Cable One (CABO) posts $348.9 million in Q2 revenue as broadband subscriber losses and margin pressure define the print

Cable One's (CABO) Q2 2026 adjusted EBITDA came in at $173.5 million, or 49.7% of revenues, against $203.2 million and 53.3% a year earlier, as 17,000 net residential broadband subscriber losses weighed on the print. Total revenues were $348.9 million, down from $381.1 million in Q2 2025. The forthcoming Form 10-Q is the next filing to track.

The numbers

Residential data revenues fell $16.7 million, or 7.3% year-over-year, on a 6.6% subscriber decline, while ARPU held roughly flat against the prior-year quarter. Sequential residential data revenue slipped $1 million. Business data revenue declined $3.8 million, or 6.6% year-over-year; $2.2 million of that tied directly to tower contracts divested in Q1 2026.

CapEx totaled $74 million for the quarter, up $5.6 million year-over-year and equal to 42.7% of adjusted EBITDA. Adjusted EBITDA less CapEx was $99.5 million versus $134.8 million in the year-ago period. Cable One reaffirmed guidance that full-year CapEx will remain consistent with the prior year.

Cash and equivalents stood at $166.2 million at quarter end, with gross debt at $3.06 billion. The company reduced that debt load by $63 million during Q2, nearly $60 million of which came via voluntary repurchases at discounts, bringing year-to-date reduction to nearly $130 million. Net leverage on a last-quarter-annualized basis was 4.2x.

The setup

CEO Jim Holanda called churn reduction the company's highest operational priority, citing the mobile service launched across the footprint in March 2026 and a bundling push as the primary tools against fixed wireless competition. Digital and direct sales channels combined for roughly 35% of gross connects in Q2, up from less than 10% a year earlier. Holanda said the digital channel alone is expected to reach 35% to 40% of sales over the next 12 to 18 months.

Cable One also launched unified communications as a service (UCaaS) in Q2 for its small and medium business segment, adding a cloud-based communications product that management said is intended to deepen customer relationships over time.

Fixed wireless competes across more than 80% of Cable One's footprint, per the company's third-party research. Satellite, measured through Opensignal data, reached an estimated 1% market share inside the footprint in 2026, up from 0% at end of 2025. Management described that level as not yet material to competitive dynamics.

CFO Todd Koetje said Cable One is actively evaluating financing alternatives but declined to detail them, citing the ongoing nature of that process. No new disclosures came on the MBI transaction. Non-cash impairment charges on franchise agreements, goodwill, and the MBI investment were recorded in Q2 with no cash flow impact, Koetje noted.

What to watch: any financing announcement alongside the Form 10-Q, with net leverage at 4.2x and $700 million of undrawn revolver capacity marking the balance sheet floor.