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    James Ratzer • New Street Research

    James Ratzer's questions to Telefonica SA (TEF) leadership

    James Ratzer's questions to Telefonica SA (TEF) leadership • Q2 2025

    Question

    James Ratzer from New Street Research questioned Telefónica's current investments in sovereign cloud and data centers and asked for an update on the FibreCo stake sale process.

    Answer

    COO & Executive Director Emilio Gayo Rodríguez stated the company sees no need for heavy CapEx in cloud/cybersecurity and has expressed interest in hosting an AI 'gigafactory' in Spain. He also confirmed the FibreCo stake sale process is ongoing and not paused for the strategic review.

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    James Ratzer's questions to Telefonica SA (TEF) leadership • Q1 2025

    Question

    James Ratzer highlighted the gap between his free cash flow estimate based on company guidance and the market consensus, asking where management believes consensus is too low. He also asked about the German mobile market, specifically the drivers behind the strong recovery in O2 contract ARPU and its sustainability.

    Answer

    Executive Laura de Baquedano addressed the free cash flow gap by expressing confidence in meeting guidance, citing growing organic operating cash flow and a strong track record of managing all financial lines below it, including working capital and interest costs. Executive Markus Haas explained that while the German market has promotional activity, the overall structure is stable. He attributed the ARPU recovery to a focus on profitable growth and an improved value mix, which has stabilized this key metric.

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    James Ratzer's questions to Vodafone Group PLC (VOD) leadership

    James Ratzer's questions to Vodafone Group PLC (VOD) leadership • Q1 2026

    Question

    James Ratzer from New Street Research asked about Vodafone's technology roadmap for its German cable infrastructure, questioning plans for speed upgrades beyond 1 Gbps. He also requested an update on the OXG fiber JV, including total homes passed and subscriber numbers.

    Answer

    Group CEO Margherita Della Valle explained that the German technology roadmap is driven by customer needs, with most customers still on speeds under 250 Mbps. The focus is on providing gigabit speeds to the widest possible footprint by combining cable and wholesale fiber. She mentioned the OXG JV has accelerated, now passing 230,000 homes with a run rate of 100,000 per quarter, and will go commercial in H2. For the cable network, she highlighted ongoing fiberization and the selective introduction of 'iSplit' technology to enhance uplink speeds, stating this multi-year path is appropriate for the German market.

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    James Ratzer's questions to Liberty Global Ltd (LBTYA) leadership

    James Ratzer's questions to Liberty Global Ltd (LBTYA) leadership • Q1 2025

    Question

    James Ratzer of New Street Research asked if the significant broadband losses in the U.K. might necessitate a strategic pricing shift similar to the one just implemented at VodafoneZiggo in the Netherlands.

    Answer

    Executive Chairman Michael Fries described such a move in the U.K. as 'premature.' He expressed confidence that growth from the nexfibre footprint and more effective churn management would stabilize the situation. He contrasted this with the Dutch market, where he said a price reset was 'long overdue.' The current plan for the U.K. is to continue growing fixed ARPU.

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    James Ratzer's questions to Liberty Global Ltd (LBTYA) leadership • Q3 2024

    Question

    James Ratzer from New Street Research highlighted that revenue trends worsened from Q2 to Q3 across all consumer fixed and mobile segments. He asked what the company plans to do to reverse this and specifically about the sharp decline in Virgin Media's consumer mobile service revenue.

    Answer

    Michael Fries, Executive, attributed the trend partly to smaller price increases compared to the prior year. Lutz Schüler, Executive, clarified the VMO2 mobile figure included a one-off item and the underlying result was better, while noting fixed revenue growth was strong. André Krause, Executive, explained the Swiss decline was due to the annualization of a price rise, migration effects, and higher roaming inclusion in tariffs.

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    James Ratzer's questions to Liberty Global Ltd (LBTYA) leadership • Q2 2024

    Question

    James Ratzer followed up on the TalkTalk situation, asking if there were any scenarios where Liberty Global might be interested in its assets, or if its declining customer base makes it too risky.

    Answer

    Executive Michael Fries reiterated that he could not comment on TalkTalk specifically. He stated that the company monitors all competitors with interest and would evaluate any opportunities that might arise, but offered no further details.

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