CenturyLink (CTL, Financial) (-5%, -0.23%, 8%, 0.75%), the fiber telecom company, was a top contributor in the fourth quarter, but the stock was down slightly over the full year. During the quarter, Enterprise revenues grew year-over-year and quarter-over-quarter. EBITDA margins increased 1% due to CEO Jeff Storey’s and CFO Neel Dev’s ongoing expense improvements. We are pleased that CenturyLink recently appointed Hal Jones to its board at Southeastern’s recommendation. We know Jones from our successful investment in Graham Holdings (formerly The Washington Post Company), where he previously served as CFO. Because CenturyLink’s stock trades at a large discount to a conservative appraisal of the value of its fiber, we think his expertise in capital allocation and experience with the Cable One business when he was at Graham Holdings should help make a meaningfully positive difference to shareholders going forward.
From Longleaf Partners' fourth-quarter 2019 shareholder commentary.
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