Optimum Communications NYSE: OPTU Chairman and CEO Dennis Mathew said the company is entering 2026 with an emphasis on shifting from stabilization to a more offensive posture, while maintaining financial discipline and continuing to invest for long-term growth. Speaking at a New Street Research session with cable analyst Vikash Harlalka, Mathew outlined priorities across broadband, pricing, network strategy, video packaging, mobile, Lightpath growth, and balance sheet management.
2026 priorities: stabilize broadband, stay disciplined, invest for growth
Mathew described the first several years of his tenure as focused on stabilizing operations, improving quality, strengthening execution and financial discipline, and rebuilding culture and leadership. Heading into 2026, he said Optimum’s goal is to “go on the offensive,” with a particular focus on stabilizing broadband in an intensely competitive market.
He said customers “want quality and they want value,” adding that after improving product and network quality, the company now needs to lean further into value while also creating long-term stakeholder value. Mathew emphasized that Optimum does not intend to pursue “growth at any cost,” and pointed to progress in controlling ARPU, operating expenses, and capital intensity. He also said the company had a specific EBITDA goal last year aimed at stopping year-over-year declines and “drawing a line in the sand.”
On investment, Mathew said Optimum expects year-over-year capital to increase as it invests for long-term growth, including continued spending on its hybrid fiber-coax (HFC) plant, mid-split upgrades, multi-gig speeds across the footprint, and new build projects. He also highlighted growth at Lightpath as a driver of incremental investment.
New pricing and early views on subscriber trends
Mathew said Optimum recently launched new pricing across its entire footprint and all sales channels. He framed the decision around simplifying operations and improving efficiency, including subscriber acquisition costs, while remaining competitive regardless of the local competitive set.
He described the competitive environment as intense, noting that in the East the company faces significant fiber overbuild and fixed wireless competition, and that fiber overbuild in the West has increased to more than 50%. In that context, he said early subscriber performance appears “flat-ish” compared with the fourth quarter, and he expects first-quarter trends to be similarly “flattish” versus Q4 results.
Mathew said the company is monitoring metrics such as call volumes, shopper activity, attachment rates for mobile and other value-added services, and its ability to sell gig and multi-gig tiers. He also said Optimum exited 2025 planning to reinvest some savings to compete at a higher level, but only in ways where it can track returns and manage acquisition pricing and ARPU erosion.
Network strategy: fiber for new builds, disciplined migrations, no coax shutdown plan
Mathew said Optimum has developed a multi-year network plan, which he said did not exist previously. He reiterated that the company will continue investing in its HFC network while leaning into fiber for new construction.
He said Optimum delivered more than 175,000 new passings last year, with “the vast majority” built with fiber across both the East and West, and said the company expects to continue fiber-rich new build investment this year.
On fiber migrations, Mathew said Optimum slowed activity in the fourth quarter and wants to approach migrations in a financially disciplined way. He said earlier in his tenure the migration process “didn’t even work,” with migrations taking five to six hours and issues with the video product. While he said the product now works, he described a new challenge: migrations were occurring primarily through retention interactions, which he said impacted ARPU. Mathew said Optimum is building a strategy to migrate customers at the right time, deliver value, and avoid ARPU erosion, adding that the company plans to “lean back into fiber migrations towards the end of the year.”
Asked about decommissioning the coaxial plant, Mathew said there are no plans to do so, calling the HFC network robust. He said the company is evaluating how to leverage and monetize the infrastructure most effectively as fiber migrations expand.
Video, mobile, and Lightpath: packaging changes, wireless attach, and hyperscaler wins
Mathew said Optimum has redesigned its video offering to better align with shifting consumer behavior, arguing that traditional “fat packages” bundle content customers do not want. He said Optimum worked with programming partners to introduce new tiers—an entertainment package, an extra package, and an everything package—intended to match different customer preferences and price points. He said the new packaging is helping video performance at the point of sale and within the existing base, and that early momentum has continued into the first quarter. Mathew said 15% of Optimum’s video base is now on the new packages.
On mobile, Mathew called the opportunity significant, noting that only 8% of Optimum’s base currently has mobile service. He said the company has been integrating mobile into pricing, packaging, go-to-market efforts, and retail. He also described a focus on “high quality” mobile sales, citing that almost 50% of customers are porting phone numbers and more than 35% are buying and financing new devices. Mathew said those changes improved the churn profile by 700 basis points in the fourth quarter.
Looking ahead, he said Optimum is introducing “everyday low pricing,” making it easier to buy new devices, and evolving its credit strategy, which he described as historically restrictive. When asked whether customer net adds will accelerate in 2026, Mathew said the company expects to “get better every day” and remains focused on long-term value.
For Lightpath, Mathew said the business has announced more than $360 million of hyperscaler wins over the last couple of years and delivered 35% year-over-year revenue growth. He said the pipeline remains robust and that the team is building infrastructure and executing at a high level.
Capital structure: evaluating options and aiming for debt reduction
Mathew said Optimum is evaluating capital structure options, including in response to questions about asset-backed securities (ABS) issuance at Lightpath and whether similar financing could be used at Optimum. He said there is “nothing to announce today,” but emphasized that the company believes a “meaningful debt reduction is required” and described a need to rightsize the balance sheet. He also said the company is evaluating “value accretive options” regarding its stake in Lightpath, again noting there is nothing to announce.
In closing remarks, Mathew said the environment remains highly competitive, but that the company is “controlling what we can control” and has greater command of the business after three and a half years of transformation. He said Optimum is committed to continuing to deliver value to customers and “maximum value” for stakeholders.
About Optimum Communications NYSE: OPTU
Altice USA, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides broadband communications and video services in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. It offers broadband, video, telephony, and mobile services to approximately five million residential and business customers. The company's video services include delivery of broadcast stations and cable networks; over the top services; video-on-demand, high-definition channels, digital video recorder, and pay-per-view services; and platforms for video programming through mobile applications.
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