Are the Telcos Shrinking?

Eric Savitz (Barron's) submits:

The telcos are shrinking.

At least, Bernstein Research analyst Craig Moffett thinks so. In a research note Monday morning cutting his price targets on the two phone companies, he contends that on an “organic, equity-adjusted basis,” both Verizon (VZ) and AT&T (T) are now shrinking at the top line. He calculates that Verizon, when adjusted for Vodafone’s (VOD) 45% stake in Verizon Wireless, is now shrinking by about 0.5% a year. AT&T, he says, is shrinking 0.4%. And he contends that in both cases, the rate of decline is accelerating.

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