NYC Pensions Negotiate Worker Safety Deals With Major Telecoms Companies

New York City Comptroller Brad Lander and the city’s five pension funds have negotiated deals with telecommunications infrastructure companies SBA Communications Corp., American Tower Corp., and Crown Castle to increase disclosures concerning worker safety at their communications tower sites.

The city’s five pension funds include the New York City Employees’ Retirement System, New York City Teachers’ Retirement System, New York City Police Pension Fund, New York City Fire Pension Fund, and the New York City Board of Education Retirement System. As of the end of February, the pension funds collectively owned holdings worth $120.9 million in American Tower, $67.8 million in Crown Castle, and $34.4 million in SBA.

“From dizzying heights to challenging weather conditions, tower workers risk their lives every day to keep us connected,” Lander said in a statement. “I am happy to report that SBA, American Tower, and Crown Castle will provide greater transparency and accountability concerning tower climber safety, reflecting investor expectations that these companies provide a safe working environment for all workers at their sites.”

The city comptroller’s office said SBA has agreed to expand its disclosure to clarify how health and safety policies apply to contractors and subcontractors working on the company’s tower sites. The disclosure will include SBA’s training and certification standards for contractors and subcontractors, and it will describe its third-party verification process and how its internal on-site audits supplement its verification process.

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SBA’s disclosures will also include safety statistics for employee tower climbers and contractor and subcontractor tower climbers, a description of other safety initiatives, and a reporting mechanism for workers to report safety concerns.

Meanwhile American Tower agreed to expand its disclosure to clarify how regulatory requirements and health and safety policies apply to contractors and subcontractors working at its sites, as well as requirements for training and certification. Lander’s office said the disclosure will include the prerequisites for contractors and subcontractors it hires, the inspection and audits the company uses to verify compliance with safety standards, and other safety initiatives, such as third-party audits.

American Tower will also now report contractor health and safety information in addition to its current reporting on health and safety information for employees. The company’s disclosures will list compliance procedures used to ensure vendors follow regulatory and qualification requirements before workers enter the tower sites, as well as its ongoing maintenance and safety program. The company will also disclose a review of safety incidents as well as the reporting tools available to workers on its sites.

The agreement with Crown Castle will also see the company expand its disclosure regarding contractors and subcontractors working on its sites. The disclosure will include a description of mandatory notification that technician services are to be performed at a company site, qualification and registration requirements, safety team audits and inspections, and a way for workers to report safety issues. Additionally, the company’s disclosure will include safety statistics for all tower technicians on its sites, including contractors and subcontractors.

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Tags: American Tower, Brad Lander, Comptroller, Crown Castle, Disclosure, New York City, Pension Funds, SBA Communications, telecommunications infrastructure, worker safety

The Magnificent Seven, the moniker assigned to a group of technology-focused mega-cap companies, aided by exceptional earnings and excitement over artificial intelligence, have long been the stock market’s leaders.

But those earnings peaked in the December-ending quarter, and the March-ending period, now reporting, will begin to show the slowdown, according to Bank of America researchers. “All seven companies are expected to see either decelerating EPS or an EPS decline” year over year, per an earnings study, written by Savita Subramanian and Ohsung Kwon, equity and quant strategists at BofA Securities.

How come? Tech stocks in general and the Mag Seven, in particular, went through a cost-cutting binge in 2023 as the result of the Federal Reserve’s boosting of interest rates and fears of an impending recession, which did not appear. And that spurred a rise in earnings per share over the last two to three quarters. But now, BofA contended, that accelerant has played out.

The group collectively enjoyed a 63% EPS advance in 2023’s final quarter, but BofA estimated earnings would slow to 39% for the quarter that wrapped up in March 2024. Not too shabby, except there’s a slower pace.

To the BofA researchers, high Mag Seven earnings have helped propel their stock prices to unsustainable levels. Somewhat less-lofty earnings could bring their stocks down to a more reasonable balance, the thinking goes. Over the last 12 months, the Magnificent Seven’s stocks are up 68%, while the those of the S&P 500 are ahead 24%.

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The first of the Mag Seven to report was Tesla, on Tuesday: The electric vehicle maker saw its EPS halved in this year’s first three months, to 34 cents, amid tepid car sales. The carmaker’s stock, beaten down this year, did rally on Wednesday despite the profit and sales slumps, on CEO Elon Musk’s announcement that cheaper models of its EVs would roll out sooner than had been anticipated.

On Wednesday, Meta Platforms, the second member of the storied seven-company roster to report, seemed to bolster BofA’s thesis. Facebook-parent Meta had EPS of $4.71, double what it generated in the year-before quarter. But this was below the December-ending quarter’s $5.33, its best percentage increase since 2016.

Meta’s shares slid 15% in after-hours trading once the earnings release came out. Before Wednesday’s close, the stock had been up 39% this year. The market evidently was disappointed that the company’s estimated revenue for its second quarter, while robust, fell short of analysts’ projections.

The rest of the Seven will report over the next few weeks. Alphabet and Microsoft unveil their earnings today, Thursday, after the market closes. Amazon is out next Tuesday, April 30, and Apple next Thursday, May 2. Nvidia is the last, Wednesday, May 22.

What about the other 493 S&P 500 stocks? The non-tech companies in the 493 are only now turning to cost cutting, BofA indicated. Hence, their EPS should improve up ahead. As the BofA report put it, “We believe the cost-cutting efforts should lead to better margin upside for the other 493 in 2024-25.”