sense based on 0:08:47.080 --> 0:08:50.720 last year's number. Do you see what I'm saying? Yeah, 0:08:50.760 --> 0:08:53.439 so last year, um, you know, year over year, yet 0:08:53.440 --> 0:08:55.480 it does fall short of that fifty But if you 0:08:55.520 --> 0:08:59.600 go back to UM, you'd still be coming in over 0:08:59.640 --> 0:09:04.000 that a few year period, uh, with the growth rate. 0:09:04.080 --> 0:09:06.199 So I think that's what they meant in their press release. 0:09:06.320 --> 0:09:07.960 Of course, I'm sure a lot of people will harp 0:09:07.960 --> 0:09:10.840 on that figure. UM, But again, I think longer term, 0:09:11.000 --> 0:09:14.040 the story is electric vehicles are here to stay, and 0:09:14.080 --> 0:09:17.560 I'd be really worried if I was Forward or the 0:09:17.559 --> 0:09:21.040 other traditional auto manufacturers were the majority of their installed 0:09:21.080 --> 0:09:23.720 based in the vehicles that they sell or gas powered cars, 0:09:23.880 --> 0:09:26.840 which we see declining. UM, that's not going away. And 0:09:26.880 --> 0:09:29.000 by the way, they don't have a great autonomous solution either. 0:09:29.040 --> 0:09:32.280 They killed that project. So I think that's where the 0:09:32.360 --> 0:09:36.560 concern should be focused here on the traditional auto market. Actually, 0:09:36.600 --> 0:09:39.440 the other question from our audience for you is what 0:09:39.520 --> 0:09:42.120 does Zelon Musk have to say on March the first, 0:09:42.120 --> 0:09:45.200 the invested day to convince us of that future that 0:09:45.240 --> 0:09:50.559 goes beyond Tesla just being a car company. Well, like 0:09:50.600 --> 0:09:53.040 I said, I mean, I'm excited to hear more about 0:09:53.080 --> 0:09:56.000 the autonomous vehicle. They had said that they would mass 0:09:56.080 --> 0:10:01.600 produce a purpose stilt autonomous car in war UM. We 0:10:01.679 --> 0:10:04.960 think that this could totally change Tesla's business model. You know, 0:10:05.080 --> 0:10:09.280 our price target for six split adjusted is around fift 0:10:09.840 --> 0:10:14.160 dollars per share. I think over sixty of Tesla's enterprise value, 0:10:14.440 --> 0:10:18.439 you know, could be attributable to that autonomous ride hill platform. 0:10:18.480 --> 0:10:21.679 I think it'll have attractive software like margins. It will 0:10:21.720 --> 0:10:24.560 become a recurring revenue stream as opposed to you know, 0:10:24.640 --> 0:10:27.720 one off vehicle sales that we see today. It's gonna 0:10:27.880 --> 0:10:30.120 totally change the game and their way ahead. And we 0:10:30.160 --> 0:10:32.560 see that they have nearly a billion miles driven in 0:10:32.679 --> 0:10:35.280 full self driving data. They have millions of cars on 0:10:35.320 --> 0:10:40.600 the road collecting data. Um, that's much more than competitors. 0:10:40.600 --> 0:10:45.000 Director of Investment Analysis and Institutional Strategies Tasha KINI very 0:10:45.040 --> 0:10:47.320 good to catch up. Thank you for your quick reactions. 0:10:47.400 --> 0:10:50.720 That tests the print. Meanwhile, another big story that's just broken, 0:10:50.720 --> 0:10:53.920 IBM has announced job coups. The company will lay off 0:10:54.040 --> 0:10:57.880 about one point five percent of its worldwide workforce, which 0:10:57.880 --> 0:11:00.920 amounts to roughly four thousand jobs. You see the share 0:11:00.920 --> 0:11:04.559 reaction in after hours their IBM also released earnings, delivering 0:11:04.559 --> 0:11:08.080 an upbeat forecast in the wake of its restructuring plans. 0:11:08.120 --> 0:11:11.080 Carrect interesting, We're going to talk about restructuring a certain 0:11:11.120 --> 0:11:13.520 businesses a little bit more now because more earnings from 0:11:13.840 --> 0:11:16.680 more slim down. A T and T CEO John Stanky 0:11:16.720 --> 0:11:19.280 is gonna be joining us for peace to say from 0:11:19.280 --> 0:11:32.120 San Francisco Bloomberg, We're going to talk earnings a little 0:11:32.160 --> 0:11:34.280 bit more because A T and t s reaction to 0:11:34.320 --> 0:11:37.960 them positive over the trading day, and this is as 0:11:38.000 --> 0:11:41.520 they add customers, even though perhaps three cash flow forecast 0:11:41.600 --> 0:11:44.800 miss some anest expectations. Want to dig into what is 0:11:44.840 --> 0:11:47.240 a slimmer perhaps lean a mina A T and T 0:11:47.840 --> 0:11:51.120 with none other than it's CEO John Stanky. We're joyfully 0:11:51.360 --> 0:11:53.319 welcoming him to the show. Six and a half percent 0:11:53.440 --> 0:11:56.360 higher on the day. John, just talk to us about 0:11:56.440 --> 0:11:59.800 what you think the investor base heard and liked. Is 0:11:59.840 --> 0:12:01.880 it the fact that you're adding these customers. Is it 0:12:01.920 --> 0:12:05.280 that you're able to share some of the costs going forward. Well, 0:12:05.440 --> 0:12:07.840 thanks for having me in, and I think what we're 0:12:07.880 --> 0:12:10.839 seeing maybe today is kind of a continued story and 0:12:10.920 --> 0:12:15.760 accumulation of the last several quarters. Obviously to your opening, 0:12:15.960 --> 0:12:20.200 we've been focusing the business to be much more adept 0:12:20.200 --> 0:12:23.080 in the communications space, and we started that work in 0:12:23.200 --> 0:12:26.480 earnest about two and a half years ago, two years ago, 0:12:26.679 --> 0:12:30.920 and completed the Warner Media transaction early part of last year, 0:12:31.559 --> 0:12:34.200 and I think investors were stepping back and asking is 0:12:34.240 --> 0:12:35.920 this the right place to go and are they going 0:12:36.000 --> 0:12:38.160 to be able to execute around it? And I think 0:12:38.200 --> 0:12:40.840 what you've seen over the last couple of quarters, in 0:12:40.880 --> 0:12:43.480 particular in the third and fourth quarter, where we continue 0:12:43.520 --> 0:12:45.360 to grow the business, we continue to pick up the 0:12:45.400 --> 0:12:48.720 customer base, and now we're seeing the profitability and cash 0:12:48.760 --> 0:12:52.319 accretion back into the business as we've made those investments 0:12:52.440 --> 0:12:55.960 and managed to run the business better. I think they're 0:12:56.000 --> 0:12:58.600 starting to gain confidence in that and rightly so. And 0:12:58.920 --> 0:13:00.720 you know, we intend to kind of stay focused on 0:13:00.760 --> 0:13:04.640 that and keep moving forward with that strategy. Invest is confident. 0:13:04.800 --> 0:13:07.000 What about consumers at the moment? John, You've got a 0:13:07.040 --> 0:13:10.560 great bird's eye perspective on how much consumers want to 0:13:10.559 --> 0:13:12.800 be spending? Can you pass on costs? What does the 0:13:12.840 --> 0:13:15.920 macro get like? Well, you know, we do have a 0:13:16.040 --> 0:13:18.760 we have a broad scale of consumers at every end 0:13:18.760 --> 0:13:22.560 of the socioeconomic stream, and I think there's probably you know, 0:13:22.600 --> 0:13:25.800 a couple of different stories in this. Clearly the low 0:13:25.920 --> 0:13:28.720 end of the consumer basis stressed a bit more. Um 0:13:28.760 --> 0:13:30.760 we tend to see that exhibit in them taking a 0:13:30.800 --> 0:13:33.840 little bit more time to pay their bill, or to 0:13:33.960 --> 0:13:36.600 call in and ask for arrangements to pay their bill, 0:13:37.320 --> 0:13:40.480 or possibly recharge a little less frequently if they're a 0:13:40.520 --> 0:13:44.720 prepaid subscriber. But it's not that they aren't buying the service, 0:13:44.760 --> 0:13:46.680 and it's not that they aren't paying. They're trying to 0:13:46.720 --> 0:13:50.120 manage it within an overall stressed environment where I think 0:13:50.120 --> 0:13:53.760 they're making other choices on more discretionary items that they're 0:13:53.800 --> 0:13:56.600 moving out and just trying to balance their overall their 0:13:56.640 --> 0:14:01.560 overall obligations. At the top to the market, it's still 0:14:01.559 --> 0:14:03.719 really strong. Um you know, we're coming off a good 0:14:03.800 --> 0:14:05.880 volume year. I think it will temper a little bit 0:14:05.960 --> 0:14:08.840 as we move into this year, but it's still going 0:14:08.920 --> 0:14:11.360 to be pretty healthy. And it's just indicative of how 0:14:11.800 --> 0:14:14.320 ingrained in life I think the products and service as 0:14:14.360 --> 0:14:17.120 we sell our Hey, John, I want to jump on that. 0:14:17.160 --> 0:14:19.920 You know, the cell side reaction or that conclusion seems 0:14:19.960 --> 0:14:24.760 to be your prioritizing financial growth over subscribe a grave 0:14:24.840 --> 0:14:27.240 Yet in the fourth quarter you added what six d 0:14:27.360 --> 0:14:30.440 and fifty six thousand new phone subscribe as strong growth 0:14:30.640 --> 0:14:33.560 in the fiber optic business. They right, Is it a 0:14:33.560 --> 0:14:36.880 case of financial growth? Subscribe a grateful Can you achieve both? 0:14:37.800 --> 0:14:41.040 It's it's both, and um, I actually probably would not 0:14:41.160 --> 0:14:44.440 agree with that conclusion. And we will share a creative 0:14:44.480 --> 0:14:47.560 this year in the industry and both wireless and in 0:14:47.600 --> 0:14:50.800 our fixed broad dawn business, and so um you know, 0:14:50.840 --> 0:14:54.400 we are growing not only share, but we're growing profitability 0:14:54.480 --> 0:14:58.000 and it's coming from getting the right customers the right way. 0:14:58.000 --> 0:15:00.400 And we think we've done a really good job of 0:15:00.480 --> 0:15:03.040 tuning our offers into the right segments where we've been 0:15:03.120 --> 0:15:06.000 under penetrated to be able to gain that share. And 0:15:06.040 --> 0:15:09.200 we've been working really hard on restructuring our business and 0:15:09.240 --> 0:15:12.000 our constructure, and we can do both at the same time, 0:15:12.440 --> 0:15:14.080 and I think as a result of that, we can 0:15:14.160 --> 0:15:16.920 drive profitability growth at the same time that we're able 0:15:16.960 --> 0:15:19.520 to grow the business at the top one. Hey, John, 0:15:19.520 --> 0:15:23.880 we're a technology show. We pride ourselves and talking about technology. 0:15:23.920 --> 0:15:25.960 But I gotta I gotta put the hard questions to 0:15:25.960 --> 0:15:28.640 you as well. So I ask it like this, how 0:15:28.720 --> 0:15:32.440 much visibility have you really got through the end of 0:15:32.440 --> 0:15:35.520 the year. Is it that five G continues to drive 0:15:35.880 --> 0:15:39.000 this growth? People buying new handsets, is the consumer strong 0:15:39.320 --> 0:15:41.600 or actually you being a bit conservative here because you 0:15:41.600 --> 0:15:44.880 don't know what's going to happen. Well, you know, Visibility 0:15:44.960 --> 0:15:47.440 in general, I would say over the last two years 0:15:47.640 --> 0:15:50.520 has probably been a bit more challenge given the environment 0:15:50.520 --> 0:15:53.040 we're in. But I'd take it at two levels. There's 0:15:53.080 --> 0:15:56.280 the visibility on the geopolitical side, which I'm not going 0:15:56.360 --> 0:15:58.720 to sit here and tell you that I'm better than 0:15:58.760 --> 0:16:01.760 people who do that every day for a living. I mean, 0:16:01.800 --> 0:16:04.160 I don't know when somebody who leads a large country 0:16:04.160 --> 0:16:06.440 somewhere around the globe is going to do something really 0:16:06.480 --> 0:16:09.200 silly or stupid that could have a big impact not 0:16:09.280 --> 0:16:11.640 only on a T and T but literally every for 0:16:11.800 --> 0:16:15.480 profit enterprise around the globe that I have no visibility 0:16:15.520 --> 0:16:17.920 to or any better visibility than anybody else. But the 0:16:18.040 --> 0:16:21.160 visibility on how the economy is performing, I think we 0:16:21.240 --> 0:16:24.440 have reasonable visibility. I think we've been pretty conservative in 0:16:24.480 --> 0:16:28.520 our assumptions. Moving into three, I would point back to 0:16:28.520 --> 0:16:32.360 our performance in two is a point Inflation clearly peaked 0:16:32.520 --> 0:16:35.560 last year. We were hit by that. Um we were 0:16:35.600 --> 0:16:38.000 able to navigate through that through a lot of good 0:16:38.040 --> 0:16:42.120 management techniques, combination of managing our cost structure as well 0:16:42.160 --> 0:16:44.760 as and sure we were driving the right value into 0:16:44.760 --> 0:16:47.760 our consumer base. UM, I don't think we're going to 0:16:47.840 --> 0:16:52.360 see an environment that's probably more dynamic than what we 0:16:52.400 --> 0:16:54.880 saw last year. We'll have new challenges to work through, 0:16:55.280 --> 0:16:57.520 but this is a management team that's shown itself to 0:16:57.560 --> 0:17:00.840 be pretty adaptable and pretty agile and being able to 0:17:00.840 --> 0:17:03.320 adjust to those things. And I feel our assumptions on 0:17:03.320 --> 0:17:06.160 our guidance or are consistent with what we can do there. 0:17:06.960 --> 0:17:09.240 It feels like you're getting creative to John. Of course, 0:17:09.240 --> 0:17:12.480 you're focused on the good things the investors want to see, dividends, 0:17:12.720 --> 0:17:15.560 debt payment, of course, after what had been a lot 0:17:15.640 --> 0:17:17.560 of building up of debt over M and A and 0:17:17.600 --> 0:17:20.280 now the unwinding of that. I'm interested in how you're 0:17:20.320 --> 0:17:22.320 doing joint ventures. I was interested, for example, in the 0:17:22.320 --> 0:17:24.680 black Rock Giggle Power deal. And the way that you're 0:17:24.720 --> 0:17:27.280 going to be offering fiber. Is this about ensuring that 0:17:27.320 --> 0:17:29.720 you're spreading the risk as you still continue to invest 0:17:29.760 --> 0:17:33.280 in the fiber plan. It's a combination of things. Certainly, 0:17:33.520 --> 0:17:36.440 it's a dynamic of taking a new investment thesis that 0:17:36.640 --> 0:17:39.679 frankly is probably not well proven in the market today, 0:17:40.240 --> 0:17:42.399 and sharing some of that risk as we prove it 0:17:42.440 --> 0:17:45.480 in and I'm trying to be responsive to share owners 0:17:45.480 --> 0:17:48.679 and ensure that as we consume capital and invested, that 0:17:48.720 --> 0:17:51.560 they can gain confidence that we can do that wisely. 0:17:51.600 --> 0:17:53.200 And I think we've done a really good job of 0:17:53.280 --> 0:17:56.280 that in our traditional lines of business over the last 0:17:56.320 --> 0:17:59.760 couple of years. Since this is a new approach um, 0:18:00.000 --> 0:18:01.879 what I've told the street and what I want to 0:18:01.920 --> 0:18:03.639 do here is make sure that as we put the 0:18:03.680 --> 0:18:05.640 first tranche of investment and that we can come back 0:18:05.680 --> 0:18:08.040 and show them that we can do this right and 0:18:08.080 --> 0:18:10.760 earn a very competitive return with it. And to the 0:18:10.800 --> 0:18:12.800 extent that we do that, and when we do that, 0:18:13.200 --> 0:18:15.639 will of course put our foot on the accelerator and 0:18:15.680 --> 0:18:17.840 go a little bit faster and do a little bit more. 0:18:18.400 --> 0:18:20.479 And this allows us to do it with a partner. 0:18:20.520 --> 0:18:22.720 It allows us to offload some of the risks during 0:18:22.720 --> 0:18:25.600 that proven period, so that I think it keeps everybody 0:18:25.640 --> 0:18:29.880 comfortable on the continue income production capabilities of the existing 0:18:29.920 --> 0:18:32.760 business while trying to find a new vector for growth. 0:18:33.800 --> 0:18:36.159 A new vector for growth. Everyone said five G is 0:18:36.200 --> 0:18:38.080 it the way we're all going to have connected devices? 0:18:38.080 --> 0:18:40.639 Where industry is going to connect is it here in 0:18:40.720 --> 0:18:43.480 here and now, John, Well, it's not here, and it's 0:18:43.520 --> 0:18:46.359 full maturity. And I think what I would first say 0:18:46.440 --> 0:18:49.440 is we shouldn't underestimate what I will call the meat 0:18:49.440 --> 0:18:53.080 and potatoes aspect of investing in the new five G spectrum, 0:18:53.080 --> 0:18:55.840 in the new five G equipment, which allowed for more 0:18:55.880 --> 0:18:59.400 capacity on wireless networks, and what wireless operators have done 0:18:59.440 --> 0:19:03.560 with that compath City is have have individuals move into 0:19:03.560 --> 0:19:07.399 new devices and buy up on more robust plans with 0:19:07.520 --> 0:19:11.000 higher value, and that's driven our poos up. And without 0:19:11.040 --> 0:19:14.439 that capacity and without that increased performance, that wouldn't have 0:19:14.480 --> 0:19:16.800 taken place. But that's not the be all end all 0:19:16.840 --> 0:19:19.359 the five G. The beyond all the five G is 0:19:19.400 --> 0:19:22.760 the capabilities that brings in to enable what you were 0:19:22.800 --> 0:19:25.040 talking about before I came on the show, which is 0:19:25.200 --> 0:19:29.119 things like autonomous vehicles, so that if Tesla decides to 0:19:29.200 --> 0:19:32.480 bring a vehicle to market and they need to have persistent, 0:19:32.720 --> 0:19:36.640 high quality connectivity everywhere that vehicle goes, that's when five 0:19:36.680 --> 0:19:39.320 G is really going to shine. And the networks are 0:19:39.400 --> 0:19:42.280 just getting now to the point where they're more ubiquitous 0:19:42.320 --> 0:19:44.960 and scaled enough to do those types of things. And 0:19:45.000 --> 0:19:47.400 I do believe that will open up new revenue streams, 0:19:48.040 --> 0:19:50.000 all right, A T and T C I, John Stanky, 0:19:50.040 --> 0:19:52.040 I'm glad you've been watching the show in that coverage 0:19:52.040 --> 0:19:53.760 of Test. It will get you on in another ninety 0:19:53.840 --> 0:20:04.800 days time and see how you're doing. It's finally come out. 0:20:04.880 --> 0:20:09.000 Meta has indeed announced its decision to reinstate former President Trump. 0:20:09.240 --> 0:20:12.359 On course, Instagram and Facebook most cut WADNA joined us 0:20:12.359 --> 0:20:14.080 now to discuss and we knew it's what Trump wanted, 0:20:14.400 --> 0:20:17.239 that's right, Yeah, And we kind of expected. I think 0:20:17.320 --> 0:20:19.439 this is what Facebook was going to do too, because 0:20:19.960 --> 0:20:22.480 what we said and what they had said was they 0:20:22.480 --> 0:20:25.119 needed to basically figure out is there still a heightened 0:20:25.240 --> 0:20:28.240 risk of you know, violence in this case, right, That's 0:20:28.240 --> 0:20:31.520 why he was suspended on after January six, and you 0:20:31.560 --> 0:20:33.440 know it's been two years, right, so I think they 0:20:33.520 --> 0:20:35.119 it would have been hard for them to come up 0:20:35.160 --> 0:20:37.520 with a good reason to keep him off. Instead, they're 0:20:37.520 --> 0:20:39.679 bringing him back and saying if he has more violations, 0:20:39.960 --> 0:20:42.200 he'll be suspended again quite quickly. Right. And they also 0:20:42.240 --> 0:20:44.199 said it will end in the coming weeks, extends to 0:20:44.280 --> 0:20:47.800 Facebook and Instagram. You know, I thought we knew this 0:20:47.880 --> 0:20:50.480 was coming, right, Yeah, it's it's not unexpected, especially with 0:20:50.800 --> 0:20:52.639 what we saw from Twitter. Right, He's been back on 0:20:52.680 --> 0:20:54.840 Twitter or could be back on Twitter for the last 0:20:54.840 --> 0:20:56.680 couple of months. He has not yet tweeted, So I 0:20:56.720 --> 0:20:58.760 think the big question now is when will we actually 0:20:58.760 --> 0:21:00.800 hear from him? Right? Facebook was very helpful for him 0:21:00.840 --> 0:21:03.719 during the election. He has a huge base there. I 0:21:03.720 --> 0:21:05.440 imagine he'll be back on Facebook and I don't know 0:21:05.440 --> 0:21:08.640