Crown Castle Conference Call Summary Company Overview - **Company**: Crown Castle (NYSE: CCI) - **Date**: September 17, 2025 - **Speaker**: Sunit Patel, CFO Key Industry Insights - **AT&T Spectrum Purchase**: AT&T's recent $23 billion acquisition of spectrum from EchoStar signals a significant capital allocation shift towards wireless data, indicating its importance in mobile infrastructure usage and spending [4][5] - **Impact on Tower Sector**: The acquisition is viewed positively for the tower sector, as it may compel other carriers to enhance their network leadership and infrastructure, which is beneficial for Crown Castle [5] Management Changes - **New CEO**: Chris LeBrun has recently joined as CEO, bringing extensive experience from Vantage Towers and T-Mobile. His appointment is expected to align with Crown Castle's strategy to focus solely on U.S. tower operations [7][8] Strategic Focus - **Pure-Play Tower Operator**: The company is transitioning to a U.S. tower-only operator, aiming to drive operational efficiencies and growth by concluding the sale of its fiber and small cell business [9][10] - **Growth in 5G Deployments**: Continued focus on 5G deployments is anticipated, with organic tenant billings growth and reduced churn levels being key metrics of success [11][12] Market Trends - **Mobile Data Demand**: Mobile data demand has been growing at a rate of 20% to 30% annually, driven by increased video content consumption and future AI applications [12][13] - **Regulatory Environment**: Positive regulatory developments, including spectrum auctions and easier transaction approvals, are expected to benefit the tower industry [15][16] Financial Strategy - **Capital Allocation**: Crown Castle plans to allocate $6 billion from the sale of its fiber and small cell business to debt repayment, with the remainder for share buybacks. The company aims to maintain a dividend payout of 75% to 80% of its Adjusted Funds From Operations (AFFO) [26][27] Lease Agreements - **Master Lease Agreements (MLAs)**: The company prefers contracts that provide stable, predictable revenue while allowing clients flexibility for equipment upgrades and spectrum changes [19][20] Spectrum Transactions - **SpaceX Discussion**: The economics of satellite data services are viewed as a niche market, with significant challenges in achieving high occupancy rates and utilization due to geographical limitations [28][31] Conclusion - Crown Castle is positioned to capitalize on the growing demand for mobile data and 5G infrastructure, with a clear strategy focused on operational efficiency and market leadership in the tower sector. The recent management changes and regulatory environment are expected to further support its growth trajectory.

Group 1 - AT&T Inc. is identified as a Blue Chip Stock with one of the lowest PE Ratios, and Bernstein analyst Laurent Yoon raised the price target from $31 to $32 while maintaining a Buy rating [1][2] - The bullish sentiment is attributed to AT&T's recent acquisition of low and mid-band spectrum from Echostar, which is expected to enhance its wireless network and Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) services [1][2] - The acquisition, although costly, is seen as crucial for strengthening AT&T's mid-band portfolio, helping the company to gain market share in broadband and wireless, and to rapidly grow new broadband subscribers [2]

Company Overview - Peraso is a pioneer in high-performance 60 GHz unlicensed and 5G mmWave wireless technology[9] - The company has approximately 110 patents as of March 31, 2025[9] - Peraso is a global leader in mmWave communications, shipping in volume since 2016[11] Market Opportunity - The global mmWave technology market was valued at $34 billion and is forecast to grow at a 20% CAGR[20] - Allied Market Research estimates the Millimeter Wave Technology Market at $34 billion, projecting growth to $179 billion[17] - 5G mmWave-capable device unit shipments are expected to grow at a 204% CAGR[17] Financial Performance - Peraso's total revenue for FY 2024 was $146 million[59] - Q1 2025 total revenue was $39 million[59] - The company projects medium-term revenue growth at 50%+ and long-term growth at 30%+[59] Product and Technology - Peraso is focused on the 24GHz to 71GHz spectrum, leveraging mmWave beamforming[15] - The company has an integrated HW/SW solution utilizing mmWave modules[32] - Peraso's technology enables Internet access rivaling fiber performance, with benefits such as low cost of deployment and faster time to market[24]

Financial Data and Key Metrics Changes - Fourth quarter revenue was $3.7 million, representing a 100% year-over-year growth compared to $1.8 million in Q4 2023 [7][25] - Full year 2024 total net revenue was $14.6 million, up from $13.7 million in 2023 [25] - GAAP gross margin increased to 56.3% in Q4 2024 from 47% in the prior quarter and negative 147.3% in the year-ago quarter [26] - Non-GAAP gross margin for Q4 2024 was 71.6%, compared to 61.7% in the prior quarter and negative 116.6% in Q4 2023 [27] - GAAP net loss for Q4 2024 was $1.6 million, or a loss of $0.37 per share, compared to a net loss of $8.9 million, or $12.48 per share, in the same quarter a year ago [29] Business Line Data and Key Metrics Changes - Product revenue from memory integrated circuits and millimeter wave products in Q4 was $3.7 million, compared to $1.5 million in Q4 2023 [25] - Full year product revenue was $14.2 million, up from $12.9 million in the prior year [26] - Operating expenses decreased by 20% year-over-year in Q4 2024, despite revenue doubling [8] Market Data and Key Metrics Changes - The demand for fixed wireless access (FWA) is projected to increase significantly, with global connections expected to reach 280 million by 2028 [11][12] - North American FWA has become the majority of all broadband net additions since 2021, with major carriers adding approximately 10.4 million FWA connections [12] Company Strategy and Development Direction - The company is focusing on diversifying its customer base and expanding its market reach across new geographies and applications [9][10] - The introduction of the Dune MMA platform for dense urban applications is gaining traction, addressing the challenges of delivering reliable connectivity in populated areas [15] - The company is optimistic about the potential of its Wave technology in tactical defense and military applications, with initial production orders expected to commence in mid-2025 [20][22] Management's Comments on Operating Environment and Future Outlook - Management noted a positive shift in customer demand and purchase orders, indicating the end of the inventory correction impacting fixed wireless access customers [13][39] - The company anticipates significant growth in MMwave revenue throughout 2025, driven by increasing order backlog and ramping customer production [24] - Management expressed optimism regarding the BEAD program, which aims to improve access to high-speed Internet and could benefit the company's solutions [19][63] Other Important Information - The company had $3.3 million in cash and cash equivalents as of December 31, 2024, compared to $1.3 million at the end of Q3 2024 [31] - Adjusted EBITDA for Q4 2024 was negative $400,000, an improvement from negative $5.9 million in Q4 2023 [30] Q&A Session Summary Question: Inquiry about the $3.6 million order and its fulfillment timeline - Management indicated that the order fulfillment will be reasonably linear throughout the year, with some weight towards the second half [36][37] Question: Trends in customer inventory and potential new orders - Management confirmed a more diversified customer base and expressed optimism about new orders coming in 2025 [38][39] Question: Engagement in military applications - Management stated that they are currently focused on a third of the potential military applications and have ongoing engagements for tactical communication [40][41] Question: Impact of AI trends on connectivity needs - Management noted that there is a growing demand for high-speed data transfer in enterprise environments, which aligns with the company's capabilities [45][46] Question: Expectations for millimeter wave sales ramp-up - Management expects a good increase in millimeter wave sales year-over-year, with some lumpiness in revenue from quarter to quarter [52][54] Question: Timeline for military applications to convert to production - Management indicated that most military opportunities are expected to convert to production in 2026, with the first application moving quickly [59][60] Question: Anticipated contributions from the BEAD program - Management expressed hope that the BEAD program will start to show effects this year, aligning with the administration's push for high-speed Internet access [62][63]

Core Insights - Fibocom has launched new 5G modules and solutions based on Qualcomm's latest X85/X82 5G Modem-RF, aimed at facilitating the transition to next-generation Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) technologies and accelerating commercialization [1][6] Group 1: Product Features - The Qualcomm X85/X82 5G Modem-RF offers significant performance upgrades over the previous generation, including enhanced network coverage, reduced latency, improved energy efficiency, and increased mobility [2][6] - The new 5G modules support six-carrier aggregation in the NR Sub-6GHz downlink, providing bandwidth exceeding 300 MHz for faster transmission speeds and broader signal coverage [3][9] - Intra-Band uplink carrier aggregation is included to ensure faster data rates, optimizing performance for bandwidth-intensive applications like video conferencing and online gaming [3][9] Group 2: Software Innovations - The Qualcomm X85 Modem-RF introduces software innovations, supporting OpenWRT 24.x, RDK-B, and prplOS, allowing users to choose the platform that best fits their needs [4][9] - The Qualcomm® 5G AI Suite and Qualcomm® Networking AI Suite enhance Quality of Service (QoS) management by intelligently prioritizing network traffic for high-priority tasks [5][9] Group 3: Strategic Collaboration - Qualcomm and Fibocom are collaborating to set new benchmarks in network coverage, latency, energy efficiency, and mobility, contributing to a more connected future [6][7] - Fibocom is committed to driving the adoption of 5G technology and AI applications, believing that this partnership will accelerate the intelligent evolution of the FWA market [7]