Cable One (NYSE:CABO) Posts Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.15 EPS

Key Points

• Cable One missed Q1 estimates, reporting $6.12 EPS vs. $6.27 expected and revenue of $352.96M vs. $360.01M, with year‑over‑year revenue down to $353M and 12,600 net residential broadband losses that pressured adjusted EBITDA and left net margin negative.
• The company generated roughly $115 million of free cash flow in the quarter (~$500M LQA), repaid a $575M convertible, paid down ~$90.6M of debt, and finished with about $700M of undrawn revolver capacity and ~4x net leverage LQA.
• Management is deploying retention initiatives, a new CRM, an MSO‑wide mobile roll‑out and multi‑gig upgrades, but risks remain—the MBI acquisition ($480M purchase) will add assumed/refinanced debt (~$895–$925M) and roughly 80% of the footprint faces FWA/satellite competition, driving elevated churn and potential ARPU pressure of $2–$5.

Cable One (NYSE:CABO - Get Free Report) announced its earnings results on Thursday. The company reported $6.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.27 by ($0.15), FiscalAI reports. The company had revenue of $352.96 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $360.01 million. Cable One had a positive return on equity of 7.36% and a negative net margin of 23.74%.

Here are the key takeaways from Cable One's conference call:

• In Q1 total revenue fell to $353 million from $380.6 million a year ago, with residential data revenue down ~5.1% (driven by a ~6.1% subscriber decline) and 12,600 net residential broadband losses sequentially, pressuring adjusted EBITDA to $183.3 million.
• The business generated roughly $115 million of free cash flow in Q1 and ~$500 million LQA, repaid the $575 million convertible, voluntarily paid down ~$90.6 million of debt, and finished the quarter with ~$700 million undrawn revolver capacity and a ~4x net leverage LQA.
• Management is rolling out operational fixes—targeted retention programs (AI tools, stepped promo roll-offs, speed upgrades), a new CRM later this year, an MSO-wide mobile launch (2 months in) with encouraging early response, and plans to expand multi‑gig capability from 53% to most markets by year‑end.
• The planned MBI acquisition remains on track to close in early Q4 with the purchase consideration locked at $480 million, and management now expects assumed/refinanced MBI debt of about $895–$925 million, which will modestly increase leverage but is described as manageable with proactive refinancing plans.
• Competitive intensity remains high—about 80% of the footprint faces one or more FWA competitors and satellite/LEO offers are increasing—driving elevated churn concentrated in ~15% of markets and expected back‑book ARPU pressure (management cited a $2–$5 potential adjustment over time).

Cable One Trading Up 2.1%

Shares of NYSE:CABO traded up $1.90 on Thursday, reaching $91.94. 178,442 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 117,174. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $100.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $111.62. Cable One has a 52 week low of $70.37 and a 52 week high of $269.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $521.31 million, a P/E ratio of -1.44 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cable One

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CABO. Corient Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Cable One during the 4th quarter worth approximately $927,000. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury lifted its position in Cable One by 207.1% in the fourth quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 3,507 shares of the company's stock valued at $396,000 after purchasing an additional 2,365 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in Cable One by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 24,724 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,790,000 after purchasing an additional 2,016 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Cable One during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,288,000. Finally, VARCOV Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Cable One during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $228,000. Institutional investors own 89.92% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Zacks Research lowered Cable One from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. BNP Paribas Exane cut Cable One from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $80.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on Cable One from $260.00 to $142.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Cable One in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Cable One from $107.00 to $90.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $114.25.

Cable One Company Profile

Cable One, Inc NYSE: CABO is an American provider of broadband communications services, offering a suite of residential and business solutions over a hybrid fiber-coaxial network. The company delivers high-speed internet access, digital video, voice communications and mobile services, alongside advanced managed Wi-Fi and cybersecurity tools. Cable One's infrastructure supports both traditional cable offerings and converged IP-based platforms designed to meet evolving customer needs.

In addition to consumer-focused services, Cable One caters to small and medium-sized enterprises with dedicated business-class connectivity, Ethernet solutions and cloud-based voice applications.

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