Trade Tracker: Bill Baruch sells T-Mobile and buys more Cheniere, SLB and ExxonMobil
Speakers
Bill Baruch
— Investment Committee Member
Summary
Bill Baruch of Blue Line Capital tells CNBC's Halftime Report he sold T-Mobile and rotated the proceeds into energy names Cheniere Energy, ExxonMobil and SLB. He frames the move as increasing energy exposure, citing European natural gas demand, Exxon's breakout, and SLB's Venezuela catalyst. Committee member Jim supports the Cheniere and ExxonMobil buys, calling Cheniere a long-term value play and Exxon a long-term compounder. The discussion also covers natural gas volatility and the February-March spread known as the widowmaker trade.
- Bill Baruch sold T-Mobile, citing weak technicals, capex risk and competition; he kept AT&T.
- Proceeds were redeployed into energy: Cheniere Energy, ExxonMobil and SLB.
- Baruch likes the energy space and expects the trade to continue in the first half.
- Cheniere thesis centers on European natural gas exports, long-term contracts and technical bottoming.
- ExxonMobil is described as breaking out and a long-term compounder.
- SLB is viewed as a depressed name that could benefit from Venezuela developments.
- Jim endorsed Cheniere as a value/long-term play and Exxon as a long-term compounder.
- Natural gas volatility and the widowmaker February-March spread were discussed as context, not a direct trade.
Ideas
Sold T-Mobile; competition and capex risks.
T-Mobile was the bottom of Bill Baruch's portfolio, has been uninspiring below its 50-day moving average, and faces potentially problematic capex as telecom competition heats up. He already owns AT&T and does not want to own both telecom names, so he sold roughly a 1% T-Mobile position to fund energy buys.
Prefers AT&T over T-Mobile.
Bill Baruch is holding AT&T and prefers it over T-Mobile because AT&T had a strong run over the past year and the last 18 months before a recent pullback. He does not want to own both telecom names, so T-Mobile was the one sold.
Buying Cheniere on export and gas spread.
Bill Baruch is buying Cheniere Energy because European natural gas prices are coming to life and exports are Cheniere's revenue driver. He notes the stock has been bottoming technically, about 95% of revenue is from long-term contracts, and the widening Europe-U.S. gas spread supports export demand, making this a buying opportunity.
Wants more energy exposure.
Bill Baruch wants more energy exposure and likes what he is seeing in the energy space. He expects the energy trade to continue in the first half of the year and is redeploying the T-Mobile proceeds into Cheniere Energy, ExxonMobil and SLB.
Adding ExxonMobil on breakout.
Bill Baruch is increasing his ExxonMobil position because the stock is breaking out. Although crack spreads and refining margins have compressed, he trusts he needs to own more and views Exxon as part of his increased energy exposure.
SLB benefits from Venezuela catalyst.
Bill Baruch added to SLB because it has been very depressed since 2023 but could be a main key beneficiary of what is happening in Venezuela, making it a differentiated energy catalyst play.
Cheniere is long-term value play.
Jim likes Bill Baruch's Cheniere purchase and views it as a long-term value play. He calls Cheniere the key linchpin in the business of exporting natural gas around the world and sees the multi-month price decline as a good entry point.
