Cable One (NYSE:CABO) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $1.65 EPS

Cable One (NYSE:CABO) posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The company reported $6.12 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.77 by ($1.65), FiscalAI reports. The firm had revenue of $352.96 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $359.59 million. Cable One had a positive return on equity of 5.44% and a negative net margin of 21.94%.

Here are the key takeaways from Cable One’s conference call:

• In Q1 total revenue fell to $353 million from $380.6 million a year ago, with residential data revenue down ~5.1% (driven by a ~6.1% subscriber decline) and 12,600 net residential broadband losses sequentially, pressuring adjusted EBITDA to $183.3 million.
• The business generated roughly $115 million of free cash flow in Q1 and ~$500 million LQA, repaid the $575 million convertible, voluntarily paid down ~$90.6 million of debt, and finished the quarter with ~$700 million undrawn revolver capacity and a ~4x net leverage LQA.
• Management is rolling out operational fixes—targeted retention programs (AI tools, stepped promo roll-offs, speed upgrades), a new CRM later this year, an MSO-wide mobile launch (2 months in) with encouraging early response, and plans to expand multi‑gig capability from 53% to most markets by year‑end.
• The planned MBI acquisition remains on track to close in early Q4 with the purchase consideration locked at $480 million, and management now expects assumed/refinanced MBI debt of about $895–$925 million, which will modestly increase leverage but is described as manageable with proactive refinancing plans.
• Competitive intensity remains high—about 80% of the footprint faces one or more FWA competitors and satellite/LEO offers are increasing—driving elevated churn concentrated in ~15% of markets and expected back‑book ARPU pressure (management cited a $2–$5 potential adjustment over time).

Cable One Price Performance

Shares of CABO traded down $16.60 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $74.89. 364,209 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 120,892. The stock has a market cap of $424.77 million, a PE ratio of -1.17 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $100.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $111.62. Cable One has a 12 month low of $70.37 and a 12 month high of $196.64.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Cable One from $90.00 to $70.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Zacks Research downgraded Cable One from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Cable One in a report on Monday, April 20th. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Cable One from $142.00 to $111.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane downgraded shares of Cable One from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $80.00 price target for the company. in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Cable One presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $101.50.

Institutional Trading of Cable One

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Corient Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cable One during the 4th quarter valued at about $927,000. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury boosted its position in shares of Cable One by 207.1% during the 4th quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 3,507 shares of the company’s stock valued at $396,000 after acquiring an additional 2,365 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cable One by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 24,724 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,790,000 after acquiring an additional 2,016 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Cable One during the 4th quarter worth $1,288,000. Finally, VARCOV Co. bought a new stake in shares of Cable One during the 4th quarter worth $228,000. Institutional investors own 89.92% of the company’s stock.

More Cable One News

Here are the key news stories impacting Cable One this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Cable One expects multi‑gig capability in most markets by year‑end and is targeting a $2–$5 back‑book price reset — a constructive tactic to rebuild ARPU if execution and churn trends stabilize. Multi‑gig rollout and price reset
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings and call transcripts are available for investor review — useful to parse management commentary on churn, capex, and margin remediation. Q1 earnings transcript (Yahoo) Earnings call transcript (Seeking Alpha)
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks and other writeups summarize the miss and key metrics vs. estimates — helpful for investors modeling near‑term earnings and margin recovery scenarios. Zacks: Key metrics
• Negative Sentiment: CABO reported Q1 EPS of $6.12 vs. consensus $7.77 and revenue $352.96M vs. $359.59M, with a negative net margin — a clear near‑term earnings and profitability setback. Press release / earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts reacted: Wells Fargo cut its price target to $70 and set an “underweight” rating, and TD Cowen lowered its target to $111 and kept a “hold” — both moves increase sell‑side pressure. Analyst target changes (Benzinga)
• Negative Sentiment: Third‑party coverage highlights subscriber losses and margin pressure prompting a strategic overhaul — these operational challenges explain investor concerns about near‑term growth and profitability. Deep dive on subscriber losses (MSN)
• Negative Sentiment: Market/ETF positioning (Russell 1000 reweighting) and coverage noting the revenue miss have contributed to additional selling pressure. Russell 1000 ETF impact

About Cable One

Cable One, Inc (NYSE:CABO) is an American provider of broadband communications services, offering a suite of residential and business solutions over a hybrid fiber-coaxial network. The company delivers high-speed internet access, digital video, voice communications and mobile services, alongside advanced managed Wi-Fi and cybersecurity tools. Cable One’s infrastructure supports both traditional cable offerings and converged IP-based platforms designed to meet evolving customer needs.

In addition to consumer-focused services, Cable One caters to small and medium-sized enterprises with dedicated business-class connectivity, Ethernet solutions and cloud-based voice applications.