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Our mission: Bringing practical business and technical intelligence to today's structured cabling professionals

For more than 30 years, Cabling Installation & Maintenance has provided useful, practical information to professionals responsible for the specification, design, installation and management of structured cabling systems serving enterprise, data center and other environments. These professionals are challenged to stay informed of constantly evolving standards, system-design and installation approaches, product and system capabilities, technologies, as well as applications that rely on high-performance structured cabling systems. Our editors synthesize these complex issues into multiple information products. This portfolio of information products provides concrete detail that improves the efficiency of day-to-day operations, and equips cabling professionals with the perspective that enables strategic planning for networks’ optimum long-term performance.

Throughout our annual magazine, weekly email newsletters and 24/7/365 website, Cabling Installation & Maintenance digs into the essential topics our audience focuses on.

  • Design, Installation and Testing: We explain the bottom-up design of cabling systems, from case histories of actual projects to solutions for specific problems or aspects of the design process. We also look at specific installations using a case-history approach to highlight challenging problems, solutions and unique features. Additionally, we examine evolving test-and-measurement technologies and techniques designed to address the standards-governed and practical-use performance requirements of cabling systems.
  • Technology: We evaluate product innovations and technology trends as they impact a particular product class through interviews with manufacturers, installers and users, as well as contributed articles from subject-matter experts.
  • Data Center: Cabling Installation & Maintenance takes an in-depth look at design and installation workmanship issues as well as the unique technology being deployed specifically for data centers.
  • Physical Security: Focusing on the areas in which security and IT—and the infrastructure for both—interlock and overlap, we pay specific attention to Internet Protocol’s influence over the development of security applications.
  • Standards: Tracking the activities of North American and international standards-making organizations, we provide updates on specifications that are in-progress, looking forward to how they will affect cabling-system design and installation. We also produce articles explaining the practical aspects of designing and installing cabling systems in accordance with the specifications of established standards.

Cabling Installation & Maintenance is published by Endeavor Business Media, a division of EndeavorB2B.

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Watch for Tech Giants to Boost Share Buybacks in 2024

Stock Buybacks theme with Manhattan New York City skyscrapers

Watch for robust earnings growth at big techs such as Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ: META), Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ: NVDA), Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) and Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) to increase the rate of share buybacks this year, says a recent report from Goldman Sachs. 

Goldman Sachs is forecasting that S&P 500 companies will increase share repurchases by 13% year-over-year, to $925 billion. The investment bank’s analysts previously anticipated a 4% increase in share buybacks, after a 14% decrease in 2023. 

Analysts added that they expect buybacks to surpass $1 trillion by 2025.

Why is this important for investors?

Share Buybacks Boost Stock Value

Price appreciation and dividends get the lion’s share of attention from investors, but share repurchases increase stock value by signaling confidence in the company's future. They reduce the supply of outstanding shares, which can boost earnings per share. 

Buybacks can potentially drive up stock prices due to improved fundamentals and increased demand for shares while supply has been reduced. 

In addition, buying back shares is a tax-efficient way to return capital to shareholders without committing to regular dividend payments. 

Goldman Sachs’ buyback forecast was also a nod to continued earnings growth at mega-cap technology stocks and communications services stocks. Analysts expect these stocks to account for a “substantial” percentage of the growth in S&P 500 buyback this year.

Goldman Sachs: Macro Improvements Driving Forecast

While Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) earnings are declining and the stock is in a slump, artificial intelligence stocks like Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ: AMD) and Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT) have rotated into leadership. 

In their report, Goldman Sachs analysts wrote, "Improvements in the broader macro environment since the fall, like the decline in Treasury yields, also help to inform our forecast upgrade."

Goldman had previously increased its 2024 S&P 500 earnings estimate by 8% to $241 a share. It expects a further increase of 6% next year, to $256, per share.

Headwinds for Increased Buybacks

However, frothy valuations and uncertainty about the upcoming U.S. presidential election could put a damper on buybacks, according to Goldman Sachs analyst Cormac Conners. 

He added that current regulatory filings show the so-called Magnificent Seven stocks have authorized a total of $215 billion in share repurchases for this year, up 30% from a year ago. 

Dividends or Buybacks?

If more big techs and communications services companies begin paying dividends, that could diminish repurchase plans. For example, a recently announced Meta Platforms dividend of 50 cents per share indicates management’s confidence in the company’s future earnings.

If more high-growth companies opt to pay dividends, that could reduce their enthusiasm about buybacks. 

Apple and Microsoft pay dividends, but Nvidia, Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN), Tesla and Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOGL) do not. Analysts say Alphabet and Amazon are among stocks likely to initiate a dividend. 

Fast-growing tech companies often prioritize reinvesting profits into research, development and expansion rather than paying dividends. Taking Nvidia as an example, it makes sense that the company would want to ramp up its AI chipmaking capabilities right now, opting to return capital to shareholders in the form of price appreciation.

Techs Often Retain Earnings 

This focus on growth and new opportunities helps fast-moving companies like Nvidia maintain a competitive edge. 

Additionally, tech companies may prefer retaining earnings for flexibility, such as funding acquisitions or investing in innovation. Techs such as Alphabet, Apple and Microsoft are known as cash hoarders. 

In addition to providing options, the cash also provides a cushion due to market and economic uncertainties. 

It’s not just techs that have been announcing stock buybacks recently; data compiled by MarketBeat shows companies from a range of industries saying they would repurchase shares, signaling confidence in these companies’ earnings strength.

In the past month, companies including Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ: ULTA), Archer-Daniels-Midland Co. (NYSE: ADM), Ross Stores Inc. (NASDAQ: ROST), Tidewater Inc. (NYSE: TDW), TJX Companies Inc. (NYSE: TJX) and eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) announced share buyback programs. 

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