Cable One, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides data, video, and voice services in the United States. The company offers residential data services, a service to enhance Wi-Fi signal throughout the home. It also provides residential video services, such as local networks; local community programming that includes governmental and public access; and other channels, as well as digital video services, including national and regional cable networks, music channels, and an interactive and electronic programming guide with parental controls. In addition, the company offers premium channels that offer movies, original programming, live sporting events, and concerts and other features; and advanced video services, such as whole-home DVRs and high-definition set-top boxes, as well as TV Everywhere product, which enables its video customers to stream various channels and shows to mobile devices and computers. Further, it provides residential voice services comprising local and long-distance calling, voicemail, call waiting, three-way calling, caller ID, anonymous call rejection, and other features, as well as international calling by the minute services. Additionally, the company offers data, voice, and video products to business customers, including small to mid-markets, enterprises, and wholesale and carrier customers. As of December 31, 2021, it served approximately 1.2 million residential and business customers in 24 states through its Sparklight, Fidelity, and Clearwave brands. Cable One, Inc. was incorporated in 1980 and is headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona.
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1. A regional Comcast or Charter Communications (Spectrum).
2. The Spectrum (Charter Communications) for smaller cities and less competitive areas.
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- Residential High-Speed Internet: Provides broadband internet access to homes.
- Residential Video: Offers traditional cable television services to residential customers.
- Residential Voice: Delivers landline telephone services for households.
- Business Services: Supplies internet, voice, and data networking solutions to commercial clients.
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Cable One (CABO) primarily sells its services directly to end-users, rather than to a few major corporate customers. Its business model focuses on providing internet, video, and voice services to a broad base of individual households and businesses within its operating regions.
The company serves two primary categories of customers:
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Residential Customers: These are individual households that subscribe to Cable One's services for personal use. This category includes customers who purchase high-speed data (internet), video (cable television), and/or voice (telephone) services for their homes. This typically represents the largest segment of a cable operator's customer base.
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Business Customers: This category encompasses a range of businesses, from small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) to larger enterprises, that utilize Cable One's services for their operational needs. These customers subscribe to business-grade internet, phone, and sometimes video services to support their company's connectivity, communication, and entertainment requirements.
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Julie Laulis, Chair of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer
Julie Laulis joined Cable One in 1999 and has served as President and Chief Executive Officer since 2017, becoming Chair of the Board in 2018. Her career in the cable industry spans over 40 years, beginning with Hauser Communications and including various marketing management positions at Jones Communications prior to joining Cable One. She previously held roles such as Chief Operations Officer and President and Chief Operating Officer at Cable One. Laulis is a graduate of Indiana University and the Harvard Business School Program for Management Development. She currently serves on the boards of The AES Corporation, CableLabs, and C-SPAN.
Todd Koetje, Chief Financial Officer
Todd Koetje was appointed Chief Financial Officer of Cable One on July 1, 2022. He joined the company in September 2021 as Senior Vice President, Business Development & Finance. With more than 20 years of experience in capital markets, the telecom industry, and financial leadership, Koetje previously served as Managing Director & Group Head of the Technology, Media & Telecommunications Leveraged Finance team at Truist Securities (formerly SunTrust Robinson Humphrey). In his prior role, he helped build the firm's Syndicated & Leveraged Finance practice and has developed extensive relationships with private equity partners. He holds bachelor's degrees in Finance and Marketing from Florida State University.
Kenneth Johnson, Chief Operating Officer
Kenneth Johnson was appointed Chief Operating Officer of Cable One effective March 1, 2024. He joined Cable One in 2018 following the acquisition of NewWave Communications, where he previously served as Chief Operating Officer and Chief Technology Officer. Before becoming COO at Cable One, he held positions including Chief Technology and Innovation Officer and Chief Technology and Digital Officer. Johnson has over 30 years of industry experience, including previous roles as Chief Technology Officer for SureWest Communications and Everest Connections.
Megan M. Detz, Chief People Officer
Megan M. Detz serves as the Chief People Officer for Cable One.
Christopher J. Arntzen, Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary
Christopher J. Arntzen joined Cable One in May 2021 and is the Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary. He has more than 25 years of legal experience, including previous in-house counsel roles as Vice President and Deputy General Counsel at CenterPoint Energy, Inc., and Deputy General Counsel at ZoomInfo Technologies Inc. He began his career at Baker Botts L.L.P., where he worked as an associate and partner for over 13 years.
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Cable One (CABO) faces several significant risks to its business. The most pressing include legal and reputational damage from ongoing investigations, intense competition leading to subscriber loss, and substantial debt levels impacting financial performance.
The most significant risk stems from **legal and reputational fallout due to ongoing investigations into potential securities fraud**. Law firms, such as Pomerantz LLP, initiated investigations in May 2025 after Cable One's Q1 2025 financial results revealed a 5.9% revenue drop and a 93% collapse in net income, coupled with an abrupt suspension of its dividend. These investigations are probing whether management misled investors through overly optimistic forecasts, opaque accounting, or a failure to disclose risks, particularly regarding subscriber losses and billing migration issues. If securities fraud is proven, it could lead to severe consequences, including class-action lawsuits and further erosion of investor trust and company credibility.
Secondly, Cable One faces intense and increasing **competition, leading to subscriber loss, particularly in its residential data segment**. The company has reported declining residential data subscribers and overall revenue drops in recent quarters. This is largely driven by fiber overbuilds from competitors like AT&T and Lumen/CenturyLink, as well as the expansion of fixed wireless/5G services, particularly in the rural areas where Cable One traditionally had less competition. This heightened competition puts pressure on average revenue per user (ARPU) and increases customer churn, challenging the core business model and long-term growth prospects.
Finally, **high debt levels and deteriorating financial performance** pose a substantial risk. As of June 30, 2025, Cable One carried a significant debt balance of $3.50 billion, with a high net leverage ratio. Recent financial reports have shown substantial non-cash impairment charges ($456.2 million in Q2 2025) and a net loss of $438.0 million in the same quarter, driven by a decline in the company's stock price. The suspension of its dividend in Q1 2025 also signaled a crisis in cash flow. While the company maintains some liquidity, these financial pressures limit its ability to make significant investments in new infrastructure or manage potential increases in interest rates.
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Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) Providers: Major wireless carriers like T-Mobile and Verizon are rapidly expanding their 5G-based home internet services. These FWA offerings provide a direct, often cost-effective and easy-to-deploy alternative to traditional wireline broadband, increasingly competing in the residential internet market segments where Cable One operates. Evidence includes millions of new FWA subscribers added by these carriers annually, demonstrating significant market penetration and a growing competitive threat to incumbent internet service providers.
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Accelerated Fiber Optic Network Overbuilds: A proliferation of new fiber optic network deployments, often spurred by government funding initiatives (e.g., BEAD, RDOF) and private investment, is leading to new entrants and existing competitors building advanced fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) infrastructure in markets previously served by or dominated by Cable One. These overbuilders offer symmetrical multi-gigabit speeds and can exert significant price and performance pressure on Cable One's established services, particularly where Cable One has not yet upgraded to FTTH or DOCSIS 4.0.
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Cable One (symbol: CABO) provides broadband communication services, including residential data, business data, residential video, and residential voice services, primarily in non-metropolitan, secondary, and tertiary markets across 24 U.S. states.
The addressable markets for Cable One's main products and services in the U.S. are as follows:
Residential Data Services (Broadband Internet)
The U.S. broadband services market was valued at approximately $62.6 billion in 2023 and is projected to reach $152.7 billion by 2032, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.43% from 2024 to 2032. As of the end of 2023, approximately 106.3 million U.S. households subscribed to home internet services.
Business Data Services (Business Internet)
The global business internet service market was estimated at $120 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach $200 billion by 2031, with a CAGR of 6.5% from 2025 to 2031. North America is considered a robust market for business internet services. The business end-use segment accounted for approximately 45% of the global broadband services market in 2024.
Residential Video Services (Cable Television and IPTV)
The U.S. video streaming market size was estimated at $38.73 billion in 2024 and is projected to be worth around $225.43 billion by 2034, growing at a CAGR of 19.26% from 2025 to 2034. Cable One offers IPTV services under its Sparklight brand.
Residential Voice Services (Broadband Phone)
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Cable One (CABO) is focusing on several key drivers to stimulate future revenue growth over the next two to three years:
- Expansion of Fiber-to-the-Premise (FTTP) Networks: Cable One, through its Clearwave Fiber joint venture, is aggressively expanding fiber-to-the-premise networks into underserved rural areas. This initiative aims to reach approximately 500,000 rural homes by 2027 and is crucial for solidifying its market position against other fiber providers.
- Growth in Business Data Services: The company is strategically shifting its focus towards higher-margin enterprise and business data services, particularly within its fiber and carrier segments. This area has demonstrated consistent growth, contributing positively to overall revenue.
- Introduction of New Product Offerings:
- Prepaid Broadband: Cable One has rolled out a prepaid broadband offering designed to attract price-sensitive customers, with a notable portion of subscribers opting for higher-speed tiers (500 Mbps or faster).
- Mobile Service Pilot: A mobile service pilot is set to launch in late November 2025, offering unlimited plans starting at $25 per line in select markets. This new service aims to reduce customer churn, deepen service adoption, and increase customer lifetime value.
- Strategic Pricing and Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) Stability: Despite facing challenges in subscriber growth, Cable One is focused on maintaining stable Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) through strategic pricing adjustments and an enhanced customer segmentation strategy. This includes introducing value offerings like the "Lift" product and new "Tech Assist" services. The company has also implemented general internet price increases, with options for customers to offset these by enrolling in paperless billing and AutoPay.
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Share Repurchases
- In May 2022, Cable One's Board of Directors authorized a stock repurchase program of up to $450 million, which does not have an expiration date.
- During 2023, the company repurchased 141,551 shares of its common stock at an aggregate cost of $99.6 million.
- As of March 31, 2025, Cable One had $143.1 million of remaining authorization under its share repurchase program.
Share Issuance
- A public offering of common stock was announced in May 2020. No specific dollar amount for shares issued (equity) was found within the last 3-5 years.
Outbound Investments
- In September 2020, Cable One acquired a 45% minority stake in Mega Broadband Investments (MBI) for approximately $574.1 million in cash.
- In May 2021, Cable One acquired the remaining 85% of Hargray Communications for approximately $2 billion.
- In December 2024, Cable One amended its strategic partnership with MBI, including a $250 million payment, to provide enhanced timing flexibility for a potential full acquisition of MBI, expected no earlier than October 1, 2026, with an estimated purchase price of $410 million to $550 million for the remaining 55% interest.
Capital Expenditures
- Capital expenditures for the full year 2023 totaled $371.0 million, following $414.1 million in 2022.
- For the full year 2025, capital expenditures are projected to be in the high $200 million range, a downward revision from the earlier $300 million estimate, with a focus on cash flow optimization and debt repayment.
- In Q3 2025, capital expenditures totaled $71.8 million, with investments made in new market expansion projects and integration activities. The company also plans to deploy DOCSIS 4.0 and symmetrical Gigabit speeds.