JPMorgan's top media and telecom short ideas going into Q4

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Rick_Jo

As October kicks off and market participants enter the fourth quarter of 2025, JPMorgan surveyed its top-ranked U.S. equity analysts and picked out what it called "their most compelling structural and tactical short ideas" across sectors.

Looking at media and telecom stocks under the technology sector (NYSEARCA:XLK [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/XLK]), JPMorgan identified four top short ideas: SBA Communications (NASDAQ:SBAC [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/SBAC]), Snap (NYSE:SNAP [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/SNAP]), Bumble (NASDAQ:BMBL [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/BMBL]), and SiriusXM (NASDAQ:SIRI [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/SIRI]).

The S&P 500 technology sector (NYSEARCA:XLK [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/XLK]) has easily been the top-performing one in 2025, advancing +22.86% YTD. Gains have been driven by the artificial intelligence trade, though concerns of an AI bubble have also gathered steam.

See below JPMorgan's rationale behind its four top media and telecom short ideas and their rating. Also given are the stocks' YTD performance and their Seeking Alpha Quant rating:

SBA COMMUNICATIONS (NASDAQ:SBAC [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/SBAC])

Stock -7.5% YTD; JPMorgan's rating: Neutral; Quant rating: Hold, 2.75 [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/SBAC/ratings/quant-ratings].

Rationale: We believe SBAC is the worst positioned of the three tower operators. While we expect new leasing revenue to increase in 2H25 due to colocations, SBAC was particularly weak in 1H25 and its implied 2H25 is modest. Beyond this year, the company has higher risk to revenue due to lack of an MLA with DISH and ongoing Sprint churn. SBAC has the lowest dividend yield of the three towers. SBAC trades at a low valuation relative to peers, so the downside to the stock may be limited, hence our Neutral rating.

SNAP (NYSE:SNAP [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/SNAP])

Stock -24.5% YTD; JPMorgan's rating: Underweight; Quant rating: Hold, 2.82 [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/SNAP/ratings/quant-ratings].

Rationale: We expect ongoing monetization challenges to continue as Snap attempts to shift toward more lower funnel advertisers and always-on spending. There is increased competition for both engagement and monetization with more AI-enhanced platforms. Historically, there has been a mixed track record on execution and operations.

BUMBLE (NASDAQ:BMBL [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/BMBL])

Stock -28.5% YTD; JPMorgan's rating: Underweight; Quant rating: Hold, 2.71 [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/BMBL/ratings/quant-ratings].

Rationale: Bumble app usage is in decline, with mgmt’s turnaround plan still in the early innings. We expect revenue and payer declines to accelerate in 2H, with margins compressing as brand marketing resumes.

SIRIUSXM (NASDAQ:SIRI [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/SIRI])

Stock +0.1% YTD; JPMorgan's rating: Underweight; Quant rating: Hold, 2.91 [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/SIRI/ratings/quant-ratings].

Rationale: While we are encouraged by SiriusXM’s efforts to reduce in-car churn and its new product offerings aimed at attracting price-sensitive customers, we remain cautious about the company’s long-term growth prospects due to ARPU dilution and ongoing subscriber losses.

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