2 Communication Stocks Likely to Tide Over Industry Challenges

Industry Overview - The Zacks Communication - Infrastructure industry is facing challenges due to high capital expenditures for infrastructure upgrades, unpredictable raw material prices, supply-chain disruptions, and high customer inventory levels [1][4][6] - Despite these challenges, the increasing demand for digital innovations is expected to benefit the industry in the long run [1] Key Trends - High raw material prices and extended lead times for components are negatively impacting operations and profitability [4][6] - The industry is moving towards network convergence, combining voice, video, and data communications into a single network, which is expected to reduce service delivery costs and expand coverage [5] - Short-term profitability is at risk due to the need for significant infrastructure investments to meet the growing demand for mobile broadband and home Internet solutions [6] Market Performance - The Zacks Communication - Infrastructure industry has outperformed the broader Zacks Computer and Technology sector and the S&P 500 over the past year, with a growth of 67% compared to 9.1% for the S&P 500 and 6.2% for the sector [9] Valuation Metrics - The industry is currently trading at a trailing 12-month enterprise value-to-EBITDA (EV/EBITDA) ratio of 3.45X, significantly lower than the S&P 500's 16.87X and the sector's 16.83X [12] Notable Companies - Anterix Inc. (ATEX) is positioned to benefit from solid demand for scalable infrastructure and holds the largest licensed spectrum in the 900 MHz band [2][15] - Bandwidth Inc. (BAND) operates as a Communications Platform-as-a-Service (CPaaS) provider and is focused on continuous innovation to support high user volumes [2][18]