Cable One Q4 Earnings Call Highlights

Key Points

• Residential broadband activity improved in Q4 but net subscribers still declined by approximately 10,700; management blamed FWA and fiber overbuilds and is pushing simplified pricing, updated offers and eero-powered in-home services to reduce churn.
• Cable One launched a mobile pilot in six markets with a small live customer base and expects a broader rollout across the footprint in late Q1, calling mobile “integral” to retention, acquisition and customer lifetime value.
• The MBI put has been exercised with an expected close in October, an estimated purchase price of about $480 million for the remaining 55% and projected MBI net indebtedness of $845 million to $895 million, implying pro forma leverage of a little above 4 times.

Cable One NYSE: CABO executives outlined improving—but still negative—broadband subscriber trends, progress on a mobile launch, and plans for the upcoming acquisition of the remaining stake in Mega Broadband Investments (MBI) during the company’s fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 earnings call.

Broadband trends improved in Q4, but subscriber losses continued

Management said residential broadband connect activity grew year-over-year in the fourth quarter, while disconnects improved significantly versus the third quarter. Even so, net subscriber results remained negative, reflecting what executives described as a challenging macro and competitive environment marked by fixed wireless access (FWA) and fiber overbuilds.

Residential data customers declined by approximately 10,700 in the fourth quarter. Todd Koetje said the quarter was “a step forward” compared with the first three quarters of 2025, but not an acceptable level of performance. He attributed some of the improvement to refinements in go-to-market execution supported by the completion of the company’s billing platform transformation.

The company highlighted a set of initiatives aimed at serving more value-conscious customers and reducing churn, including simplified pricing, updated offers, and complementary services to improve the in-home experience. Koetje said more than a third of residential broadband customers were using advanced in-home capabilities delivered via the company’s partnership with eero, representing more than 30% year-over-year growth. He added that sell-in adoption for the service exceeded 80% during the quarter.

ARPU expected to face puts and takes as promotions expand

Management said residential broadband ARPU was stable relative to expectations and remained within about $1 of the company’s second-quarter level. In response to a question on 2026 ARPU trajectory, Koetje reiterated that customer acquisition and retention strategies—including price locks and promotions such as free months—can pressure ARPU, while adoption of higher speed tiers and add-on services can partially offset that impact.

He pointed to ongoing opportunities in premium in-home services and noted the company is also looking at “minor adjustments” to its AutoPay Plus program that could support ARPU. Koetje emphasized there would likely be quarter-to-quarter movement, but said the company continues to think about overall stability at current levels.

Competitive landscape: widespread fixed wireless and rising fiber overlap

Koetje said fixed wireless is now “essentially ubiquitous” across Cable One’s footprint, with at least one provider in almost every market and multiple providers in many markets. He described T-Mobile as the company’s largest overlap from an FWA perspective, with Verizon and AT&T close behind, and said AT&T has been aggressive in markets where it has not upgraded copper DSL to fiber.

On wired competition, management said nearly 60% of passings face gig-capable wired broadband competition, with just over half of that coming from fiber-to-the-home (primarily incumbent telcos) and about 10% in markets where Cable One is the fiber-to-the-home provider competing against an upgraded gig-capable MSO. In approximately 15% of passings, the company competes against two other gig-capable wired broadband providers; Koetje said this figure was in the high single digits a couple of years ago and has moved up somewhat.

The company also discussed network utilization and capacity, noting average monthly data usage reached approximately 835 GB per customer in the fourth quarter, with more than 30% of customers exceeding 1 TB per month. Despite that usage growth, management said peak hour downstream and upstream utilization remained at or below 20%.

Mobile pilot launched; broader rollout targeted for late Q1

Cable One said it launched a mobile pilot in six markets during the fourth quarter and that the service is live with a small number of customers. Management described mobile as a complementary product intended to strengthen the broadband relationship, improve customer lifetime value, and support both retention and acquisition.

CEO Jim Holanda, who said he was on “day 10” of the job, called mobile “integral” and pointed to the experience of larger cable peers as evidence that take rates may build over time rather than immediately. Koetje said the pilot focused on operational readiness—integrating provisioning, billing, customer care, and field processes—and that the company expects a broader launch across the footprint in late Q1.

MBI transaction, business services efforts, and 2025 financial results

Management said the MBI put option has been exercised and the company expects the transaction to close in October. Assuming an October 1 close, Koetje estimated a purchase price of approximately $480 million for the remaining 55% stake and projected MBI net indebtedness at closing of $845 million to $895 million, resulting in a pro forma combined leverage “a little above 4 times.” He said integration planning is underway, with a target of core integration in under a year from close, and management expects cost and tax efficiencies over time.

In business services, Cable One said it launched a broker and agent sales channel during the quarter and saw encouraging early engagement. The company also announced Ed Butler joined as senior vice president of business services effective January 2, coming from Mega Broadband (an investment of Cable One) where he served as chief commercial officer.

For the fourth quarter, Cable One reported:

• Total revenue of $363.7 million, down 6.1% year-over-year
• Adjusted EBITDA of $193.9 million, down 8.1%, with margin of 53.3%
• Capital expenditures of $74.0 million
• Adjusted EBITDA less capital expenditures of $119.9 million

For full-year 2025, the company reported total revenue of $1.5 billion versus $1.58 billion in 2024, adjusted EBITDA of $801.7 million, capital expenditures of $285.3 million, and adjusted EBITDA less capital expenditures (free cash flow as defined by the company) of $516.5 million.

Koetje said Cable One paid down $403.4 million of debt during 2025, including retiring the $313 million balance on its revolver and repurchasing $72.4 million of senior notes and term loans at discounts. At year-end, the company had $152.8 million in cash and equivalents, total debt of approximately $3.2 billion, and an undrawn $1.25 billion revolving credit facility. Management said it had ample capacity under its revolver to retire convertible notes maturing in March and the ability to complete the MBI transaction without additional external financing, while continuing to monitor capital markets for longer-term solutions.

About Cable One NYSE: CABO

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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