Al, although we've never met, I consider you a (cyber)friend. I tell my friends, when we disagree on something, "Lets agree that we can disagree." Later, when they realize that they were wrong, and I was right , we remained friends as the years elapsed.
I've been mostly lurking these last weeks because of researching new investment opportunities like offshore deep water drilling companies and high speed internet service, while holding my core stocks, like Nextel. What I love about the internet is the wealth of information and discussion (pro and con) about any individual stock or sector. It's not hard to separate those who want you to buy or sell because the clock is ticking on the options they own. Everyone agrees that you should do your "due diligence" on any stock you want to own. To me the third leg on the stool of DD is the internet (sites like SI), as well as FA and TA.
Back to Nextel. I'd reconsider my investment in Nextel if it didn't maintain a sustainable competitive advantage or if they seriously stumbled in their business plan. I see no evidence of either happening. They have yet to disappoint! The opinion of analysts (which I admittedly take with a grain of salt) are mostly "Buy" with a recent "Neutral" by SSB. Your concern about their "junk" bond status (which is constantly being upgraded) doesn't concern me since I look at them literally borrowing billions at favorable rates. Don't forget that some of these issues are retiring more expensive bonds. And yes, big bucks are being "gambled" on the continued growth, competitiveness and acceptance of Nextel - but what I especially love is that the McCaw famlily puts their personal wealth where their mouth is. This is definitely not a mom and pop operation, but an aggressive group of talented business people who recognize that a slow, meticulous and gradual expansion won't win the day since that would give the competition an opportunity to catch up. Not to be ignored is that these guys have a stellar track record!
I will tell you what does concern me: 1) that they will be bought out from under us before its time, and, 2) their dependence on Motorola. With regards to the latter, Motorola is recognized to be a poorly run company. Their recent reorganization hasn't seemed to help. I know of people who work/have worked their and the story is not encouraging. Unfortunately, their large (almost 25%) ownership in Nextel constitutes a stranglehold. I hope they can produce quality radios, in the quantities needed, at the right price, in a timely manner. With regards to the former, IMO, the longer we remain independent, the more we're worth. Not only will time give us an opportunity to build -out in the US of A, but also abroad. Time will also allow for new applications to be incorporated. Hey, who knows, given enough time, maybe we will make a tender offer to buy BT. <g>
Too sum up, IMHO, when you filter out the noise, you got an outstanding investment - of course, you must own the stock first!
London was great; leaving for Florida in my motorhome in a month, and making initial plans to visit Greece and Austrailia in the not to distant future. How can you say "work sucks?"
Looking forward to yet another stellar quarterly report in March and a big pop in the price you scare-d-cats will have to pay to jump back in at.
Continued success in your investing,
Bernie, whose fingers are tired.
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