< The 2015 All-America Research Team
Philip Cusick
J.P. Morgan
First-Place Appearances: 0
Total appearances: 4
Analyst debut: 2012
Holding steady in the No. 2 position he first claimed on this lineup in 2013 is J.P. Morgan’s Philip Cusick, who also extends his run at the top of the Telecom Services roster to a fourth year. “Phil always knows what’s going on with his names,” one loyalist reports. “In addition, while others lose their heads and get carried away, Phil remains cool and rational.” Despite concerns about cord cutting — whereby consumers eliminate cable and satellite television services in favor of Internet video content — net neutrality and slipping advertising rate, the 41-year-old analyst is generally positive on U.S. cable providers. “While the overall pay-TV industry subscriber count has declined year over year, the brunt of the slowdown has been borne by legacy telecommunications providers, whose video growth is dramatically slower year over year, and satellite players that have flipped from growing in 2014 to shrinking in 2015,” he explains. “Cable company video trends in subscriber and revenue growth are actually better this year than they have been in six to eight years.” Cusick expects broadband expansion to continue, notwithstanding industry fears of additional government regulation. He prefers Philadelphia’s Comcast Corp. and New York–based Time Warner Cable “as an entrée into Charter [Communications] at a discount,” he says. “Comcast remains a premium asset at a very reasonable price, and Time Warner Cable and Charter will have both additional growth opportunities in wireless and business and more cost savings than the companies have forecast.”