Public Markets The FOCUS Telecom Business Services Index (TBSI) returned ...

The FOCUS Telecom Technology Index (TTI) jumped up 9.7% in the most recent three months. This outperformed both the 7.8% gain in the S&P 500 and the 8.5% gain in the NASDAQ. However, the situation is reversed for the 12-month period as the 11.9% gain in the TTI lagged the 14.0% gain in the S&P 500 and the 18.8% gain in the NASDAQ. Sector multiples trended higher compared to this time last year, but only by a relatively small margin. The TTI’s revenue multiple increased from 2.4x a year ago to 2.5x currently, while the EBITDA multiple went from 13.1x to 13.7x over the same time period.

The FOCUS Communications Service Provider Index (CSPI) snapped its streak of positive returns as the sector dropped 3.6% in our summer reporting period. This was despite a strong overall market backdrop that propelled the S&P 500 up 8.3% and the NASDAQ up 12.8% over the corresponding time period. The CSPI also compares unfavorably to the broader indices over the full year time frame. The sector is down 18.7% compared to this time last year, while the S&P 500 and NASDAQ are up 17.6% and 25.0%, respectively. Multiples ended the period at 2.3x revenue (down from 2.5x a year ago) and 6.4x EBITDA (down from 6.8x a year ago).

While its momentum slowed somewhat from our Spring report, the FOCUS Telecom Business Services Index (TBSI) still delivered a positive return with a three-month gain of 2.9%. This lagged the returns of the broader indices as the S&P 500 gained 8.3% and the NASDAQ gained 12.8% over the corresponding time period. Sector multiples are also higher compared to the year-ago period. The sector revenue multiple went from 0.9x to 1.0x, while the sector EBITDA multiple increased from 9.9x to 11.4x.

The FOCUS Carrier-Focused Telecom Technology Index (CFTTI) continued to trend lower with a 2.2% drop in our summer reporting period.

Public Markets After suffering a decline in our winter report, ...