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Ericsson Reinforces Market Position With 100 5G Contracts

Ericsson ERIC seems to be on a tear, courtesy of R&D investments that have established it as a leader in 5G. The Sweden-based telecom equipment maker secured its 100th commercial 5G agreement with communication service providers. The tally includes 58 publicly-announced contracts and 56 live 5G networks in 29 countries.

The feat comes with Ericsson’s announcement of a 5G deal with Telekom Slovenije, a leading Slovenian communication service provider. Back in 2014, the company announced its first public 5G partnership. Initial technology engagements were followed by 5G New Radio technology testing and trials. In 2018, the first live commercial launches were announced.

Ericsson has deployed 5G in high-, mid- and low-bands in different urban, suburban and rural locations. The company’s contracts span Radio Access Network and Core network deployments, driven by products and solutions from the Ericsson Radio System and Ericsson Cloud Core network portfolios. Its 5G radio access technologies provide the infrastructure required to meet growing demand for high-bandwidth connections and support the real-time, high-reliability communication requirements of mission-critical applications.

Ericsson’s Radio System comprises hardware, software and services for radio, RAN Compute, antenna system, transport, power and site solutions. It enables smooth and cost-effective migration from 4G to 5G, supporting communication service providers to launch the avant-garde technology and grow 5G coverage fast.

The company is witnessing healthy momentum in its business, based on the strategy to increase investments for technology leadership, including 5G. In Networks, the company’s ongoing activities are to invest in R&D to safeguard a leading product portfolio and cost leadership; increase investments in automation and serviceability driving down costs; and selectively gain market share based on technology and cost competitiveness.

Ericsson’s portfolio spans Networks, Digital Services, Managed Services and Emerging Business. The company is optimistic regarding the longer-term outlook. Considering the current visibility, it maintains the Group targets for 2020 and 2022.

Ericsson has a long-term earnings growth expectation of 26.3% compared with 15.1% of the industry. The stock has returned 34.1% compared with the industry’s growth of 20.5% in the past year.



Ericsson carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), at present.

Some better-ranked stocks in the broader industry are Turtle Beach Corporation HEAR, Plantronics, Inc. PLT and Clearfield, Inc. CLFD, each sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Turtle Beach has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 41%, on average.

Plantronics has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 540%, on average. The company’s earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the last four quarters.

Clearfield has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 45.6%, on average. The company’s earnings topped the consensus estimate in two of the last four quarters.

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