Executive Summary

Revenue was $2.11B (-5.4% YoY) as video cord-cutting and a weak macro kept top-line under pressure; Adjusted EBITDA was $830.7M with margin expanding to 39.4% on record gross margin of 69.7% .
GAAP net loss widened to ($1.63B), or ($3.47) per diluted share, driven by a non-cash ~$1.6B impairment of indefinite-lived cable franchise rights; Free Cash Flow was ($178.1M) with net cash from ops of $147.4M .
Broadband PSUs declined by 58k in the quarter amid elevated competitive intensity (fixed wireless and aggressive fiber pricing); fiber customers rose +40k to 703k (23% penetration), mobile lines +38k to 584k .
Management reiterated FY25 Adjusted EBITDA ~$3.4B and operating cost targets; capex outlook raised to ~$1.3B to support Lightpath hyperscaler builds; company to rebrand as Optimum Communications (OPTU) on Nov 19, 2025 .
Near-term stock catalysts: Q4 plan for YoY growth in Adjusted EBITDA (first in 16 quarters), 2-Gig HFC launch in November, and Lightpath hyperscaler projects beginning to contribute in Q4 .

What Went Well and What Went Wrong

What Went Well

Record gross margin (69.7%) and expanding Adjusted EBITDA margin (39.4%, +70 bps YoY; +200 bps QoQ), reflecting mix shift away from video and programming cost discipline; management cited video gross margin expansion of ~350 bps YoY .
Operational efficiency: Other OpEx down ~2.4% YoY; service call rate improved ~6% and service visit rate ~20% YoY; CFO noted workforce optimization and AI-driven automation moderating costs .
Product traction: +40k fiber net adds (703k fiber customers, 23% penetration) and +38k mobile line net adds; new video tiers added/migrated +58k customers (13% of residential base) .

Quote: “Gross margin reached an all-time high of 69.7%, reaching the milestone of approximately 70% a full year ahead of plan” — Dennis Mathew (CEO) .

What Went Wrong

Broadband PSUs declined by 58k (vs -50k in Q3’24) as competitors escalated promotions (multi-month free service and large incentives) and fixed wireless activity rose; management chose to protect margins over uneconomic volume .
Free Cash Flow swung to ($178.1M) from $76.9M a year ago, with net cash from ops of $147.4M vs $436.0M in Q3’24; capital intensity was 15.4% (11.7% ex-FTTH/new build) .
Heavy leverage persisted: consolidated net debt $25.34B, L2QA net leverage 7.8x; weighted average cost of debt 6.9%, average life 3.4 years .

Financial Results

Summary vs Prior Periods and Estimates

Metric	Q3 2024	Q2 2025	Q3 2025	Consensus Q3 2025	Beat/Miss
Revenue ($USD)	$2,227.7M	$2,147.2M	$2,108.1M	$2,131.6M*	Miss (~$23.5M)*
Adjusted EBITDA ($USD)	$862.0M	$803.8M	$830.7M	$837.2M*	Miss (~$6.5M)*
Adjusted EBITDA Margin (%)	38.7%	37.4%	39.4%	—	—
Gross Margin (%)	68.1% (derived)	—	69.7%	—	—
Net Loss ($USD)	($42.97M)	($96.25M)	($1,625.9M)	—	—
Diluted EPS (GAAP)	($0.09)	($0.21)	($3.47)	—	—
Net Cash from Ops ($USD)	$436.0M	$412.0M	$147.4M	—	—
Capex (Cash) ($USD)	$359.2M	$383.5M	$325.5M	—	—
Free Cash Flow ($USD)	$76.9M	$28.4M	($178.1M)	—	—

S&P Global disclaimer: Values marked with * retrieved from S&P Global.

Segment Revenue Breakdown

Segment ($USD)	Q3 2024	Q2 2025	Q3 2025
Broadband	$913.4M	$885.1M	$873.4M
Video	$715.1M	$660.5M	$645.2M
Telephony	$69.9M	$64.6M	$61.8M
Mobile	$30.6M	$37.6M	$42.3M
Residential revenue	$1,729.0M	$1,647.9M	$1,622.7M
Business services & wholesale	$366.4M	$361.8M	$361.9M
News & Advertising	$117.7M	$118.8M	$105.9M
Other	$14.7M	$18.7M	$17.6M
Total Revenue	$2,227.7M	$2,147.2M	$2,108.1M

KPIs and Subscriber Metrics

KPI	Q1 2025	Q2 2025	Q3 2025
Residential Broadband PSUs (000s)	3,963.3	3,928.3	3,872.2
Residential Video PSUs (000s)	1,792.4	1,736.3	1,674.9
Residential Telephony PSUs (000s)	1,200.0	1,147.8	1,093.1
Broadband Net Adds (Losses) (000s)	(36.6)	(35.0)	(56.2)
Residential ARPU ($)	133.93	133.68	133.28
Broadband ARPU ($)	75.31	74.77	74.65
Mobile Ending Lines (000s)	508.6	546.4	584.4
Mobile Net Adds (000s)	49.0	37.8	38.0
FTTH Total Passings (000s)	2,995.0	3,023.4	3,053.0
FTTH Total Customer Relationships (000s)	606.7	663.0	703.4
FTTH Residential Net Adds (000s)	66.7	54.4	39.0

Guidance Changes

Metric	Period	Previous Guidance	Current Guidance	Change
Adjusted EBITDA ($)	FY 2025	~$3.4B	~$3.4B (reiterated)	Maintained
Revenue ($)	FY 2025	$8.6–$8.7B	~$8.6B (CEO commentary)	Maintained
Programming & Other Direct Costs ($)	FY 2025	~$2.6B	~$2.6B	Maintained
Other Operating Expense ($)	FY 2025	~$2.6B	~$2.6B	Maintained
Cash Capital Expenditures ($)	FY 2025	~$1.2B	~$1.3B (Lightpath/hyperscaler timing)	Raised
Q4 Adjusted EBITDA growth	Q4 2025	—	Target YoY growth (first in 16 quarters)	New

Earnings Call Themes & Trends

Topic	Previous Mentions (Q1 & Q2)	Current Period (Q3)	Trend
AI/technology initiatives	Announced Google Cloud partnership; embedding AI across ops (sales, care, network)	Expanded AI use (virtual assistant, outage prediction, Cresta partnership); improved service metrics	Accelerating
Competitive landscape (FWA/fiber)	Sequential broadband improvement; hyper-local go-to-market	Sept saw heightened competitor promotions and FWA; disciplined approach favored margins over volume	Worsened
Pricing/rate events & ARPU	Guided slight YoY increase in broadband ARPU; seasonal timing of promo roll	Disciplined promo-roll execution, proactive customer communication; broadband ARPU slightly down QoQ but expected up for FY	Mixed
Fiber/HFC network strategy	FTTH passings >3M; mid-split upgrades planned; 21.9% penetration	2-Gig HFC launch in Nov; FTTH penetration 23%; balanced fiber migration strategy	Improving
Mobile strategy	Best net adds in 5 years; convergence up	Focus on multi-line adoption, churn down ~900 bps YoY; simplified pricing/bundles in late Q4	Improving
Video product & margins	New tiers launched 2H 2024; ~300 bps margin expansion	+58k migrated/additions; video gross margin +~350 bps YoY	Improving
Lightpath hyperscaler	Contracts awarded; regional AI-grade builds (Phoenix, Columbus)	Eastern PA 130 route miles; NY-region expansion; revenue contribution expected from Q4	Accelerating
MDU strategy	Building capabilities, early progress (implied)	Emphasis on exclusive/bulk agreements; >2M opportunity homes; tooling improved to target under-penetrated properties	Improving
Branding	—	Corporate name change to Optimum Communications; NYSE ticker to OPTU on Nov 19	New

Management Commentary

“We are reaffirming our full-year outlook of approximately $3.4 billion of Adjusted EBITDA… Our outlook includes revenue of approximately $8.6 billion, and direct costs and other operating expense, each of approximately $2.6 billion.” — Dennis Mathew (CEO) .
“In the third quarter, we recorded a non-cash impairment charge of approximately $1.6 billion related to our indefinite-lived cable franchise rights… it does not affect our cash flow, liquidity, or ongoing operations.” — Dennis Mathew (CEO) .
“We are targeting year-over-year growth in Adjusted EBITDA in the fourth quarter, which will represent the first quarter of growth in 16 quarters.” — Marc Sirota (CFO) .
“We’ve driven down our programming cost by over 14% year to date… more than offsetting all video revenue declines with direct cost savings.” — Marc Sirota (CFO) .
“Effective… November 7, we expect to change our corporate name… [and] begin trading under our new OPTU ticker.” — Marc Sirota (CFO) .

Q&A Highlights

Broadband trajectory under elevated competition: Management emphasized disciplined margin protection amid unprecedented competitor offers (free months, large incentives), with enhanced go-to-market and base management to balance rate vs volume into Q4/Q1 .
Cost structure moderation: Workforce optimization (~5% reduction) and AI automation lowered OpEx; CFO cited annualized OpEx run-rate reduction to ~$2.55B exiting Q3, with further reductions expected in Q4 .
Q4 EBITDA growth composition: Mix of rate timing/promo roll, value-added services expansion, Lightpath hyperscaler revenue, NFL-season ad contracts, and continued programming cost reductions .
Income-constrained product strategy: Management will scale surgically by geography/demographics to avoid ARPU erosion; foundational offer controls now in place across billing/offer management .
Pricing discipline and customer communication: Proactive messaging on rate events and offering options (migration to new video tiers, mobile bundling) to mitigate churn and monetize rate actions .

Estimates Context

How results compared to S&P Global Wall Street consensus:

Q3 2025: Revenue $2,108.1M vs $2,131.6M estimate* (miss); Primary EPS -$0.126 vs -$0.050 estimate* (miss); EBITDA $814.6M vs $837.2M estimate* (miss).
Q2 2025: Revenue $2,147.2M vs $2,152.7M estimate* (slight miss); EBITDA $778.6M vs $848.8M estimate* (miss).
Q1 2025: Revenue $2,152.3M vs $2,156.8M estimate* (in line); EBITDA $781.8M vs $810.8M estimate* (miss).

Metric	Q1 2025	Q2 2025	Q3 2025
Primary EPS Consensus Mean	-0.0759*	-0.0157*	-0.0502*
Primary EPS Actual	-0.0759*	—	-0.1262*
Revenue Consensus Mean ($)	2,156,786,930*	2,152,740,590*	2,131,591,900*
Revenue Actual ($)	2,152,282,000*	2,147,203,000*	2,108,110,000*
EBITDA Consensus Mean ($)	810,760,370*	848,777,830*	837,151,750*
EBITDA Actual ($)	781,780,000*	778,587,000*	814,570,000*
EPS # of Estimates	10*	9*	8*
Revenue # of Estimates	11*	11*	11*

S&P Global disclaimer: Values in this section marked with * retrieved from S&P Global.

Key Takeaways for Investors

Margin defense over uneconomic subscriber growth is intact; expect muted gross adds but improving EBITDA mix via programming cost reductions and product attach (mobile, value-added services) .
Broadband stabilization remains the core challenge; monitor Q4 pricing events, FWA competitive intensity, and execution of surgical offers to income-constrained segments .
Q4 is a key inflection: management targets YoY Adjusted EBITDA growth for the first time in 16 quarters; watch Lightpath hyperscaler contributions and NFL-driven ad seasonality .
Capex raised to ~$1.3B for FY25 on hyperscaler builds; near-term cash flow pressure persisted in Q3 (FCF deficit), but mid-split/HFC 2-Gig deployment and fiber penetration should support medium-term network competitiveness .
Leverage is high (7.8x L2QA; $25.34B net debt); liquidity ~$1.2B and 73% fixed debt mitigate rate risk, but maturity profile requires continued discipline and asset-backed financing execution .
Rebranding to Optimum Communications (OPTU) on Nov 19 is a narrative catalyst aligning corporate identity with customer-facing brand; not fundamental by itself but supports transformation messaging .
Trading stance: near-term sensitivity to Q4 print versus consensus on revenue and EBITDA; positive surprises likely tied to Lightpath revenue onset, ad seasonality, and rate actions; downside if broadband losses persist or costs fail to moderate as guided .

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