Executive Summary

Q2 2025 revenue was $381.1M, down 3.4% YoY but up slightly vs Q1; S&P consensus was $379.7M, implying a modest revenue beat. Net loss of $438.0M reflected a $586.0M non‑cash impairment; Adjusted EBITDA was $203.2M with a 53.3% margin, broadly stable QoQ but down 4.3% YoY . Revenue vs. estimates: beat by ~$1.4M*; Adjusted EBITDA vs. S&P EBITDA consensus shows definitional differences (see Estimates Context) .
Management flagged ongoing competitive pressure (FTTH overlap up to ~53% of passings) and seasonality, with residential broadband customers down ~13K in Q2 and a full‑year view that residential broadband customers will not grow in 2025; residential broadband revenue is expected to be flat to modestly down for 2025 .
Strategic updates: billing conversion completed (expected to enable ~$15M annual run‑rate cost savings across OpEx/SG&A over time), ARPU expected to remain stable through year‑end, and a mobile pilot via MVNE will launch in select markets by year‑end 2025 .
Capital allocation/liquidity: $70.8M of debt repaid/retired in Q2; weighted average cost of debt 3.9%; management expects to retire 2026 converts without additional financing; cash tax savings expected of ~$40M in 2025 and ~$120M cumulatively through 2027 .

What Went Well and What Went Wrong

What Went Well
- Sequential improvement in residential data revenue (+1.9% QoQ; +$4.2M) driven by ARPU, with management guiding ARPU stability through year‑end. “Selling to premium speed tiers of gig or above remained high at 46%.”
- Business data revenue growth (+1.2% YoY to $57.4M), with carrier/enterprise fiber continuing to expand .
- Billing conversion completed, enabling product agility, unified pricing, and expected cost efficiencies; targeted annual run‑rate cost savings of ~ $15M across OpEx/SG&A over time .
What Went Wrong
- Residential broadband customers declined by ~13K in Q2 amid elevated churn from pricing normalization, promotional roll‑offs, and seasonal softness; management does not expect residential broadband customers to grow in 2025 .
- FTTH overlap increased from ~50% to ~53% of passings during the quarter, heightening competitive intensity; fixed wireless remains nearly ubiquitous across the footprint .
- Large non‑cash impairment ($586.0M; $456.2M net of tax) drove GAAP net loss to $(438.0)M (−$77.70 diluted EPS), overshadowing stable QoQ Adjusted EBITDA .

Financial Results

Metric	Q2 2024	Q1 2025	Q2 2025
Revenue ($M)	$394.461	$380.601	$381.072
GAAP Diluted EPS ($)	$6.58	$0.46	$(77.70)
Net Income (Loss) ($M)	$38.152	$2.607	$(437.976)
Adjusted EBITDA ($M)	$212.372	$202.712	$203.214
Adjusted EBITDA Margin (%)	53.8%	53.3%	53.3%
Net Profit Margin (%)	9.7%	0.7%	(114.9)%
Cash from Operations ($M)	$155.548	$116.332	$144.942
Capital Expenditures ($M)	$71.592	$71.130	$68.374

Segment revenue breakdown ($M)

Revenue Line	Q2 2024	Q1 2025	Q2 2025
Residential Data	$230.404	$225.121	$229.336
Residential Video	$57.178	$50.805	$48.158
Residential Voice	$8.203	$7.044	$6.733
Business Data	$56.687	$57.293	$57.385
Business Other	$18.663	$16.883	$16.515
Other	$23.326	$23.455	$22.945
Total Revenue	$394.461	$380.601	$381.072

Key KPIs

KPI	Q2 2024	Q1 2025	Q2 2025
Residential Data ARPU ($)	$79.36	$78.84	$81.23
Business Services ARPU ($)	$244.52	$234.48	$234.93
Residential Data PSUs (000s, EOP)	963.2	945.0	932.0
Total Data PSUs (000s, EOP)	1,062.8	1,044.8	1,031.3
FTTH Overlap of Passings (%)	—	~50% (prior disclosure)	~53%

Consensus vs. actual (Q2 2025) – S&P Global

Metric	Consensus	Actual (S&P)	Surprise	Surprise %
Revenue ($)	379,695,600*	381,072,000*	1,376,400*	0.36%*
Primary EPS ($)	7.3706*	7.7311*	0.3605*	4.9%*
EBITDA ($)	199,982,000*	186,815,000*	(13,167,000)*	(6.6%)*

Values with asterisks are retrieved from S&P Global; S&P “Primary EPS” and “EBITDA” may differ from company-reported GAAP EPS and Adjusted EBITDA definitions.

Guidance Changes

Metric	Period	Previous Guidance	Current Guidance	Change
Residential broadband customers	FY 2025	Not provided	Do not expect to grow residential broadband customers in 2025	New
Residential broadband revenue	FY 2025	Not provided	Flat to modestly down vs 2024	New
ARPU	Remainder of 2025	Not provided	Expected to remain stable	New
Run‑rate cost savings (OpEx/SG&A)	Starting late 2025	“Several million dollars” annual savings expected (from billing migration)	~ $15M annual run‑rate savings across OpEx/SG&A over time	Raised
Cash taxes	2025; 2025–2027	Not provided	~$40M reduction in 2025; ~$120M cumulative 2025‑2027	New
Dividend	Ongoing	Dividend suspended in Q1 2025	Suspension maintained; savings used to delever	Maintained
2026 Convertible Notes	2026	Monitoring options (prior commentary)	Expect to retire without additional financing	Affirmed

Earnings Call Themes & Trends

Topic	Previous Mentions (Q4’24 and Q1’25)	Current Period (Q2’25)	Trend
Competitive overlap (FTTH and FWA)	FTTH overlap in high‑40% range; fixed wireless widely available; churn at multi‑year lows in most competitive markets	FTTH overlap increased to ~53% (from ~50% last quarter); fixed wireless nearly ubiquitous	Increasing overlap; sustained competitive intensity
ARPU & mix (gig sell‑in, value‑added services)	ARPU stabilized in H2’24; intelligent WiFi and SecurePlus ramp; targeted pricing in Q1 pressured ARPU	ARPU expected stable into year‑end; gig‑tier sell‑in ~46%; SecurePlus/Ultimate WiFi adoption supports ARPU	Stabilizing
Broadband subscriber trajectory	Q4: churn near lows; ACP wind‑down weighed on PSUs; Q1: res data subs decreased	~13K res data subs decline; expects no 2025 growth in res broadband subs	Under pressure
Billing platform migration	Q4: conversion substantially progressed, targeted to complete in 2025	Final phase completed; sets up agility, expected cost savings	Executed; benefits ahead
AI/automation	Q4: AI tools for call review, churn propensity, project mgmt	“Ask Tommy” AI assistant for scheduling and field tech support	Broader deployment
Mobile strategy	Q4: open‑minded, not required near‑term	MVNE signed; pilot to launch in select markets by year‑end	Advancing to pilot

Management Commentary

“We are encouraged that residential data revenue increased modestly compared to the first quarter… we continued to see residential broadband customer connects increase sequentially month‑over‑month during the first half of the year.” – Julie Laulis, CEO .
“We do not expect to grow total residential broadband customers in 2025… we currently expect total residential broadband revenue for 2025 will be flat or decrease modestly for the full year as compared to 2024.” – Julie Laulis .
“Taken together, these platforms and ongoing operating efficiencies are expected to generate annual run‑rate cost savings of approximately $15 million across both operating and SG&A expense, including the anticipated savings from our billing system migration.” – Todd Koetje, CFO .
“We expect ARPU to remain stable for the remainder of the year… selling to premium speed tiers of gig or above remained high at 46%.” – Julie Laulis .
“We’ve signed an agreement with an MVNE to pilot mobile service… we expect to be live before customers in our pilot markets by the end of the year.” – Julie Laulis .
“We recognized a combined non‑cash impairment charge of $586 million… This charge doesn’t impact our cash flows, operational strategy, or growth initiatives.” – Todd Koetje .

Q&A Highlights

Competitive dynamics and net adds: Fiber overlap rose from 50% to 53% in the quarter; losses attributed more to lack of connects (taken by fixed wireless) and elevated churn from promo roll‑offs and pricing normalization; connects improved sequentially with June YoY connects up .
ARPU vs subs prioritization: Company aims to balance both; ARPU expected to remain stable; FlexConnect underperformed expectations in Q2, with a relaunch and increased marketing slated for Q3 .
Mobile pilot strategy: Economics and network reliability improved; MVNE agreement supports a pilot by year‑end; management sees mobile as potentially enhancing CLV and reducing churn via convergence, but will be disciplined on offers .
Billing migration execution: Final phase completed with no material billing/provisioning issues; post‑migration workstreams ongoing; management confident in stability .
Capital allocation: Additional $25M revolver paydown in July; expect to retire 2026 converts without new financing; may opportunistically repurchase shares under remaining authorization .

Estimates Context

Q2 2025 revenue modestly beat S&P consensus by ~$1.4M (+0.36%). Primary EPS beat by ~$0.36 (+4.9%). S&P EBITDA “actual” of ~$186.8M came in below S&P consensus of ~$200.0M (−6.6%)*. Note: Company reported Adjusted EBITDA of $203.2M (53.3% margin), which differs from S&P’s EBITDA definition .
Forward quarters (S&P): Q3 2025 EPS consensus ~7.46*, revenue ~$379.1M*, EBITDA ~$203.0M*; Q4 2025 EPS consensus ~5.96*, revenue ~$368.4M*, EBITDA ~$191.8M*. Result dispersion (4–5 estimates) suggests limited coverage breadth*.

Values marked with asterisks are retrieved from S&P Global.

Key Takeaways for Investors

Competitive intensity rose as FTTH overlap reached ~53% of passings, and fixed wireless remains widely available; connectivity headwinds likely persist near‑term .
Underlying revenue quality improved sequentially: residential data revenue +1.9% QoQ with ARPU support and high gig‑tier sell‑in (46%); management expects ARPU stability for the remainder of 2025 .
GAAP optics will remain noisy given non‑cash charges (Q2 impairment $586.0M), but cash metrics (CFO $144.9M; capex $68.4M) and Adjusted EBITDA margin (53.3%) remain resilient .
Structural efficiency catalysts: unified billing completion and platform investments underpin ~ $15M run‑rate cost savings over time; monitor flow‑through beginning late 2025 .
Strategic optionality: MVNE mobile pilot by year‑end could support bundling/retention; disciplined approach reduces near‑term financial risk while testing customer economics .
Balance sheet prioritization remains clear: $70.8M debt reduction in Q2 (plus $25M in July), 3.9% average debt cost, and confidence in retiring 2026 converts without new financing; cash tax savings further support deleveraging .
Estimate revisions likely: S&P revenue/EPS beats vs. mixed EBITDA vs. S&P definition suggest models may adjust for company Adjusted EBITDA trajectory and for the updated outlook (no 2025 res broadband unit growth; flat to modestly down res broadband revenue) .

Cable One, Inc. (CABO)·Q2 2025 Earnings Summary