Key Financial Data
- Q1 Total revenue: $2.065 billion (-4% year-over)
- Residential revenue: $1.56 billion (-6.5%)
- Broadband revenue: $850 million (-5.5%)
- Video revenue: $602.2 million (-9.5%)
- Telephone revenue: $58.4 million (-12.1%)
- Business services revenue: $364.3 million (+0.2%)
- News & advertising revenue: $119.7 million (+16.9%)
- Net income: -$2.884 billion (compared to -$75.7 million)
- Read more Q1 2026 media earnings coverage
Optimum Communications reported lower revenue and a sharply wider first quarter (Q1) loss Thursday, as declines in its core broadband, video and residential businesses offset gains in its wireless and advertising businesses.
The company, which operated as Altice USA until last November, posted $2.07 billion in overall revenue during the first three months of the year, down 4 percent compared to the same time period in 2025.
Residential revenue declined 6.5 percent to $1.56 billion, reflecting continued pressure across broadband, video and telephony services. Broadband revenue fell 5.5 percent to $850 million, video revenue declined 9.5 percent to $602.2 million and telephony revenue dropped 12.1 percent to $58.4 million.
Optimum posted a net loss attributable to stockholders of $2.88 billion, or $6.10 per diluted share, compared with a loss of $75.7 million, or 16 cents per diluted share, a year earlier. The latest quarter included a $2.7 billion non-cash impairment charge tied to the company’s indefinite-lived cable franchise rights.
Optimum CEO Dennis Mathew said the quarter reflected “deliberate choices” aimed at building a more resilient company, citing efforts to strengthen broadband trends, maintain financial discipline and invest for long-term value creation. He said the company’s work contributed to year-over margin expansion while Optimum continued to face an “intense competitive environment.”
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The company’s mobile business remained a bright spot. Mobile revenue rose 35 percent to $49.5 million, and Optimum added 52,000 mobile lines during the quarter, its strongest quarterly mobile performance in six years. The company ended the period with 674,000 mobile lines. Mathew said the result reinforced Optimum’s confidence in multi-product customer relationships, which the company believes can support lower churn and better lifetime value.
Subscriber losses continued in broadband. Optimum reported total broadband net losses of 64,000, including an 8,000 adjustment related to prior periods, and ended the quarter with about 4.1 million broadband subscribers. Residential broadband customers continued shifting to higher speeds, with 47 percent of the base taking 1 Gig or faster service.
