ATN International - Earnings Call - Q4 2024

Executive Summary

• Q4 2024 delivered mixed results: revenue declined 9% year over year to $180.5M, while operating income rose to $8.7M; diluted EPS was $0.14, aided by an $8.9M tax benefit.
• Adjusted EBITDA was $46.2M, down 9% YoY; sequentially, EBITDA was broadly stable versus Q3 ($45.7M), reflecting US Telecom headwinds and steady International performance.
• 2025 outlook: revenue “in line” with 2024 (ex-construction), Adjusted EBITDA “essentially flat,” net CapEx $90–$100M, leverage (Net Debt Ratio) flat to slightly better—signaling a pivot from heavy build to monetization and cash flow.
• Key catalysts for the stock: stabilization of US operations under new leadership, execution on >$370M in grant-funded projects (monetization expected in 2026+), and continued International margin expansion.

What Went Well and What Went Wrong

What Went Well

• International segment resilience: Q4 International revenue was flat YoY at $94.8M and Adjusted EBITDA rose ~5% YoY; full-year International Adjusted EBITDA grew ~10%—management emphasized “steady revenue growth and margin expansion”.
• Cash generation and discipline: Net cash from operations increased 16% YoY to $129.2M with working capital improvements and asset disposition gains; 2024 CapEx dialed down to $110.4M (net) per plan.
• Strategy transition advancing: Management completed the 3-year First-to-Fiber/Glass & Steel cycle and aims to monetize fiber assets; “our focus is on expanding cash flow to fully realize the benefits of these investments”.

What Went Wrong

• US segment headwinds: Q4 US revenue fell to $85.8M (–18% YoY), impacted by ECF/ACP sunsets, lower construction, and legacy service de-emphasis; domestic Adjusted EBITDA declined 29% in Q4.
• Mobility competition in Guyana: International prepaid mobile subs decreased, driven by a new 5G entrant; management is shifting users toward higher-value data plans.
• 2024 guide cuts and impairment: In Q3, ATNI reduced FY24 revenue and EBITDA guidance and recorded a $35.3M non-cash goodwill impairment tied to US assets—reflecting slower consumer growth and delayed enterprise sales.

Transcript

Operator (participant)

Good day, and thank you for standing by. Welcome to the ATN International Q4 2024 earnings conference call and webcast. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. After the speaker's presentation, there will be a question-and-answer session. To ask a question during the session, you will need to press star one one on your telephone. You will then hear an automated message advising your hand is raised. To withdraw your question, please press Star 1-1 again. Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded. I would now like to hand the conference over to your speaker today, Michele Satrowsky. Please go ahead.

Michele Satrowsky (Head of Investor Relations)

Thank you, Operator, and good morning, everyone. I'm joined today by Brad Martin, ATN's Chief Executive Officer, and Carlos Doglioli, ATN's Chief Financial Officer. This morning, we'll be reviewing our fourth quarter and full year 2024 results and providing our 2025 outlook. As a reminder, we announced our 2024 fourth quarter results yesterday afternoon after the market closed. Investors can find the earnings release and conference call slide presentation on our Investor Relations website. Our earnings release and the presentation contain certain forward-looking statements concerning our current expectations, objectives, and underlying assumptions regarding our future operations. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described. Also, in an effort to provide useful information for investors, our comments today include non-GAAP financial measures.

For details on these measures and reconciliations to comparable GAAP measures, and for additional information regarding these factors that may affect our future operating results, please refer to our earnings release on our website at ir-atni.com or the 8-K filing provided to the SEC. Now, I'll turn the call over to Brad.

Brad Martin (CEO)

Thank you, Michelle. Good morning, and thank you all for joining us today for ATN's fourth quarter and full year 2024 earnings call. I appreciate your time and continued interest in our company. Before we begin, I want to recognize our teams across the organization for their hard work and dedication. Their focus and execution enabled us to make meaningful progress in 2024, despite some challenges in our U.S. operating markets. 2024 was a year of strategic execution and disciplined investment. As the telecom industry continues to evolve, our approach remains focused on long-term value creation, operational efficiency, and financial discipline. It also marked the final year of our three-year investment cycle in First-to-Fiber and Glass and Steel, during which we accelerated capital expenditures beyond historic levels to fortify our market-leading positions.

In this period, we expanded our fiber route miles by 32%, doubled the number of broadband homes passed by high-speed services, and increased our high-speed capable customers by 44%. As we enter 2025, we will focus on utilizing our long-lived fiber assets to deliver fiber and fiber-fed services to the markets we serve. For 2024, we delivered results aligned with our revised expectations for the year, balancing growth in key areas with the necessary transition of our U.S. business. Full year revenue came in at $729 million, with an adjusted EBITDA of $184 million. Strong cost discipline and operational efficiencies enabled us to increase cash flow from operations by 16% year over year, underscoring our focus on financial resilience and capital efficiency. In 2024, our international segment continued to grow, reinforcing its role as a strong contributor to our overall business.

Through these efforts and actions, which we will take into 2025, we will position ATN for long-term strength and resilience. In the U.S., we continue to move away from legacy technologies and consumer service offerings derived from those older technologies and toward enterprise and carrier-driven fiber-based revenue streams and fiber-fed consumer services. This transformation is critical for building a stronger and more sustainable business. In the U.S., we invested in our infrastructure to expand our fiber network with a focus on higher-value markets that will drive long-term returns. We exited lower-margin services that no longer fit into our long-term strategy, allowing us to streamline operations and optimize our portfolio. We have made key leadership changes to bring in experienced operators who understand how to drive efficiency and growth in our evolving markets.

While we expect this shift will result in short-term revenue decline, it positions us for long-term stability and higher-margin growth. Our network expansion and enterprise and carrier-centered strategy will create a more durable and sustainable revenue base moving forward. In our international segment, we continue to deliver steady revenue growth and margin expansion in 2024, supported by strong demand for high-speed broadband and business solutions. With international segment adjusted EBITDA growing 10% year over year, business service revenue increasing 6%, and with business mobility revenue increase of 21%, we are well-positioned to enter 2025 with a strategy focused on the following: growing broadband penetration by increasing connectivity across our markets with a focus on high-value customer segments, improving operational efficiencies by managing costs effectively, ensuring that revenue growth translates into stronger margins and improved operational free cash flow, and expanding fiber and business mobility services.

We continue to develop and strengthen our competitive position and market leadership. This performance serves as a blueprint for success as we transition our U.S. business to a similarly efficient, high-value model. As we continue to expand our infrastructure and optimize operations internationally, our investments in high-speed broadband, fiber, and next-generation connectivity are supporting digital transformation across the Caribbean region. The expansion of reliable, high-capacity networks not only strengthens our market position but also plays a critical role in fostering economic growth, innovation, and accessibility, in line with the broader goal of creating a more digitally inclusive and globally competitive Caribbean. In the U.S. markets, one of our unique strengths is our ability to secure government funding to accelerate fiber expansion. We and our partners have been awarded more than $370 million in government grants, which will support fiber deployments in key markets.

These investments enable network expansion with lower capital intensity, creating long-term optionality for growth. They also reinforce ATN's role as a key provider of broadband infrastructure, particularly in underserved markets. This funding is a major differentiator that allows us to grow in a financially disciplined way while supporting our long-term infrastructure strategy. In 2025, we will complete a substantial portion of these grant-funded projects, positioning us for monetization in 2026 and beyond. ATN has a clear strategy built around three key strengths. First, fiber and fiber-fed telecom services. We invest in high-value fiber infrastructure as the foundation for long-term growth to support the growing demand for high-speed broadband services. Secondly, enterprise and carrier solutions. We enable higher-margin, business-driven service revenues with fiber-led technology services and local market expertise.

Finally, we're optimizing operations and capital allocation while leveraging government grants to enhance operational free cash flow and shareholder value with durable assets and revenue streams. This approach positions us for consistent performance and long-term value creation. Looking ahead to 2025, our strategic focus remains clear: maintaining our strong competitive position in our international markets with fiber and fiber-fed solutions, while also advancing our cost optimization efforts to increase free cash flow, leveraging our government-funded projects to expand infrastructure while we continue to optimize our U.S. business for more durable revenue sources and sustainable free cash flow, and maintaining a prudent capital allocation strategy with an objective to use the increased cash flows to return value to shareholders. While we expect some near-term variability as we complete this transition, our focus remains on strengthening our core operations, enhancing efficiency, and expanding operating cash flow in the years ahead.

Carlos will provide more detail on the financial outlook. We remain confident that our disciplined execution and strategic investments will position ATN for long-term success. With that, I'll hand the call over to you, Carlos.

Carlos Doglioli (CFO)

Thank you, Brad. Good morning, everyone, and thanks for joining us today. Today, I'll walk you through our fourth quarter and full year results, as well as our financial outlook for 2025. Before getting to that, I want to reiterate Brad's comments that 2024 was a year of disciplined execution as we navigated challenges while remaining focused on long-term value creation. For the full year, our international telecom segment achieved modest year-over-year revenue growth. However, on a consolidated basis, revenues were impacted by the sunset of a significant program in our U.S. telecom segment. In light of these dynamics, we took proactive steps and implemented cost containment measures to limit negative cash flow outcomes. With that, let's now review our P&L results for the fourth quarter and the full year 2024 in more detail.

Total company revenue for the fourth quarter was $180.5 million, down 9% when compared with the same period in 2023. The step-down reflects the overall revenue decline in the U.S. telecom segment, due in part to the impact of the conclusion of the Emergency Connectivity Fund and, to a lesser extent, the Affordable Connectivity Program, as well as lower legacy wholesale roaming revenues as we transitioned that service to the carrier services model. Additionally, in 2024, construction revenue was lower compared with the previous year. For the full year, revenue totaled $729.1 million, representing a 4% decrease from 2023 due to the factors previously mentioned. Operating income in the fourth quarter increased to $8.7 million versus operating income of $3.3 million in Q4 of 2023.

The year-over-year increase was primarily due to a $6.6 million reduction in restructuring expenses and a $5.8 million reduction in cost of services, partially offset by the impact of lower revenue. Full-year operating loss for 2024 was $0.8 million versus a full-year operating income of $13.2 million in 2023. The loss in 2024 was driven primarily by the year-over-year revenue decline and the $35.3 million goodwill impairment charge taken earlier in the year. Net income for the fourth quarter was $3.6 million, or $0.14 per share. This compares with the prior year's net loss of $5.8 million, or $0.46 per share. The year-over-year increase in net income was primarily driven by an $8.9 million tax benefit. Full-year 2024 net loss was $26.4 million, or $2.10 per share, compared to a net loss of $14.5 million, or $1.25 per share the previous year.

The increase in full-year net loss reflects the goodwill impairment charge of $35.3 million. Adjusted EBITDA for the fourth quarter was $46.2 million, down 9% from the year-over-year period, primarily as a result of the decline in U.S. telecom revenues. Full-year 2024 adjusted EBITDA decreased to $184.1 million, down from $189.5 million in the prior year. Looking now at the segment's performance, beginning with our international segment, Q4 revenues of $94.8 million were essentially flat compared with the fourth quarter of the previous year. International revenue for the full year 2024 was up nearly 2% to $377.5 million, driven by high-speed data subscriber and fixed revenue growth. Adjusted EBITDA for the international segment increased 4.8% for the quarter and 9.7% for the full year. Demand for high-speed broadband services and operational improvements contributed to the quarter.

In our domestic segment, fourth quarter revenues were $85.8 million, down 18% year-over-year and down 10% for the full year. As previously mentioned, revenue was impacted by the conclusion of the ECF and ACP government programs and lower construction revenue. The revenue decline led to a decrease in adjusted EBITDA for the domestic segment, down 29% for the quarter and 20% for the full year. Moving on to the balance sheet and cash flow highlights. We ended the year with a net debt ratio of 2.54 times on total debt outstanding of $557.4 million. Our net cash provided by operating activities was strong at $129.2 million for the year ended 2024, up from $111.6 million in 2023. This was driven primarily by improvements in working capital and gains realized from asset dispositions.

Turning now to capital expenditures, CapEx for the year totaled $110.4 million, net of $108.5 million in reimbursable capital expenditures. This compares to $163.3 million, net of $32.9 million in reimbursable capital expenditures in the prior year. Notably, beginning in 2024, we dialed down the capital intensity of our business as planned, marking the conclusion of our three-year investment strategy. We continue to see government support as a key factor in enhancing our infrastructure in rural U.S. markets. We returned capital to our shareholders through $14.7 million in dividends and $10 million in stock repurchases during 2024. With that, let's move to our outlook for 2025. In 2025, our priority is to stabilize the U.S. telecom segment and continue expanding margins in our international segment with the goal of enhancing cash flow generation and strengthening ATN's long-term profitability.

We expect modest international revenue growth, while domestic revenue will continue to reflect the shift from legacy services to a longer-term competitive position anchored in enterprise and carrier services. Adjusted EBITDA for the international segment is expected to expand alongside revenue growth and cost efficiencies, while domestic profitability will be temporarily impacted as we focus on solidifying the foundation of our business for future opportunities. Turning to our outlook for 2025, we expect full-year revenue in 2025 to be in line with 2024, excluding construction revenues. Adjusted EBITDA to be essentially flat with last year. Capital expenditures in the range of $90-$100 million, net of reimbursements. Net debt ratio to remain in line with prior year, with a slight potential improvement exiting 2025 compared with 2024. We continue to monitor net debt ratio with the objective to bring down leverage closer to 2x over the medium term.

Before handing the call back to Brad, let me provide some insight into how we expect the quarters to play out in 2025. In the first quarter, we expect adjusted EBITDA to be relatively flat to slightly down compared with last year, with restructuring and reorganization charges in an amount similar to the amount taken last year. We expect a more consistent linear improvement as the year progresses, with the second half contributing the majority of our annual results. The expected quarterly cadence reflects continued growth in our international segment, muted by the business transition underway in our domestic segment under new leadership. In summary, as we enter 2025, our focus remains on improving cash flow, driving operational efficiencies, and transitioning to more sustainable recurring revenue streams. We are confident that these efforts will support long-term shareholder value creation. Thank you again for your time today.

I'll now hand the call back over to Brad.

Brad Martin (CEO)

Thanks, Carlos. Before we wrap up, I want to reiterate our core message. We are focused, disciplined, and executing on our strategy. We are taking meaningful steps to position the business for long-term success, balancing strategic investment with the financial discipline to drive operational efficiency and future growth. Our U.S. business is evolving, aligning with the increasing need for enterprise and carrier solutions. Our international operations continue to deliver, reinforcing our ability to scale and optimize in key markets. Our infrastructure investments, backed by government funding, provide opportunities for sustainable expansion with lower capital intensity. The strength of our strategy lies in execution and adaptability. Our focus remains the same: building a resilient, high-performing business that delivers long-term value. Thank you for your time and continued support. We appreciate your interest in ATN, and we look forward to keeping you updated on our progress.

With that, Operator, we'd like to open it up for questions.

Operator (participant)

As a reminder, to ask a question, please press star one one on your telephone and wait for your name to be announced. To withdraw your question, please press star one one again. Please stand by while we compile the Q&A roster. Our first question comes from Hamed Khorsand with BWS Financial. Your line is open.

Hamed Khorsand (Analyst)

Hi, good morning. First question I have was about the capital expenditure budget. Last year, you had been mentioning that your target was going to be 10%-15% revenue this time around. It's a little bit higher on the initial guidance. Is there additional projects you're taking for 2025? If you could just explain what your goals are.

Carlos Doglioli (CFO)

Hi, Hamed. This is Carlos. Thanks for the question. We believe that the guidance is in line with those expectations of 10%-15%. As we mentioned, we've been scaling back CapEx. In 2024, it was close to 30% lower than the previous year. For 2025, we're expecting continuous improvement along those lines.

Brad Martin (CEO)

A major dynamic too is the reimbursable CapEx through grants, the grants that we have participation in.

Hamed Khorsand (Analyst)

Got it. The other question I had was, you've given a lot of stats over the years about homes passed, but it sounds like you're changing focus to enterprise and carrier. Are there any statistics you could provide as to what kind of traction you're getting on that front, how many customers you're gaining, and so forth?

Brad Martin (CEO)

Yeah, Hamed, this is Brad. There has been a focus on enterprise and carrier for a long time, and that really has been the core of our U.S. markets for many years. Internationally, it's a more spread customer base between consumer, enterprise, carrier, and wholesale. From a go-forward, even in 2024, we did see enterprise growth internationally as one of our stronger performing areas, about 6.5% growth in our business base. We did see about 2.7% quarter-over-quarter subscriber growth in business customers internationally in Q4. It is a key area for international, which does have a broader consumer segment. On a go-forward for enterprise and wholesale in our U.S. markets, an important dynamic that we are working with is that we are seeing increasing pipeline demand for additional capacity in the form of backhaul and even demand for things like spectrum are increasing.

Something that we, again, have been working with for many years in our U.S. markets and will continue to monitor for the best outcomes for the business.

Hamed Khorsand (Analyst)

Okay. The last question is on the international side and mobile. You saw more prepaid subscribers drop off this past quarter. Was that competition, or was it just the consumer changing their habits as to how many phones they have?

Brad Martin (CEO)

Yeah, this is primarily competition. That's primarily in our largest market in Guyana. We have talked previously on calls. There was a new 5G entrant that came into the market about 18 months ago and did have an impact on the prepaid segment. The prepaid segment where the impact was as really for pay-as-you-go prepaid voice customers. These are our lowest RPU customers in that market. We have seen significant growth in our data plans. Part of our strategy in that market, as Guyana has been growing macroeconomically, is to provide, is to effectively get to the higher value plans into the higher value customer base. We have continued to see good movement with some significant improvements in our data plan subscribers of about 26% year over year.

Hamed Khorsand (Analyst)

Great. Thank you.

Operator (participant)

Thank you. Our next question comes from Ric Prentiss with Raymond James & Associates. Your line is open.

Ric Prentiss (Managing Director)

Hey. Good morning, guys.

Brad Martin (CEO)

Morning.

Carlos Doglioli (CFO)

Hey, Ric.

Ric Prentiss (Managing Director)

Hey. Hey. A couple of questions for you. Obviously, going deeper into the carrier-managed services, I think I heard you just mention to me the backhaul side of it. What specific services are you guys looking to do there? Is it also maybe dark fiber? You mentioned spectrum demand. How do you monetize spectrum demand on that carrier-managed services side?

Brad Martin (CEO)

Ric, part of our carrier-managed services offering is inclusive of some of our spectrum assets. We do have the ability to lease our spectrum assets. It is a relatively lower component of that business. Carrier-managed services is inclusive of lit services, dark services, tower lease, tower service maintenance, backhaul services. In some cases, we actually do leverage our spectrum with the carriers that are spectrum holdings, and that is primarily in the Southwest.

Ric Prentiss (Managing Director)

Okay. Has there been any thoughts about maybe trying to monetize the spectrum through a sale? We've seen a similar, now glass and steel company, TDS, U.S. Cellular, sold their wireless operations, sold chunks of spectrum, not just in wireless to T-Mobile, but to Verizon and AT&T. Any thoughts about would there be more value created by selling the asset rather than leasing the asset on spectrum or on some of the consumer markets?

Brad Martin (CEO)

Yeah. Ric, we continuously evaluate our portfolio of assets to, again, enhance shareholder value in the long run. That is inclusive of underutilized spectrum or infrastructure. That is something that, again, we did announce a small spectrum deal this past year. It is something we are evaluating and see if we get to try to, again, bring higher shareholder value.

Ric Prentiss (Managing Director)

Makes sense. Okay. Carlos, I think you mentioned some restructuring charges. Was that comment, restructuring charges just 1Q 2025 would look like the restructuring 1Q 2024, or was it that restructuring charges in 2025 will resemble more like what 2024 costs were?

Carlos Doglioli (CFO)

We mentioned the restructuring charges that we currently expect for Q1, Ric, which we expect them to be of a similar size to what we had in Q1 of prior year. That was the reference.

Ric Prentiss (Managing Director)

Okay. I think for the year, maybe the total restructuring charges in 2024 were more like $8 million versus first quarter last year was like $1 million. Was that ballpark?

Carlos Doglioli (CFO)

It was a little over $1 million in Q1. Yes, that is correct.

Ric Prentiss (Managing Director)

Okay. You mentioned shareholder returns, managing cost cutting, managing CapEx, etc. How should we think about how shareholder returns might manifest itself?

Carlos Doglioli (CFO)

Okay. I think, Ric, when you look at the way we've been managing the capital intensity of the business, we feel that as we've been navigating some of the challenges that we faced in the U.S. and at the same time continuing to improve the business profitability and margins in international as we grow revenues there steadily, we feel that we've been very prudent in improving cash flow through the reduction of our CapEx spend. We feel that we continue to move along the lines of that spectrum kind of now after we've finished our three-year investment strategy. We believe that that will allow us to improve cash flow over time and also move down our leverage over time. As we've said, our goal is to try to move it down to the two times over the medium term.

Ric Prentiss (Managing Director)

Shareholder value, looking at potential dividend increases, potential stock buyback, what when we say improved shareholder value, is it just increasing free cash flow or is it actually kind of remuneration back?

Carlos Doglioli (CFO)

Yeah. No. In terms of the dividends or the share buyback, those are the purview of the board. Our commitment from an operational perspective is to make sure that we lower, we improve our cash flow through improving EBITDA margin, improving EBITDA in general, and then reduce the capital intensity of the business. I think as we do that, we'll be able to drive leverage down and have obviously optionality that the board can leverage.

Ric Prentiss (Managing Director)

Okay. Last one for me is on the balance sheet, speaking of leverage. Remind us of what your maturity schedule looks like and kind of what your thoughts are on gross debt, not just net debt and leverage.

Carlos Doglioli (CFO)

I think at this point, we just refinanced Alaska this last year. The current maturity is our facility in the Virgin Islands, which I think is midtime next year. We will continue to monitor how we go about managing our maturity as we go through the year.

Ric Prentiss (Managing Director)

Okay. Very good. Thanks, guys.

Operator (participant)

Thank you. As a reminder to ask a question, please press star one one on your telephone. Again, that is star one one to ask a question. Our next question comes from Greg Burns with Sidoti. Your line is open.

Greg Burns (Analyst)

Good morning. In the U.S. segment, how much of that business would you characterize as kind of legacy revenue streams? How fast is it declining? Do you have plans on maybe converting that to maybe contracts like you signed with AT&T and Verizon, or is that just going to kind of structurally decline over the next couple of years?

Brad Martin (CEO)

Yeah. We do point out, in fact, you can see in our mobile, in our financials, our mobile business in the U.S., you can see the decline from 2023 to 2024. That is one of the primary areas. We just exited out of our retail mobile operations in the Southwest. I think, yeah, as you know, we participate in the remove and replace program. We did have, and if you look at our top line total broadband customers, that number has declined in the past year partially due to the shutdown of some of that legacy, we'll call it mobile broadband customers. This was legacy LTE in the Southwest. It is relatively small, Greg, in the overall total revenues because we have been making this transition. We still have legacy copper like any major operators across the country. Moving towards copper shutdown is obviously a key initiative.

We have that in the U.S. We have that internationally. That's an important dynamic for cost optimization into the future.

Greg Burns (Analyst)

Okay. When we look at, I guess, the profitability of the U.S. telecom segment next year, is it just a function of the declining revenue that profitability is coming down, or are you making incremental investments? What's driving the decline in EBITDA next year?

Carlos Doglioli (CFO)

I think that's a big driver, Greg, this is Carlos. Yeah, the revenue decline, this is a driver of the reduced profitability.

Greg Burns (Analyst)

Okay. In terms of maybe monetizing the capital investments you made over the last three years, what kind of investments or changes are you putting in place to accelerate the monetization of that and drive more fiber services and broadband growth?

Brad Martin (CEO)

That's part of the transition that we referenced in our U.S. markets. We obviously had some challenges within the 2024 cycle. We are making investments in those markets. These are businesses in transition. What we put forth for our plan for 2025, we believe reflects the right expense model to get these businesses ready for scale. A key dynamic for our U.S. markets, obviously, is participation in grant programs. As we stated, we have won a significant amount of grant program money for build subsidies between 2022 and 2024. We continue to, we tend to continue to participate in those programs, programs like BEAD, which is starting to come to light in some of our operating states. Those are important dynamics to really focus on fiber and fiber-fed telecom services on the consumer side.

Some of the legacy technologies were in areas that had a lot of service subsidies like ACP, which went away this past year. Focusing our commercial efforts on where we can have the most success and the best overall returns is an important shift in our U.S. markets for consumer. It is really continuing to grow and expand our enterprise and carrier revenue streams.

Greg Burns (Analyst)

Okay. Great. Lastly, just from a modeling perspective, what drove the decline in depreciation quarter over quarter this last quarter? Is that a good number to model against going forward?

Carlos Doglioli (CFO)

I think the driver has been the less CapEx over the last several quarters.

Greg Burns (Analyst)

Okay. So the $33 million number is the good, I guess, a good number to model going forward into 2025?

Carlos Doglioli (CFO)

Yes.

Greg Burns (Analyst)

Okay. All right. Thank you.

Operator (participant)

Thank you. Our next question comes from Ric Prentiss with Raymond James & Associates. Your line is open.

Ric Prentiss (Managing Director)

Yeah. Hey, guys. Figure the call's almost done. Ask maybe a few more if I can. One other question, visibility. Obviously, last year there were some bumps along the way. How visible do you think this business is? I would assume the carrier and managed solutions is a more visible business than maybe the consumer side. Help us understand your comfort and visibility in what you've been providing today and last night.

Brad Martin (CEO)

Yeah, Ric. We obviously are, there are major trends that we are seeing getting confirmed through pipeline development, as I mentioned earlier, for carrier demand for effective bandwidth. That is something that the industry has been expecting. We believe that in the areas we operate is a combination of the work being done by some of our carrier partners for success around their success they've had around fixed wireless. Again, we partner with some of the larger carriers in our regions to be able to deliver those services on a wholesale basis. That's, again, a good confirmation from a visibility perspective that we continue to drive. Ultimately, we are continuing to move in our U.S. markets. There are things that are somewhat less predictable. Some of the government dynamics, tariffs, as you know, are something that's been an evolving dynamic for most businesses.

We're obviously monitoring that very closely and looking at where those impacts could be. We think it's relatively immaterial based on the good work of our distributors and our supply chains. Generally, those are the things that certainly keep us up as some dynamics are out of our control that we just have to manage those. That's what every business has to manage. Again, we are still seeing growing demand for high-speed data, fiber, fiber-fed services in the enterprise and in the consumer. Even albeit in our U.S. markets, our high-speed data consumer broadband base actually grew 20% over 2024, albeit a very small relative base in comparison to our international. Again, we definitely are seeing the demand. Being able to execute some of the major fiber programs we have in process, that is key.

As you know, as those programs gain momentum and get off the ground, which is something that we saw through the 2024 period, things start going a little more smoothly. Things start going a little more on track. That is what we are looking to see. It will help us with predictability here in 2025 and beyond.

Ric Prentiss (Managing Director)

Okay. Carlos, you mentioned one of the main goals in 2025 is to stabilize the U.S. domestic business. Should we imply with that that you're hoping to maybe return to some growth prospects as you look into 2026 and beyond, that this is the year to kind of stabilize and create a good table and set stage to go forward?

Carlos Doglioli (CFO)

That is the expectation, Ric. I think, as Brad mentioned throughout the call, we also believe that some of the changes that we have made in the U.S. are going to solidify their knowledge of the business and be able to drive the business forward as they continue to take hold of the management of the entities.

Ric Prentiss (Managing Director)

Right. Right. Okay. Brad, you mentioned shutting down copper, obviously a key initiative for a lot of telcos out there. It's a very costly product out there. How much cost in advance of getting to the other side of that is it? Is it a fast process to say, by 2026 or 2027, we can be shutting down some copper and then see some margin improvement? I'm just trying to think of the timeframe to get the legacy copper behind you.

Brad Martin (CEO)

Yeah. A difficult one to answer directly, Ric, in that it does vary a lot by markets. We will be, for example, by the end of this year, about a third of our copper exchanges shut down in Guyana. Alaska, in our U.S. markets, a lot of those will depend upon BEAD outcomes. Will be one of the primary ways in which we will replace some of that copper infrastructure. We have a very large copper plant in Alaska. That will be the longest. I think, and generally, like most telecom companies, we are targeting this by 2030. We expect to see some progress there. We will continue to see where some of these infrastructure investment programs land. That will be a pretty important determinant of that.

Ric Prentiss (Managing Director)

Yeah. It does feel like there's support in Washington. AT&T is obviously making a big regulatory push as well.

Brad Martin (CEO)

Yeah.

Ric Prentiss (Managing Director)

Okay. Thanks, guys.

Brad Martin (CEO)

Yeah. Thank you.

Operator (participant)

Thank you. I'm showing no further questions at this time. I would now like to turn it back to Brad Martin for closing remarks.

Brad Martin (CEO)

Thank you all for joining us today. We look forward to continuing our discussions with many of you in the coming months. Appreciate your time and support. Have a great day.

Operator (participant)

This concludes today's conference call. Thank you for participating. You may now disconnect.