After The Wall Street Journal reported that T-Mobile (TMUS) and Sprint (S) have resumed merger talks, Morgan Stanley analyst Simon Flannery noted that Sprint announced plans to accelerate network capex after the merger plans fell apart last time. If Sprint's capex comes in light this quarter and/or next quarter, it may be seen as potentially related to renewed conversations with T-Mobile as it could suggest Sprint has pushed off its investment plans, Flannery tells investors. Noting that Tower stocks sold off following the Journal's report, Flannery pointed out that the companies each disclosed direct overlaps in late 2016 of about 5% on average. Total consolidated combined T-Mobile/Sprint exposure for American Tower (AMT) was about 16%, was about 35% for Crown Castle (CCI) and was about 33% for SBA Communications (SBAC), all as of Q4 of 2017, the analyst stated.