Altice USA, Inc. ATUS reported soft third-quarter 2024 results, with both adjusted earnings and revenues missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate.
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The company reported a revenue decline year over year, owing to soft demand trends in the Residential, Business Services and Wholesale segments. However, growth in mobile line and fiber customer net additions, focus on network upgrades, improving customer care and financial discipline were the positives.
Quarter Details
Net loss in the quarter was $43 million or a loss of 9 cents per share against a net income of $66.8 million or 15 cents per share in the prior-year quarter. This was primarily due to top-line contraction and higher interest expenses. The bottom line missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 11 cents.
Altice USA, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Altice USA, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Altice USA, Inc. Quote
Quarterly total revenues declined to $2.23 billion from $2.32 billion in the prior year, owing to lower contributions from Residential, Business Services and Wholesale segments due to macroeconomic uncertainty. Revenues missed the consensus estimate of $2.24 billion.
The company made progress in its growth strategies by accelerating network enhancement and customer experience. At the third-quarter end, Altice had 2.9 million FTTH (Fiber to the home) passings, about 51,700 of which were added in the July-September period.
FTTH broadband net additions were more than 47,400 in the quarter, led by increased migration of existing customers and higher fiber gross additions. Total fiber broadband customers reached 482,000 by the end of the quarter. Residential average revenue per user (ARPU) declined to $135.77 from $138.42 a year ago.
Residential revenues (which include Broadband, Video and Telephony) were $1.73 billion, down 6% year over year due to a loss in unique residential customers. Business services and Wholesale revenues declined to $366.4 million from the year-ago quarter’s tally of $366.8 million. News and Advertising revenues increased to $117.7 million from year-ago quarter’s $107.5 million, primarily driven by strong political advertising in the quarter.
Other Quarterly Details
Operating income declined to $444.6 million from $492.6 million in the year-ago quarter. Adjusted EBITDA was $862 million compared with $915.5 million in the prior-year quarter. Optimum Mobile witnessed healthy subscriber growth during the quarter, reaching 420,000 customers. Altice’s total passings grew by more than 38,000 and reached 9.8 million at the end of the quarter.
Cash Flow & Liquidity
Altice generated $1.14 billion of cash from operating activities in the first nine months of 2024 compared with $1.33 billion in the year-ago period. As of Sept. 30, 2024, the company’s net debt was $24.85 billion.
ATUS’ Zacks Rank
Altice currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Upcoming Releases
Motorola Solutions, Inc. MSI is scheduled to release third-quarter 2024 earnings on Nov. 7. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings is pegged at $3.36 per share, indicating growth of 5.33% from the year-ago figure.
Pinterest, Inc. PINS is scheduled to release third-quarter 2024 earnings on Nov. 7. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings is pegged at 34 cents per share, indicating growth of 21.4% from the year-ago figure.
Light and Wonder LNW is scheduled to release third-quarter 2024 earnings on Nov. 12. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings is pegged at $1.11 per share, indicating growth of 37% from the year-ago figure.
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