Uniti Group (NASDAQ:UNIT) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.25 EPS

Key Points

• Uniti Group missed quarterly earnings estimates, reporting a loss of $0.68 per share versus the expected loss of $0.43, though revenue of $909.7 million exceeded forecasts of $884.8 million.
• Fiber infrastructure demand remained strong, with record bookings and Kinetic adding 38,000 net fiber subscribers. Uniti raised its 2026 fiber construction and revenue outlook, targeting approximately $1 billion in Fiber Infrastructure revenue at the midpoint.
• Legacy operations weighed on results, while Kinetic’s consumer fiber ARPU declined 2.6% year over year. The company increased 2026 net capital-expenditure guidance by $100 million to approximately $1.525 billion, and shares fell to $9.29 following the report.

Uniti Group (NASDAQ:UNIT - Get Free Report) posted its earnings results on Thursday. The real estate investment trust reported ($0.68) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.43) by ($0.25), Zacks reports. The business had revenue of $909.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $884.82 million.

Here are the key takeaways from Uniti Group's conference call:

• Fiber infrastructure demand reached record levels, with bookings MRR of approximately $2.2 million, up nearly 30% from the prior record. Demand was broad-based across hyperscalers, neoclouds, superscalers, and other customer segments, with waves and lit capacity representing more than half of quarterly bookings.
• Kinetic achieved record fiber expansion and subscriber growth, passing 141,000 additional homes and adding 38,000 net fiber subscribers in the quarter. The company raised its 2026 target to 475,000–525,000 new fiber homes constructed and now expects 675,000–700,000 fiber subscribers by year-end.
• Uniti raised its 2026 Fiber Infrastructure revenue outlook to approximately $1 billion at the midpoint, reflecting stronger hyperscale and AI-related activity. Management also highlighted attractive build economics, including blended anchor lease-up cash yields of 37% and a potential approximately $500 million of recurring revenue from new infrastructure.
• Kinetic consumer fiber ARPU declined 2.6% year over year and is expected to decrease by a low-single-digit percentage in the third quarter due to competitive promotions, rate-plan timing, and retention initiatives. Management expects ARPU to stabilize and return to low-single-digit growth in the fourth quarter, but noted that fiber material costs may rise from mid-2027 onward.
• Consolidated second-quarter revenue and adjusted EBITDA declined 5% and 10%, respectively, as legacy copper, TDM, and Uniti Solutions operations continued to contract. Uniti increased 2026 net CapEx guidance by $100 million to approximately $1.525 billion, partly to accelerate fiber construction, while some large Fiber Infrastructure deals could shift from late 2026 into early 2027.

Uniti Group Price Performance

UNIT stock traded down $1.08 on Thursday, reaching $9.29. 5,637,228 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,024,876. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $11.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $9.88. Uniti Group has a 12 month low of $5.30 and a 12 month high of $12.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.26 billion, a PE ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.40.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on UNIT shares. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Uniti Group from $11.00 to $13.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Uniti Group from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 3rd. Williams Trading set a $12.00 target price on shares of Uniti Group in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Uniti Group from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, UBS Group set a $12.00 price target on Uniti Group in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $11.14.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Uniti Group

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNIT. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Uniti Group by 103.1% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 14,656,558 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $102,743,000 after acquiring an additional 7,441,044 shares in the last quarter. TMB Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Uniti Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $185,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Uniti Group by 32.8% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,829,904 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $12,828,000 after purchasing an additional 452,149 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV bought a new stake in shares of Uniti Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $72,000. Finally, State of Tennessee Department of Treasury increased its position in shares of Uniti Group by 14.1% during the fourth quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 72,275 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $507,000 after purchasing an additional 8,948 shares during the period. 87.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Uniti Group

Uniti Group Inc is a real estate investment trust that owns, operates and acquires communications infrastructure assets across the United States. Established in September 2015 through a spin-off from Windstream Holdings, Uniti Group focuses on leasing fiber, small cell networks, cell towers and related infrastructure to service providers, wireless carriers and other enterprises requiring high-capacity connectivity. The company's assets are designed to support the growing data demands of residential, business and governmental customers, with an emphasis on long-term contractual lease arrangements.

Uniti's portfolio encompasses an extensive fiber network that spans metropolitan and rural markets, as well as a portfolio of wireless towers and small cell nodes that facilitate mobile network densification and help carriers deploy 5G services.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.