Fiber is “a lot of investment up front for that stream of cash flow in the future,” Derek Doyle tells us. At C Spire, that reality defines nearly every strategic decision.
The advanced technology and communications company has been reinventing itself for more than 70 years, Doyle tells us. Today, it is the largest privately held wireless carrier in the U.S. and operates 22,000 miles of fiber, placing it among the top 20 fiber internet providers in the country by premise passings, he tells us. The company has invested hundreds of millions of dollars expanding beyond Mississippi into Alabama, Tennessee, and Florida, Doyle tells us—moves that require disciplined capital judgment.
Read MoreFor Doyle, capital allocation is not just about near-term profit. It is about equity value. Public companies may emphasize shareholder return metrics, but as a private company, C Spire centers on equity value growth, he tells us. “I’m a big intrinsic value person,” Doyle explains, grounding decisions in discounted cash flow and intrinsic value models, he tells us.
That approach requires looking beyond projected profit to the full funding equation—how much must be borrowed, how much capital deployed up front, and what long-term cash flows justify the investment, Doyle tells us.
Ultimately, the objective is clear: invest resources in what “drives that needle the most,” he tells us—ensuring that growth in connectivity translates into sustainable enterprise value.
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CFOTL: Tell us about C Spire. What is it about, and what are the offerings?
Doyle: I appreciate the opportunity to talk about why I joined C Spire just over a year ago. We’re an advanced technology and communications company that’s been around for more than 70 years, built on a culture of making bold, innovative moves to anticipate what customers need next. That mindset got us into the cellular business about 40 years ago, and today we’re the largest privately held wireless carrier in the U.S. We’re also a leading internet provider across Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, and Florida, and an award-winning technology solutions partner serving enterprise customers in almost all 50 states.
Doyle: Because we’re private, our information is a bit limited, but our fiber business includes 22,000 miles of fiber in our region—making us one of the top 20 fiber internet providers in the country in terms of premise passings. On the business side, we support small, mid-size, large, and government customers through strategic partnerships with providers like Microsoft, AWS, Cisco, and Dell—developing the solutions businesses need to operate.
Doyle: In terms of how we’re different, first and foremost we’re known for customer service—C Spire means “customer inspired.” On the wireless side, we deliver reliable, high-speed connectivity through our fiber-powered 5G platform in Mississippi, and we’ve been recognized by a third party (Ookla) for the fastest and most responsive download speeds in our network. We also use that same fiber backbone to support smart home technology for consumers.
Doyle: On the enterprise side, we go beyond our fiber and wireless networks. We have over 200 engineers with decades of experience who provide customized solutions around cloud adoption, AI technology, cybersecurity, and collaboration tools. We also operate four data centers in our area that enterprise customers use for secure solutions, including private cloud needs. There are a lot of reasons C Spire has thrived for over 70 years, but I believe a core reason is our singular focus on improving lives through technology—which means we’re constantly reinventing ourselves, and that’s fun.
CFOTL: Telecom requires disciplined capital allocation. What’s your mindset when it comes to capital allocation—especially evaluating network investments against long-term competitive advantage?
Doyle: Fiber is the most capital-intensive part of the business, and wireless is capital-intensive as well. Business Solutions is not—it’s very complementary to the rest of what we do. But capital allocation is critical, because on the fiber side you’re making a lot of investment up front for a stream of cash flow in the future.
Doyle: We’ve invested hundreds of millions of dollars expanding our network beyond Mississippi into Alabama primarily, with some presence in Tennessee and Florida. And it is a bet—we look at a lot of different factors in deciding where we’ll grow organically. We evaluate return, the number of years for payback, the customer profile, demographics—there’s a lot that goes into deciding which neighborhoods and areas to build.
CFOTL: You’ve been there about a year. Have you changed the approach or made modifications to how the team assesses investments?
Doyle: We’ve been shaking things up. There’s been renewed focus—renewed attention—around capital allocation, and specifically a metric we focus on: equity value. Public companies often use shareholder return-type metrics at a high level. As a private company, equity value is akin to that.
Doyle: We’ve spent a lot of this year talking across the organization about equity value growth. I’m a big intrinsic value person, so it’s about understanding the levers—how we can manage them—and the promises we’re keeping through the DCF model and intrinsic value model. It’s (especially) important to consider not just what profit will be generated, but how much you’ll have to borrow, how much you’ll have to fund up front, and what the cash flows look like over time.
Doyle: Ultimately, the question is whether we’re driving an improvement to our overall equity value—not just next year’s profit or the headline valuation, but the actual valuation of the business translated down to equity value. There are a lot of nuances to that, but the renewed focus has been on investing time and resources in what matters most—what drives that needle the most.
C Spire | www.cspire.com | Ridgeland, Mississippi