Optimum Communications Q2 Earnings Call Highlights

Optimum Communications Q2 Earnings Call Highlights

Mobile growth partly offset broadband weakness: Optimum added approximately 50,000 mobile lines, bringing the total to 724,000, while broadband net losses improved sequentially to 40,000. Video losses also improved to 46,000, the company’s best quarterly result in six years.

Margins expanded despite declining revenue: Second-quarter revenue fell 5.8% year over year to about $2 billion, but gross margin reached a record 71% and adjusted EBITDA margin increased to 38.8% as programming and operating costs declined.

Debt reduction remains critical: Optimum repurchased $300 million of shares and has no remaining 2026 debt maturities, but leverage remains high at 8 times annualized adjusted EBITDA. Management is pursuing a comprehensive restructuring of CSC Holdings debt while continuing fiber and multi-gig network investments.

Optimum Communications NYSE: OPTU reported second-quarter 2026 revenue of approximately $2 billion and adjusted EBITDA of $786 million, as the company continued to manage broadband subscriber losses while expanding mobile lines, improving margins and reducing operating expenses. Broadband net losses improved sequentially to 40,000 in the quarter, while the company added roughly 50,000 mobile lines.

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Dennis Mathew said Optimum is pursuing a strategy focused on simpler offers, improved customer experience, operational efficiency, network investment and a balance-sheet reset.

Subscriber trends show mobile momentum Optimum ended the quarter with approximately 4 million broadband subscribers. While gross broadband additions were broadly stable year over year, the company said churn remained elevated, primarily because of heightened promotional activity from competitors. The company’s multi-dwelling-unit footprint represents about 20% of its total footprint, according to Chief Financial Officer Marc Sirota.

Optimum reported an additional 9,000 broadband connects and 8,000 video connects in the quarter from a bulk relationship portfolio conversion. Mathew said the company has been working to shift MDU agreements from non-exclusive retail arrangements toward longer-term bulk contracts with property owners.

Mobile results were a relative bright spot. Optimum added 50,000 net mobile lines, its best second-quarter performance to date, and ended the period with 724,000 lines, up approximately 33% from a year earlier. Mobile and broadband convergence penetration reached about 9% at quarter-end. The company also expanded its multiyear agreement with T-Mobile to access its standalone 5G network. Mathew said the arrangement is intended to provide faster service, a broader device lineup including wearables, and improved roaming and rural connectivity.

Broadband net losses: 40,000 Mobile net additions: approximately 50,000 Ending mobile lines: 724,000 Video net losses: 46,000 Fiber customer additions: 20,000 Ending fiber customers: 749,000

Video subscriber net losses were 46,000, a result Sirota described as the company’s best quarterly video subscriber performance in six years. Newer E-tier video packages represented approximately 18% of the residential video base, compared with 10% a year earlier. Management said customers taking those packages have shown lower churn than customers on legacy offerings.

Revenue declines, but margins expand Total revenue declined 5.8% year over year. Excluding the divestiture of an advertising agency services business, revenue would ha...