Cable One Inc (CABO) 2024 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Hello and welcome to the Cable One Incorporated Q3 2024 earnings call. (Operator Instructions) As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. At this time, I would like to turn the conference over to Jordan Morkert, Vice President of Investor relations. Please go ahead.

您好，歡迎參加 Cable One 公司 2024 年第三季財報電話會議。（操作員指示）謹此提醒，本次會議正在錄製中。現在，我想將會議交給投資者關係副總裁 Jordan Morkert。請繼續。

Good afternoon, and welcome to Cable One's third quarter 2024 earnings call. We're glad to have you join us as we review our results. Before we proceed, I would like to remind you that today's discussion contains forward-looking statements relating to future events that involve risks and uncertainties, including statements regarding future broadband revenue and customer growth, customer losses due to the end of the affordable connectivity program.

下午好，歡迎參加 Cable One 的 2024 年第三季財報電話會議。我們很高興您加入我們來審查我們的結果。在我們繼續之前，我想提醒您，今天的討論包含與涉及風險和不確定性的未來事件有關的前瞻性陳述，包括有關未來寬頻收入和客戶增長、由於負擔得起的連接計劃結束而導致的客戶損失的陳述。

Future ARPU, future levels of wired competition, growth in carrier, wholesale and enterprise market segments, the future capabilities of our network anticipated benefits from AI, the timing and anticipated benefits of our new billing system implementation, capital expenditures, purchase price payable if the MBI put option is exercised in the anticipated time line to consummate such transaction, our ability and sources of capital to fund the MBI put price and our future financial performance, capital allocation, dividend policy, leverage ratios and financing plans.

未來的ARPU、未來有線競爭的水平、營運商、批發和企業細分市場的成長、我們網路的未來能力、人工智慧帶來的預期收益、我們新計費系統實施的時間和預期收益、資本支出、應付的購買價格（如果MBI 看跌期權在預期時間內行使，以完成此類交易、我們為MBI 看跌期權提供資金的能力和資金來源以及我們未來的財務業績、資本配置、股息政策、槓桿率和融資計劃。

You can find factors that could cause Cable One's actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements discussed during today's call, in today's earnings release and in our SEC filings, including our annual report on Form 10-K/A. Cable One is under no obligation and expressly disclaims any obligation, except as required by law, to update or alter its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

您可以在今天的電話會議、今天的收益報告和我們向SEC 提交的文件（包括我們的10-K/A 表格年度報告）中找到可能導致Cable One 的實際結果與今天討論的前瞻性陳述存在重大差異的因素。除法律要求外，第一電纜沒有義務並明確否認有任何義務更新或更改其前瞻性陳述，無論是由於新資訊、未來事件或其他原因。

Additionally, today's remarks will include a discussion of certain financial measures that are not presented in conformity with the US generally accepted accounting principles or GAAP. Reconciliations of non-GAAP financial measures discussed on this call to the most directly comparable GAAP measures can be found in our earnings release or on our website at ir.cableone.net.

此外，今天的演講還將討論某些不符合美國公認會計原則或公認會計原則的財務指標。本次電話會議中討論的非 GAAP 財務指標與最直接可比較的 GAAP 指標的對帳可在我們的收益報告或我們的網站 ir.cableone.net 上找到。

Joining me on today's call is our President and CEO, Julia Laulis; and Todd Koetje, our CFO. With that, let me turn the call over to Julia.

與我一起參加今天電話會議的是我們的總裁兼執行長 Julia Laulis；以及我們的財務長 Todd Koetje。接下來，讓我把電話轉給茱莉亞。

Thank you, Jordan, and good afternoon, everyone. We appreciate you joining us for today's call. In the third quarter, we continued to execute on our phased plan for long-term broadband growth. As expected, residential ARPU stabilized and our customer base remained essentially unchanged after excluding the impact of customer losses from the expiration of the affordable connectivity program and minimal customer gains from a small acquisition in July.

謝謝喬丹，大家下午好。我們感謝您參加今天的電話會議。第三季度，我們繼續執行寬頻長期成長的階段性計畫。正如預期的那樣，在排除平價連接計劃到期造成的客戶損失以及 7 月份小額收購帶來的客戶收益極少的影響後，住宅 ARPU 趨於穩定，我們的客戶群基本上保持不變。

Business Broadband growth also accelerated, driven by rising demand across enterprise segments. Looking ahead, we are confident in our ability to grow broadband revenue over the long term. This confidence is rooted in insights we've gained with new go-to-market tactics, recent talent additions and organizational changes, new product offerings and the resilience of our highly secured network, which has maintained significant capacity amidst double-digit increases in data demand.

在企業部門需求不斷增長的推動下，商業寬頻成長也加速。展望未來，我們對長期增加寬頻收入的能力充滿信心。這種信心植根於我們透過新的市場進入策略、最近的人才增加和組織變革、新產品供應以及我們高度安全的網路的彈性而獲得的見解，該網路在數據兩位數成長的情況下保持了巨大的容量要求。

This quarter also marked several significant milestones including advancements in digital transformation and expanded use of AI, a strategic rebranding and ongoing organizational alignment, all guided by a customer-first mindset.

本季也標誌著幾個重要的里程碑，包括數位轉型的進步和人工智慧的擴大使用、策略品牌重塑和持續的組織調整，所有這些都以客戶至上的心態為指導。

Before Todd reviews our financial performance in detail, I'll dive deeper into topics of broadband growth, product and network enhancements and strategic initiatives. I want to emphasize that despite the early stages of a phased plan for long-term growth, we remain confident that our steadfast approach will help us successfully navigate the evolving competitive landscape while delivering shareholder value.

在托德詳細審查我們的財務表現之前，我將更深入地探討寬頻成長、產品和網路增強以及策略舉措等主題。我想強調的是，儘管長期成長的分階段計畫還處於早期階段，但我們仍然相信，我們堅定的做法將幫助我們成功駕馭不斷變化的競爭格局，同時提供股東價值。

Starting with residential broadband, HSD subscribers were essentially flat for the quarter excluding the impact from the discontinuation of ACP, which ended in April. We were able to accomplish this despite the ongoing transition to our new billing system, which has required a suspension of price adjustments for more than a quarter, limiting our ability to make marketing adjustments to approximately 20% of our HSD customers.

從住宅寬頻開始，排除 4 月終止的 ACP 的影響，本季 HSD 用戶數量基本持平。儘管我們正在向新的計費系統過渡，這需要暫停價格調整超過四分之一，限制了我們對大約 20% 的 HSD 客戶進行行銷調整的能力，但我們仍然能夠實現這一目標。

To support our growth and drive our strategy in the upcoming quarters, we've also made significant enhancements to our marketing team, which I will detail a bit later. Specific to the third quarter, while we saw a decrease of 3,400 customers on a sequential quarterly basis, discontinuation of the ACP program cost us 5,300 customers. I would also like to call out that while we took proactive measures to support our customers after ACP ended, which helped maintain our commitment to offer affordable services.

為了支持我們的成長並推動我們在未來幾季的策略，我們也對行銷團隊進行了重大改進，我將在稍後詳細介紹。具體到第三季度，雖然我們發現環比減少了 3,400 名客戶，但 ACP 計劃的終止使我們損失了 5,300 名客戶。我還想指出，雖然我們在 ACP 結束後採取了積極措施來支持我們的客戶，但這有助於維持我們提供負擔得起的服務的承諾。

We consciously avoided extreme tactics to retain customers at any cost. Looking ahead, we believe the accelerated churn due to the discontinuation of the program is behind us, and we will consider any further churn from this cohort as part of the normal customer life cycle.

我們有意識地避免採取極端策略，不惜一切代價留住客戶。展望未來，我們相信由於該計劃的終止而導致的加速流失已經成為過去，我們將考慮將此群體中的任何進一步流失視為正常客戶生命週期的一部分。

One example of how we're working to deliver affordable service to value-conscious customers is our pilot pay-as-you-go internet offering, a service tailored for residential customers who seek flexibility in managing their internet expenses, accessible through a user-friendly mobile app, it allows customers to purchase high-speed internet in increments as well as the freedom to adjust their speed as needed, ensuring they only pay for what they require.

我們如何努力為注重價值的客戶提供價格實惠的服務的一個例子是我們的試點即用即付互聯網產品，這是一項為尋求靈活管理互聯網費用的住宅客戶量身定制的服務，可通過以下方式訪問：友好的行動應用程序，它允許客戶增量購買高速互聯網，並根據需要自由調整速度，確保他們只為自己需要的東西付費。

This product provides a true pay-as-you-go experience with no long-term commitments, contracts or extra fees for the customer and a lower cost basis for the company. This is a pilot program, and we are just starting to gather insights from it, which will inevitably lead to program evolution as we refine how to best serve this cohort of customers moving forward.

該產品提供真正的即用即付體驗，無需為客戶提供長期承諾、合約或額外費用，並為公司提供較低的成本基礎。這是一個試點計劃，我們剛開始從中收集見解，隨著我們不斷完善如何最好地為這群客戶提供服務，這將不可避免地導致計劃的演變。

As anticipated, our ARPU stabilized sequentially, and we expect this trend to continue for the remainder of the year. Notably, new customer selection of speed tiers of 600 megs or higher increased significantly by 900 basis points year-over-year and 300 basis points sequentially, reaching an all-time high of 62%. ARPU benefited from this higher sell-in as well as our ongoing refinement of competitive responses, promotional roll-offs and the successful implementation of our Pay plus program.

正如預期的那樣，我們的 ARPU 連續穩定，我們預計這一趨勢將在今年剩餘時間內持續下去。值得注意的是，新客戶選擇 600 兆或更高速度等級的數量同比大幅增加 900 個基點，環比增加 300 個基點，達到 62% 的歷史新高。ARPU 受益於更高的銷售量以及我們不斷完善的競爭應對措施、促銷滾存以及 Pay plus 計劃的成功實施。

Turning to competitive dynamics. We believe there are early signs that competition is stabilizing. Specifically, we have observed more rational pricing from some of our competitors reflecting the economic realities of our markets. We believe the economics required for viable returns for wired operators in our markets effectively discourages long-term aggressive pricing strategies.

轉向競爭動態。我們相信，有早期跡象顯示競爭正在趨於穩定。具體來說，我們觀察到一些競爭對手的定價更加合理，反映了我們市場的經濟現實。我們相信，我們市場上的有線業者獲得可行回報所需的經濟性有效地阻礙了長期激進的定價策略。

Raw material costs, construction costs from challenging topography and limited labor resources also act as a barrier to new entrants in a host of our markets. Most importantly, our deep local knowledge gives us a competitive edge in these communities, enabling us to maintain a strong market position even in areas with elevated competition.

原材料成本、具有挑戰性的地形造成的建築成本以及有限的勞動力資源也成為我們許多市場新進者的障礙。最重要的是，我們深厚的當地知識使我們在這些社區中具有競爭優勢，使我們即使在競爭激烈的地區也能保持強大的市場地位。

Business Broadband continues to be an important driver of our long-term growth strategy, with revenues up 2.9% year-over-year, an acceleration from the previous quarter's year-over-year growth rate. We are observing significant demand across our carrier, wholesale and enterprise segments. These business segments are in earlier stages of growth and continue to show consistent progress. In all segments, we are taking action to improve our position, whether through pricing, customer experience or expansion into new product types.

商業寬頻仍是我們長期成長策略的重要驅動力，營收年增 2.9%，較上一季的年增速有所加快。我們觀察到營運商、批發和企業領域的巨大需求。這些業務部門處於成長的早期階段，並繼續顯示出持續的進展。在所有細分市場中，我們都在採取行動來提高我們的地位，無論是透過定價、客戶體驗或擴展到新產品類型。

I would like to take a few minutes to elaborate on the importance of our strong network. Our senior leadership recently gathered at the National SCTE conference and the excitement around the future of HSD networks was palpable. Indeed, DOCSIS 4.0 makes the future brighter than ever as it will be able to deliver up to 10 gig speeds drug intelligent, capital-efficient infrastructure. Future advancements promise even greater capabilities with speed potentially reaching 25 gigabits or more.

我想花幾分鐘時間詳細闡述我們強大網絡的重要性。我們的高層領導最近齊聚全國 SCTE 會議，對 HSD 網路的未來感到興奮不已。事實上，DOCSIS 4.0 使未來比以往更加光明，因為它將能夠提供高達 10 gig 速度的藥物智慧、資本高效型基礎設施。未來的進步有望提供更強大的功能，速度可能達到 25 GB 或更高。

Today, we offer gigabit speeds across our entire footprint with multi-gig capabilities available in over 40% of our markets. We plan to expand these products through all markets as we transition from linear video to IPTV, but our story isn't just about speed. Our network surpasses the performance and security of cellphone Internet competitors, positioning us to meet the growing data demands of our customers, now averaging 730 gigabits of data per month.

如今，我們在整個覆蓋範圍內提供千兆位元速度，並在超過 40% 的市場中提供多千兆位元功能。隨著我們從線性視訊過渡到 IPTV，我們計劃將這些產品擴展到所有市場，但我們的故事不僅僅與速度有關。我們的網路超越了手機網路競爭對手的效能和安全性，使我們能夠滿足客戶不斷增長的數據需求，目前平均每月數據量為 730 GB。

Notably, 25% of our customers exceed 1-terabyte of usage per month, up from 21% last year. Even with this rising demand, our network peak utilization remains low at just 19% downstream and 18% upstream demonstrating our ability to support continued growth without capacity limitations or substantial increase in capital intensity. We also understand that seamless and secure connectivity within the home is essential. That's why we offer intelligent Wi-Fi designed to ensure customers enjoy the best possible online experience at all times.

值得注意的是，我們 25% 的客戶每月使用量超過 1 TB，高於去年的 21%。即使需求不斷增長，我們的網路尖峰利用率仍然很低，下游僅為 19%，上游為 18%，這表明我們有能力在不限制產能或大幅增加資本密集度的情況下支持持續成長。我們也了解，家庭內無縫且安全的連接至關重要。這就是為什麼我們提供智慧 Wi-Fi，旨在確保客戶始終享受最佳的線上體驗。

Our intelligent Wi-Fi continuously adapts to the users needs, optimizing speed and ensuring secure connectivity even with a large number of devices online. This smarter network is part of our commitment to delivering technology that enhances our customers day-to-day lives and even more exciting things lie ahead for our customers in a more adaptive era, but our network will become increasingly proactive intuitive. We are laying the groundwork for this future by integrating AI, machine learning, data analytics and smart equipment into our infrastructure.

我們的智慧 Wi-Fi 不斷適應用戶需求，優化速度並確保即使有大量設備在線上也能安全連線。這個更聰明的網路是我們致力於提供改善客戶日常生活的技術的一部分，在更具適應性的時代，我們的客戶將面臨更令人興奮的事情，但我們的網路將變得越來越主動直觀。我們正在透過將人工智慧、機器學習、數據分析和智慧設備整合到我們的基礎設施中，為這個未來奠定基礎。

We're investing in a network that anticipates the needs of our customers, delivering speed, reliability and adaptability that transforms the customer experience. These advancements position us not only to meet market demand, but shape the future of broadband, but are through our investment in multi-gig capabilities, intelligent Wi-Fi or cybersecurity solutions, we are committed to driving sustained growth through innovation, reliability, and an unwavering focus on our customers.

我們投資的網路能夠預測客戶的需求，提供速度、可靠性和適應性，進而改變客戶體驗。這些進步使我們不僅能夠滿足市場需求，而且塑造了寬頻的未來，而且透過我們對多千兆位元功能、智慧Wi-Fi 或網路安全解決方案的投資，我們致力於透過創新、可靠性和安全性來推動持續成長。

As one example, we recently introduced a top-tier security package for $8 a month designed to protect our customers from a wide range of online threats, including viruses, malware and phishing attacks. This package and others like it will create meaningful opportunity for ARPU growth while enhancing customer loyalty and retention. By aligning the interest of our customers and the company we can create a more integrated and valuable experience for all stakeholders.

舉個例子，我們最近推出了每月 8 美元的頂級安全套餐，旨在保護我們的客戶免受各種線上威脅，包括病毒、惡意軟體和網路釣魚攻擊。該套餐和其他類似套餐將為 ARPU 成長創造有意義的機會，同時提高客戶忠誠度和保留率。透過協調客戶和公司的利益，我們可以為所有利害關係人創造更全面和有價值的體驗。

Shifting to strategic initiatives. We plan to go live next week with our new billing system consolidating our Fidelity, Valu-Net and Cable America customers onto a single billing platform. This will dramatically streamline operations for associates and customers accelerate product launches and strengthen our Sparklight brand presence. As we have noted previously, this enables us to retire more than 30 disparate software platforms yielding several million dollars in anticipated annual savings.

轉向策略舉措。我們計劃下週啟用新的計費系統，將 Fidelity、Valu-Net 和 Cable America 客戶整合到一個計費平台上。這將極大地簡化員工和客戶的營運，加速產品發布並增強我們的 Sparklight 品牌影響力。正如我們之前所指出的，這使我們能夠淘汰 30 多個不同的軟體平台，預計每年可節省數百萬美元。

Additionally, we successfully transitioned our Hargray brand to our financial ERP, streamlining our financial operations and decreasing costs. We have also made substantial progress in rebranding Fidelity, Hargray, and Valu-Net and Cable America to our Sparklight brand on our website and customer billing systems.

此外，我們成功地將 Hargray 品牌轉變為財務 ERP，簡化了我們的財務營運並降低了成本。我們也在網站和客戶計費系統上將 Fidelity、Hargray、Valu-Net 和 Cable America 更名為 Sparklight 品牌方面取得了實質進展。

Associates across the company are proudly wearing Sparklight uniforms and badges, and we are updating our vehicle wraps and signage as well, consolidating all customers under the Sparklight brand and packages leverages the strength of our brand across the footprint and secure efficiencies by fully integrating our operations.

全公司的員工都自豪地穿著Sparklight 制服和徽章，我們也在更新我們的車輛包裝和標牌，將所有客戶整合到Sparklight 品牌和包裝下，利用我們品牌在整個足蹟的優勢，並透過全面整合我們的營運來確保效率。

Collectively, these efforts are designed to drive operational excellence and create a unified brand experience, positioning us well for exciting growth opportunities ahead. Transitioning from operational enhancements to technological advancements, we're pleased to share a significant development in our approach to customer interactions.

總的來說，這些努力旨在推動卓越營運並創造統一的品牌體驗，讓我們為未來令人興奮的成長機會做好準備。從營運改善到技術進步，我們很高興分享我們在客戶互動方法方面的重大發展。

We've begun integrating an advanced AI module into our customer experience framework, representing the first phase of a broader strategy to transform our approach to improve customer interactions and drive greater efficiency. This AI-powered system allows us to harvest actionable customer insights enabling our leaders to gain a deeper understanding of our customer needs and continuously elevate the overall customer journey.

我們已經開始將先進的人工智慧模組整合到我們的客戶體驗框架中，這是更廣泛策略的第一階段，旨在改變我們的方法，以改善客戶互動並提高效率。這個由人工智慧驅動的系統使我們能夠獲得可行的客戶洞察，使我們的領導者能夠更深入地了解客戶需求，並不斷提升整體客戶旅程。

We continue to recognize the importance of adding talent to our team to achieve our strategy. So I would like to welcome Tony Mokry as our new SVP of Residential Services. Tony brings more than 25 years of experience in the telecommunications industry to his new role. Before joining us at Cable One, he served as Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer at Cricket Wireless and AT&T subsidiary, where he led cross-functional teams to enhance brand awareness, identify market trends and drive revenue growth.

我們繼續認識到為我們的團隊增加人才以實現我們的策略的重要性。因此，我歡迎 Tony Mokry 擔任我們新的住宅服務資深副總裁。Tony 為他的新職位帶來了超過 25 年的電信行業經驗。在加入 Cable One 之前，他曾擔任 Cricket Wireless 和 AT&T 子公司的副總裁兼首席行銷官，領導跨職能團隊提高品牌知名度、識別市場趨勢並推動收入成長。

Earlier in his career, Tony held several senior roles at AT&T, including Vice President of both states, where his leadership was instrumental in leading market share growth through innovative marketing strategies based on data-driven insights. Tony's addition complements the reorganization we announced last quarter, bringing expertise that will enhance our ability to serve customers foster sustainable long-term growth and adapt to the evolving demands of today's competitive landscape.

在職業生涯早期，托尼在 AT&T 擔任多個高級職位，包括兩個州的副總裁，他的領導力透過基於數據驅動洞察的創新行銷策略，在引領市場份額成長方面發揮了重要作用。托尼的加入補充了我們上季度宣布的重組，帶來的專業知識將增強我們為客戶服務的能力，促進可持續的長期增長並適應當今競爭格局不斷變化的需求。

We are pleased with the new talent we've brought in across the organization. Their deep expertise strengthens our executive team and fortifies our strategic direction. Before turning the call over to Todd, I want to recognize the incredible dedication of our associates during this challenging hurricane season. Hurricane Helene, one of the deadliest to strike the US in over 50 years significantly affected communities in the Southeast, including our markets in South Carolina and Georgia.

我們對整個組織引進的新人才感到滿意。他們深厚的專業知識增強了我們的執行團隊並鞏固了我們的策略方向。在將電話轉給托德之前，我想對我們的員工在這個充滿挑戰的颶風季節所做的令人難以置信的奉獻表示認可。海倫颶風是 50 多年來襲擊美國最嚴重的颶風之一，嚴重影響了東南部的社區，包括我們在南卡羅來納州和喬治亞州的市場。

Fortunately, all of our associates and their families are safe and our exposure was limited. Our team swiftly restored services to more than 95% of the approximately 15,000 impacted Cable One customers within a week demonstrating remarkable resilience and commitment to our customers.

幸運的是，我們所有的同事及其家人都很安全，我們的暴露程度也有限。我們的團隊在一周內迅速為大約 15,000 名受影響的 Cable One 客戶中的 95% 以上恢復了服務，展現了卓越的韌性和對客戶的承諾。

And now, Todd will provide a recap of our third quarter financial performance and further discuss our outlook for the future.

現在，托德將回顧我們第三季的財務業績，並進一步討論我們對未來的展望。

Thanks, Julie. Starting off with revenue. For the third quarter of 2024, our total revenues were $393.6 million compared to $420.3 million in the third quarter of 2023. The year-over-year decrease was due primarily to lower residential data ARPU and continued attrition within our lower-margin product line. After declining sequentially over the first half of the year, residential data ARPU stabilized from Q2 to Q3.

謝謝，朱莉。從收入開始。2024 年第三季度，我們的總營收為 3.936 億美元，而 2023 年第三季為 4.203 億美元。年比下降主要是由於住宅數據 ARPU 下降以及我們利潤率較低的產品線持續流失。繼上半年季減後，住宅數據 ARPU 從第二季到第三季趨於穩定。

As Julie noted, we expect this to continue through the end of this year. Q3 residential data revenues decreased by $17.1 million or 6.9% year-over-year, driven by a 7.1% decrease in ARPU. This decline was due to targeted pricing and product strategies in specific markets to address select competitors, along with a focus on the valued customer segment, which generally has lower sell-in rates.

正如朱莉所指出的，我們預計這種情況將持續到今年年底。第三季住宅數據營收年減 1,710 萬美元，成長 6.9%，原因是 ARPU 下降 7.1%。這種下降是由於特定市場中針對特定競爭對手的有針對性的定價和產品策略，以及對通常銷售率較低的尊貴客戶群的關注。

Shifting to Business Services. Third quarter business data revenues grew by $1.6 million or 2.9% compared to the same period last year. Business data PSUs grew by 1,100 over the past 12 months. This growth is fueled by strong demand across the carrier, wholesale and enterprise customer segments, which generate our highest revenues per customer and benefit from long-term contracts with high renewal rates.

轉向商業服務。第三季商業數據營收較去年同期成長 160 萬美元，成長 2.9%。過去 12 個月，業務數據 PSU 成長了 1,100 個。這一成長是由營運商、批發和企業客戶群的強勁需求推動的，這些客戶群為我們帶來了最高的每位客戶收入，並受益於高續約率的長期合約。

Operating expenses were $104.6 million. The decrease in expense was driven largely by a $7.6 million decrease in programming and franchise costs as well as our ongoing focus on optimizing cost structures within our labor base.

營運費用為 1.046 億美元。費用的減少主要是由於節目和特許經營成本減少了 760 萬美元，以及我們持續專注於優化勞動力基礎的成本結構。

Selling, general and administrative expenses were $88.4 million or 22.5% of revenues for the third quarter of 2024 compared to $92.7 million and 22.1% in the third quarter of last year. The decrease in expense was driven in large part by lower labor and other compensation-related costs due to organizational changes implemented during the second quarter, partially offset by increased expenses related to new platform implementations and rebranding.

2024 年第三季的銷售、一般和管理費用為 8,840 萬美元，佔營收的 22.5%，而去年第三季為 9,270 萬美元，佔營收的 22.1%。費用減少在很大程度上是由於第二季度實施的組織變革導致勞動力和其他薪酬相關成本下降，部分被新平台實施和品牌重塑相關費用增加所抵消。

Net income was $44.2 million for the third quarter of 2024 compared to $30.3 million in the third quarter of 2023. Adjusted EBITDA was $213.6 million or 54.3% of revenues in Q3 2024 compared to $230 million or 54.7% of revenues in the prior year quarter. Our adjusted EBITDA margin improved 50 basis points on a sequential basis. Capital expenditures were $77 million in Q3 of this year compared to $77.8 million last year.

2024 年第三季的淨利為 4,420 萬美元，而 2023 年第三季的淨利為 3,030 萬美元。2024 年第三季調整後 EBITDA 為 2.136 億美元，佔營收的 54.3%，而去年同期為 2.3 億美元，佔營收的 54.7%。我們調整後的 EBITDA 利潤率較上季提高了 50 個基點。今年第三季的資本支出為 7,700 萬美元，而去年為 7,780 萬美元。

During the third quarter of 2024, we invested approximately $7 million in new market expansion projects and $3 million in integration activities. Sequentially, our capital investment increased by $5.4 million primarily due to our ongoing investment in leading intelligent Wi-Fi technology, adjusted EBITDA less capital expenditures was $136.6 million in the third quarter of 2024, a $15.6 million or 10.2% decrease from the prior year.

2024 年第三季度，我們投資了約 700 萬美元用於新市場拓展項目，並投資了 300 萬美元用於整合活動。隨後，我們的資本投資增加了540 萬美元，主要是由於我們對領先的智慧Wi-Fi 技術的持續投資，調整後的EBITDA 減去資本支出，2024 年第三季為1.366 億美元，比上一年減少1560 萬美元，即10.2%。

Year-to-date, our adjusted EBITDA less CapEx was $428.6 million, a 1.4% decrease from the comparable prior year period. We remain committed to a disciplined and balanced capital allocation strategy focused on four key areas: enhancing network and platform infrastructure, as Julie detailed earlier, capitalizing on organic growth opportunities within our existing markets, pursuing strategic inorganic growth opportunities, both investments and through acquisitions and a return of capital commitment that has been and will continue to be focused on debt repayment.

年初至今，我們調整後的 EBITDA 減去資本支出為 4.286 億美元，比去年同期下降 1.4%。我們仍然致力於遵守紀律和平衡的資本配置策略，重點關註四個關鍵領域：加強網路和平台基礎設施，正如朱莉之前詳細介紹的那樣，利用現有市場內的有機成長機會，透過投資和收購來尋求策略性無機成長機會。

As you may have seen recently, two of our investments, Metronet and Ziply have announced that they have entered into definitive agreements to sell their businesses. These transactions, which are slated to close in 2025 will yield attractive returns well in excess of our targeted annual parameters and provide pretax proceeds in excess of $100 million.

正如您最近可能已經看到的，我們的兩項投資，Metronet 和 Ziply，已宣布他們已簽訂最終協議以出售其業務。這些交易預計於 2025 年完成，將產生遠超我們目標年度參數的誘人回報，並提供超過 1 億美元的稅前收益。

In Q3, we distributed $17 million in dividends to shareholders to repay $54.6 million of debt, including a $50 million voluntary repayment of our revolving credit facility. Our approach to capitalization and balance sheet management is guided by a conservative mindset, emphasizing disciplined debt repayment and a demonstrated ability to reduce leverage.

第三季度，我們向股東分配了 1,700 萬美元的股息，以償還 5,460 萬美元的債務，其中包括自願償還我們的循環信貸額度的 5,000 萬美元。我們的資本化和資產負債表管理方法以保守的心態為指導，強調嚴格的債務償還和降低槓桿的能力。

Since early 2023, we have repaid nearly $400 million of debt, including $350 million of the initial $488 million drawn under our revolving credit facility. As of the end of the third quarter, we had approximately $227 million of cash and cash equivalents on hand and our debt balance was approximately $3.5 billion, consisting of approximately $1.8 billion in term loans, $920 million in convertible notes, $650 million in unsecured notes, $188 million of revolver borrowings and $5 million of finance lease liabilities.

自 2023 年初以來，我們已經償還了近 4 億美元的債務，其中包括根據我們的循環信貸安排最初提取的 4.88 億美元中的 3.5 億美元。截至第三季末，我們手頭現金和現金等價物約為2.27億美元，債務餘額約為35億美元，其中包括約18億美元的定期貸款、9.2億美元的可轉換票據、6.5億美元的無擔保票據、1.88 億美元的循環借款和 500 萬美元的融資租賃負債。

Our weighted average cost of debt for Q3 of 2024 was 4.16% with over 75% of our borrowings, either fixed issuance or synthetically fixed at underlying base rates that are approximately half of the prevailing floating rates. Our net leverage ratio on a last quarter annualized basis was at 3.85 times, while our secured net leverage ratio was approximately 2 times.

2024 年第三季度，我們的加權平均債務成本為 4.16%，其中超過 75% 的借款要么是固定發行，要么綜合固定為基礎基本利率，約為現行浮動利率的一半。上季年化淨槓桿率為 3.85 倍，而擔保淨槓桿率為約 2 倍。

After the end of Q3, with the support of many of our long-term loyal lenders in the banking community, we are able to successfully upsize our revolving credit facility by $250 million, bringing the total committed capacity to $1.25 billion. We also voluntarily repaid an additional $50 million under this facility after the end of the third quarter bringing total available liquidity to over $1.1 billion.

第三季末後，在銀行界許多長期忠誠貸方的支持下，我們成功地將循環信貸額度擴大了 2.5 億美元，使總承諾容量達到 12.5 億美元。第三季末後，我們還根據該貸款自願額外償還了 5,000 萬美元，使可用流動性總額超過 11 億美元。

As previously disclosed, the MBI put exercise window will occur in Q3 of next year. Based on MBI's past performance and current forecasts and certain estimates and assumptions, we estimate the price to acquire the remaining 55% of MBI that we do not already own if the put were exercised between approximately $760 million and $900 million and MBI's total net indebtedness at the time of acquisition pursuant to the put is estimated to be between $775 million and $825 million. Please note, these figures represent our current estimates and actual amounts may differ.

如同先前揭露的，MBI 看跌期權行使窗口將於明年第三季出現。根據 MBI 過去的業績和當前的預測以及某些估計和假設，如果行使看跌期權在約 7.6 億至 9 億美元之間且 MBI 的淨負債總額為根據看跌期權的收購時間估計在7.75 億美元至8.25億美元之間。請注意，這些數字代表我們目前的估計，實際金額可能會有所不同。

MBI's total revenues for the 12 months ended September 30, 2024, were approximately $320 million, with approximately 225,000 residential and business data customers across a network footprint of approximately 675,000 passings. As we've said before, if the put option is exercised, we believe that our existing cash balances, the anticipated available capacity under our revolver at the time of the transaction and our operating cash flows will be sufficient to fund the purchase price without needing to raise additional incremental capital.

截至 2024 年 9 月 30 日的 12 個月，MBI 的總收入約為 3.2 億美元，擁有約 225,000 個住宅和商業數據客戶，網路覆蓋範圍約為 675,000 次。正如我們之前所說，如果行使看跌期權，我們相信我們現有的現金餘額、交易時左輪手槍的預期可用能力以及我們的經營現金流將足以為購買價格提供資金，而無需籌集額外的增量資本。

Before we open it up for questions, I'd like to reiterate our commitment to executing a phased approach for sustainable long-term growth. Our strong network and dedicated team are key to this strategy, as we stay focused on maximizing our unique assets to provide seamless connectivity to an expanding customer base across our service areas. We are always working for you, we are making significant progress, and we're just getting started.

在我們開始提問之前，我想重申我們對執行分階段方法以實現可持續長期成長的承諾。我們強大的網路和敬業的團隊是這項策略的關鍵，因為我們始終專注於最大限度地利用我們獨特的資產，為我們服務領域不斷擴大的客戶群提供無縫連接。我們始終為您服務，我們正在取得重大進展，而我們才剛剛開始。

Our commitment to all stakeholders remains unwavering. With that, we are now ready for questions.

我們對所有利害關係人的承諾依然堅定不移。至此，我們現在準備好提問了。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員說明）

Sebastiano Petti, JPMorgan.

塞巴斯蒂亞諾·佩蒂，摩根大通。

A couple of quick housekeeping questions and maybe a broader strategic question. But Julie, can you just clarify the billing system comment that you made with -- you are unable to change pricing packaging for 20% of your base. Does that have any financial or subscriber impacts in the quarter? And then secondarily, on the pay-as-you-go pilot, I understand that it's still a pilot, but it seems -- it might be dilutive to ARPU.

幾個簡單的內務問題，也許還有一個更廣泛的策略問題。但是朱莉，您能澄清一下您所做的計費系統評論嗎？這會對本季的財務或用戶產生任何影響嗎？其次，關於即用即付試點，我知道它仍然是一個試點，但它似乎可能會稀釋 ARPU。

I mean just trying to take us through the puts and takes that you're considering on that as you kind of test that. And then lastly, thinking about the broader ecosystem, we are seeing fiber consolidation targeted convergent M&A from some of the wireless players.

我的意思是，只是試圖帶我們了解您在測試時正在考慮的看跌期權和看跌期權。最後，考慮到更廣泛的生態系統，我們看到一些無線營運商以光纖整合為目標進行整合併購。

As you look across the industry and CABO's current strategic positioning, do you still believe it makes sense for CABO to be a consolidator of rural cable has kind of been the thought over the last several years. Does it make sense to perhaps be larger -- be part of a larger enterprise?

當您縱觀整個行業和 CABO 目前的策略定位時，您是否仍然認為 CABO 成為農村有線電視整合者是過去幾年的想法？變得更大——成為更大企業的一部分——是否有意義？

You bet. So billing system, great questions, Sebastiano. It is -- it did not have an effect on customers or the company with the exception that when you're getting ready to convert customers from one system to another, you aren't allowed to make changes in the existing system. So that means that when you want to market, you don't have the ability to change rates for a long period of time. In this case, everything was frozen as it was in those billing systems because it's multiples as we bring those family of brands into Sparklight from really mid-summer to right now.

你打賭。計費系統，很好的問題，塞巴斯蒂亞諾。它對客戶或公司沒有影響，除了當您準備將客戶從一個系統轉換到另一個系統時，您不允許在現有系統中進行更改。因此，這意味著當您想要進行行銷時，您沒有能力長時間改變匯率。在這種情況下，一切都被凍結了，就像在那些計費系統中一樣，因為當我們從仲夏到現在將這些品牌系列引入 Sparklight 時，它的數量是倍數。

So if we wanted to react or change or do anything differently, we could not. We were literally locked into those rates. And that's something you live with when you do a billing conversion and ideally, you plan way in advance so that, that is not an issue. But quite honestly, in this case, that's not what happened.

因此，如果我們想做出反應、改變或做任何不同的事情，我們就做不到。我們實際上被鎖定在這些利率上。這就是您在進行計費轉換時所面臨的問題，理想情況下，您提前規劃好，這樣就不會出現問題。但老實說，在這種情況下，事實並非如此。

Okay. What's next? Pay-as-you-go. Well, that to, again, brand-new program, really pretty innovative, I think. I don't see anything exactly like it in the marketplace and we're going to learn a lot. And we really imagine that this is the place -- this is the place for value-conscious customers. And that would specifically point to cellphone internet competitors as well.

好的。接下來怎麼辦？即用即付。嗯，這又是一個全新的項目，我認為確實非常創新。我在市場上沒有看到任何完全類似的東西，我們將學到很多東西。我們確實想像這就是這個地方——這是注重價值的客戶的地方。這也特別針對手機網路競爭對手。

This gives customers the ultimate freedom. They can sign up for a day, they can sign up for a month, whatever they have the funds or the needs for, they can change their speeds and have a gig one day and 300 megs another. And this is not targeted at just one size of product. That is to say we have 100 meg, 300 meg, 500 meg and [1 gig] that you can get, because even if I'm a value-conscious customer, I might decide to spend my funds because of what my family needs and does for 1 gig service. And so time will tell about your ARPU question. But what I can tell you so far is it is not dilutive.

這為客戶提供了最終的自由。他們可以報名一天，也可以報名一個月，無論他們有資金或有什麼需求，他們都可以改變速度，一天進行一場演出，另一天進行 300 兆兆。這不僅僅是針對一種尺寸的產品。也就是說，我們有 100 meg、300 meg、500 meg 和 [1 gig] 您可以獲得，因為即使我是一個注重價值的客戶，我也可能會因為我的家庭需要和提供 1 份演出服務。所以時間會告訴你 ARPU 問題。但到目前為止我可以告訴你的是它不會稀釋。

And I know that because the ARPU, the average ARPU from the group of customers that have already signed up is higher than our entry-level price. So we're going to learn more, and we're going to evolve as we go, but we're excited about this product.

我知道，因為 ARPU，已經註冊的客戶群的平均 ARPU 高於我們的入門價格。所以我們將了解更多，我們將繼續發展，但我們對這個產品感到興奮。

Let's see. Your last question, do I see CABO as a consolidator going forward versus being part of something larger. In part, that's incredibly speculative. I think that we are a place for markets like ours. We deeply understand what it's like to do business in markets that average about 20,000 customers where we are neighbors with our customers.

讓我們來看看。你的最後一個問題是，我是否將 CABO 視為未來的整合者，而不是成為更大事物的一部分。在某種程度上，這是令人難以置信的推測。我認為我們是像我們這樣的市場的所在地。我們深刻了解在平均約有 20,000 名客戶的市場中開展業務的感覺，而且我們與客戶是鄰居。

We know how to operate in disparate regions where we're not all consolidated, how to bring focus and get almost scale-like efficiencies through the way that we operate. I think that we can be good and do good for our communities, our customers and our associates. So for those reasons, I think we are a natural aggregator. What will we be going forward? Boy, I used to be able to predict exactly what we would do 5 years in advance. That's been shrinking down as the environment is changing incredibly rapidly. So let's wait and see.

我們知道如何在不同的地區開展業務，而這些地區的業務並不完全整合，如何透過我們的營運方式集中註意力並獲得近乎規模化的效率。我認為我們可以為我們的社區、我們的客戶和我們的同事做好事。因此，基於這些原因，我認為我們是一個天生的聚合者。我們接下來會做什麼？天哪，我曾經能夠提前 5 年準確預測我們會做什麼。隨著環境瞬息萬變，這一數字正在不斷縮小。所以讓我們拭目以待。

Craig Moffett, Moffett Nathanson.

克雷格·莫菲特，莫菲特·內森森。

Julie, as I think through your broadband ARPU, I'll come back to your question I've asked a lot in the past. And that's -- how do you think about the prospect of wireless, particularly adding Tony with real wireless expertise. You're increasingly competing against wireline players who are offering a converged bundle. Do you think that's hurting you in the marketplace? Or is that still not really a part of the competitive set that you're facing?

朱莉，正如我透過您的寬頻 ARPU 所想到的那樣，我會回到您過去問過很多次的問題。這就是—您如何看待無線技術的前景，特別是讓托尼擁有真正的無線技術專業知識。您與提供融合捆綁服務的有線業者的競爭日益激烈。您認為這會傷害您的市場嗎？或者這仍然不是您所面臨的競爭環境的一部分？

That's a good question that we think about quite a bit as well, Craig. We examined mobile specifically on at least a biannual basis, at least. And when we look at it, we're taking into account what our customers express needs and wants in our market specifically and the financial impacts of doing a product launch like that.

這是一個很好的問題，我們也思考了很多，克雷格。我們至少每半年專門檢查一次行動裝置。當我們審視它時，我們會考慮客戶在我們市場上表達的具體需求和願望，以及推出此類產品的財務影響。

And I see us embarking on a whole range of projects and products that bring value to our customers and ultimately, our shareholders. I also can think back to the past where we didn't jump in right away on some things. We took time to study them pretty thoroughly and that mentality has served us well.

我看到我們正在進行一系列項目和產品，為我們的客戶並最終為我們的股東帶來價值。我還可以回想起過去我們沒有立即參與某些事情。我們花時間對它們進行了徹底的研究，這種心態對我們很有幫助。

Two quick examples are video on demand and home security, where we did not do those 2 products. We did not -- well, we didn't do them. And it doesn't mean that we're not going to do mobile. I mean we are looking at it even more intensely, not just Tony, but studying what our peers have done, but we have to be able to articulate the with them. What's in it for me or the customer for the company, for the shareholder, before we jump into that.

兩個簡單的例子是視訊點播和家庭安全，我們沒有做這兩種產品。我們沒有——好吧，我們沒有這樣做。這並不意味著我們不會做行動業務。我的意思是，我們正在更深入地研究它，不僅僅是托尼，而是研究我們的同行所做的事情，但我們必須能夠與他們清楚地表達出來。在我們開始討論之前，這對我或公司的客戶、股東來說有什麼好處。

And I would just say, I think we're very open to bundling of all sorts, putting together items that bring value to our customers is something that we are going to continue to explore, whether that is products that easily attached to the HSD product, to wireless, to mobile or possibly even don't pull off your chair Craig, but video. So we're open.

我只想說，我認為我們對各種捆綁非常開放，將能夠為客戶帶來價值的產品組合在一起是我們將繼續探索的事情，無論是輕鬆附加到 HSD 產品的產品、無線、移動，甚至可能不是從椅子上拉下來，克雷格，而是影片。所以我們是開放的。

If I could just ask a quick follow-up. Do you think that whether it's directly or through the ACA or something that you -- that attractive wholesale rates for wireless are available to you? Or is it simply that there aren't attractive enough rates out there to make it particularly compelling wholesale rates, I mean, to make it particularly compelling for you to offer at this point?

如果我能要求快速跟進就好了。您認為無論是直接還是透過 ACA 或其他方式，您都可以獲得有吸引力的無線批發價格嗎？或者只是因為沒有足夠有吸引力的價格來使其特別具有吸引力的批發價格，我的意思是，使您在這一點上提供特別有吸引力的價格？

I think it's holistic. It's about what it can do in terms of generating revenue at what capital and operating cost as well as are there benefits related to churn, it's the whole picture.

我認為這是整體性的。這是關於它能以多少資本和營運成本產生收入以及是否有與客戶流失相關的好處，這是整個情況。

Craig, we have the access. As Julie said, it's got to be evaluated through that lens of all of the other assumptions as well. But the access is there. I won't say the cost is extremely compelling. But over time, that also potentially could change.

克雷格，我們有存取權限。正如朱莉所說，還必須透過所有其他假設的視角來評估它。但訪問就在那裡。我不會說成本非常引人注目。但隨著時間的推移，這種情況也可能會改變。

Sam McHugh, BNP Paribas.

薩姆·麥克休，法國巴黎銀行。

First one, just on ARPU. I know consensus next year has ARPU staying pretty stable relative to Q3 and then what's implied for Q4, but also has a big tick up in kind of residential net additions. Do you feel like you're getting in the right place now where you can get back to nice subscriber growth at the same time as delivering stable to maybe growing ARPU? That's the first question.

第一個是 ARPU。我知道明年的共識是 ARPU 相對於第三季和第四季而言保持相當穩定，但住宅淨增量也有大幅上升。您是否覺得自己現在處於正確的位置，可以在恢復良好的用戶成長的同時，為可能成長的 ARPU 提供穩定的成長？這是第一個問題。

And then secondly, just on fiber overlap. I know you've given us some numbers last quarter. I don't know if there's any update on how much fiber overlap you have in your footprint now?

其次，只是光纖重疊。我知道您上個季度給了我們一些數字。我不知道您現在的足跡中有多少光纖重疊是否有任何更新？

Okay. Sam, it's Julie. So yes, ARPU stabilized and we believe it will stay that way through Q4. If as we say, we had several things that affected it. Our AutoPayPlus program, promotional roll off and high sell-in as we articulated. Your question is a good one, one that I've been thinking a lot about. Can you move both levers at the same time. And certainly, in the past, that was, quite honestly, a walk down a beautiful path.

好的。山姆，是朱莉。所以，是的，ARPU 穩定下來，我們相信它將在第四季度保持這種狀態。如果正如我們所說，我們有幾件事影響了它。正如我們所闡述的那樣，我們的 AutoPayPlus 計劃、促銷活動和高銷量。你的問題提得很好，我也思考了很多。您可以同時移動兩支控制桿嗎？當然，在過去，老實說，這是沿著一條美麗的道路行走。

Recently, if you look at peers, you noticed them doing one or the other. I will note that year-to-date, absent ACP losses, we have grown broadband, and we're now stabilizing ARPU. Recall, we talked several quarters ago about what we were all about in '24, which was shifting from our high LTV strategy to a growth strategy.

最近，如果你觀察同行，你會發現他們在做其中一個。我要指出的是，今年迄今為止，在沒有 ACP 損失的情況下，我們已經實現了寬頻成長，而且我們現在正在穩定 ARPU。回想一下，幾個季度前我們討論了 24 年的目標，即從高 LTV 策略轉向成長策略。

And in the midst of that, we knew that we would be attacking some very specific competitors in markets and rerating and that, that would have a problem -- or a pull down, excuse me, in ARPU, which we've now stabilized. We fully expect to be growing broadband revenue. That is our imperative.

在此期間，我們知道我們將攻擊市場中一些非常特定的競爭對手並重新評級，這會帶來問題 - 或者請原諒，我們現在已經穩定了 ARPU。我們完全預期寬頻收入將會成長。這是我們的當務之急。

Sam, it's Todd. On the fiber overlap, we reported last quarter below 40% of the overall network, and that remains very consistent.

山姆，這是托德。關於光纖重疊，我們上季報告低於整個網路的 40%，而且這一情況仍然非常一致。

Gregory Williams, TD Cowen.

格雷戈里·威廉斯，TD·考恩。

The first one is, Julia, you mentioned competition is stabilizing. And I think Todd sort of alluded to in that last answer. Is that in the fiber-to-the-home world and fixed wireless? Because in fixed wireless, we saw some of the carriers increasing their subtargets. And one of your peers, Altice said that they're seeing expansion of fixed wireless, but Charters are saying it's peakish.

第一個是，茱莉亞，你提到競爭正在穩定下來。我認為托德在最後一個答案中有所提及。這是光纖到府和固定無線領域嗎？因為在固定無線領域，我們看到一些營運商增加了他們的子目標。您的一位同行 Altice 表示，他們看到了固定無線網路的擴張，但 Charters 表示這已經達到高峰。

So I'm curious, the competition is stabilizing for both technologies. And then the second question is just on the OpEx investments that you are doing. I think last time we talked, you expect them to mitigate in mid-2025 and I'm just wondering if that's still the case?

所以我很好奇，這兩種技術的競爭正在趨於穩定。第二個問題是關於您正在進行的營運支出投資。我想上次我們談話時，您預計它們會在 2025 年中期緩解，我只是想知道情況是否仍然如此？

I'll take the first one, it's so bizarre. fiber and cell phone, internet, what are we seeing? Well, Todd talked about the fiber overlap and specifically, we've been watching and trialing and learning in the whole competitive realm. It's starting to feel pretty normal to us now. I think we're seeing some cumulative effects of the adjustments that we've taken over the past quarters.

我選第一個，太奇怪了。光纖和手機、互聯網，我們看到了什麼？托德談到了纖維重疊，具體來說，我們一直在整個競爭領域進行觀察、嘗試和學習。現在我們開始感覺很正常了。我認為我們看到了過去幾季所採取的調整的一些累積效應。

And what I mean by that is we're seeing that some of the markets with the highest levels of competition actually have positive growth -- positive growth in the quarter, outperforming even less competitive markets. And we've been watching markets that we have done different tactics to, one of them being rerating to see how quickly they normalize, how quickly do they go through their peak and pull back down into normal levels. And it's actually pretty fascinating.

我的意思是，我們看到一些競爭最激烈的市場實際上實現了正成長——本季的正成長，甚至超過了競爭不那麼激烈的市場。我們一直在觀察我們採取了不同策略的市場，其中一個是重新評級，看看它們正常化的速度有多快，穿過峰值並回落到正常水平的速度有多快。它實際上非常迷人。

Some as fast as six months. That means we get through them going after some segment of the marketplace, getting some level of penetration and then dropping back down in to normal levels within six months. Some as long as 18 months. But we definitely feel like we've seen the spike that can come along with new entrants being blunted with some of our recent rerates.

有些快至六個月。這意味著我們必須透過它們來爭取市場的某些部分，獲得一定程度的滲透，然後在六個月內回落到正常水平。有的長達18個月。但我們確實覺得我們已經看到了新進入者可能會出現的峰值，而我們最近的一些調整會削弱這一點。

We've also seen competitive disconnects go down 14% to 323 to 324. We are watching to see what the competitors do. When we make moves, we're heartened to see many of them increasing their rates, which we think goes to their need for returns. But that's dynamic. And so we track that. We're not endeavoring to follow suit. We're just tracking it.

我們還發現，競爭性斷開連接下降了 14%，達到 323 至 324 個。我們正在觀察競爭對手的表現。當我們採取行動時，我們很高興看到他們中的許多人提高了利率，我們認為這符合他們對回報的需求。但這是動態的。所以我們對此進行追蹤。我們並不試圖效法。我們只是追蹤它。

In the end, the competition has made us focused on being better. So when we talk about cell phone Internet customers or competitors, excuse me, my phone is ringing even though I thought I'd put it on do not disturb. We really think our pay-as-you-go product and some of our newer marketing tactics in development can assist us versus this competitor.

最後，競爭讓我們專注於變得更好。因此，當我們談論手機網路客戶或競爭對手時，請原諒，我的電話響了，儘管我以為我應該把它設定為請勿打擾。我們確實認為我們的即用即付產品和我們正在開發的一些新的行銷策略可以幫助我們對抗這個競爭對手。

And when you think about data usage being at an average of 730 gigs in the quarter and 25% of our customers using a terabyte or more, that really speaks to a wireline reliable provider. I mean we had our largest -- I think it was our largest traffic incidents in two years when the most recent Call of Duty that released. And actually, eight out of the last 10 months have had spikes in traffic and they're related to gaming and sports.

當您考慮到本季的平均資料使用量為 730 GB，並且 25% 的客戶使用 1 TB 或更多資料時，這確實說明了有線供應商的可靠性。我的意思是，我們發生了最大的交通事故——我認為這是最近《決勝時刻》發布以來兩年來最大的交通事故。事實上，過去 10 個月中有 8 個月出現了流量高峰，且與遊戲和體育相關。

And that's only going to grow. So that points to the stability of our network. And so I also look at our churn, which is lower than pre-pandemic levels. So I do not think that our existing customers are going to cell phone internet providers with the exception of potentially those ACP losses that we've had. Clearly, they fish in the same pond that we do and have a have an effect on Connect. And that is our puzzle to solve, and we are trying all sorts of tactics and pay-as-you-go is one of those.

而且這種情況只會成長。這顯示我們網路的穩定性。因此，我也關注了我們的客戶流失率，該客戶流失率低於疫情前的水平。因此，我認為我們現有的客戶不會轉向手機網路供應商，除非我們可能遭受 ACP 損失。顯然，他們和我們在同一個池塘裡釣魚，並且對 Connect 有影響。這就是我們要解決的難題，我們正在嘗試各種策略，即用即付就是其中之一。

Greg, it's Todd. I would just add on the churn. We made the comment last quarter, and I'd reiterate it again this quarter. Even with the ACP losses, we're at five-year lows for churn or customer retention. So when you think about the increasing competitive environment, which is increasing, both on the wired and the cell phone internet, we believe that, that's a very strong testimonial of our customer satisfaction and the long-term relationships we have with them.

格雷格，這是托德。我只想增加流失率。我們上季發表了這一評論，本季我將再次重申這一點。即使 ACP 出現虧損，我們的客戶流失率或客戶保留率仍處於五年來的最低點。因此，當您想到有線和手機網路上日益激烈的競爭環境時，我們相信，這是對我們的客戶滿意度以及我們與他們的長期關係的有力證明。

Less ACP, that number blew everything away relative to where that churn level is if you extract out the AC feature. You asked about the OpEx investments and the timetable. So just to address that, that is still consistently in that time frame of what has been late '24 and into the mid-2025 time frame.

減去 ACP，如果您提取 AC 功能，那麼相對於流失水平而言，這個數字就足以抵消一切。您詢問了營運支出投資和時間表。因此，為了解決這個問題，這仍然是在 24 年末到 2025 年中期的時間範圍內。

Steven Cahall, Wells Fargo.

史蒂文卡霍爾，富國銀行。

I guess first of all, the stabilization of ARPU that you saw on the quarter and the focus on driving towards broadband revenue growth over the long term and some positive trends around gig sell-in and data consumption. How do you think about your ability to get back into maybe a cadence of pricing power or price increases on the majority of the base. Is that something that you think could be on the horizon?

我想首先是您在本季看到的 ARPU 的穩定，以及對推動寬頻收入長期成長的關注，以及圍繞零工銷售和數據消費的一些積極趨勢。您如何看待自己是否有能力恢復定價權或大多數基礎價格上漲的節奏？您認為這可能即將發生嗎？

Or is this something you think is going to take some time due to other issues? And I wonder how you've competitively benchmarked yourselves. One of your peers targets 3% to 4% ARPU growth annually. I'm just wondering what you think is different about maybe their customer footprint than yours that's contributed to some of this ARPU differential. And then the competitive stabilization seems constructive. I think you said that what you've seen is some more rational pricing. Any sense of what's happening on the build front. I'm wondering if that slowed down as well.

或者您認為由於其他問題這需要一些時間？我想知道你們是如何衡量自己的競爭基準的。您的一位同行的目標是每年 ARPU 成長 3% 到 4%。我只是想知道您認為他們的客戶足跡與您的客戶足跡有何不同，這導致了 ARPU 差異。然後競爭穩定似乎是建設性的。我想你說過你看到的是一些更合理的定價。對構建方面正在發生的事情有任何感覺。我想知道這是否也減慢了。

So related to ARPU and pricing, I do think that there is price elasticity at the upper end maybe in just a naked rate adjustment, but also if you can add value added perks, there's absolutely room there. I think that if you segment out the customer base, there are absolutely segments that could bear a rate adjustment.

因此，與 ARPU 和定價相關，我確實認為高端存在價格彈性，也許只是赤裸裸的利率調整，但如果你可以增加增值福利，那裡絕對有空間。我認為，如果你對客戶群進行細分，那麼絕對有一些細分市場可以承受費率調整。

We also did AutoPay but only the AutoPayPlus program, but only to a portion of our customers. And so for some of those people, that ended up being a rate adjustment, right, because they did not choose to do ACH and sign up for billing to be paperless, et cetera, and automatic.

我們也進行了自動支付，但僅限於 AutoPayPlus 計劃，但僅限於我們的一部分客戶。因此，對於其中一些人來說，這最終成為費率調整，對吧，因為他們沒有選擇進行 ACH 並註冊無紙化和自動計費等。

So that was an effective rate adjustment for them. We have our family of brands in about 350,000 customers in Sparklight that have not had that yet. And so that's obviously again, it can show up as a rate adjustment if the customer doesn't choose to neutralize it. When it comes to ARPU differential, I mean, we -- that one's easy. We had a high LTV strategy. We went after the high end with a premium product, we had lower penetration, leading ARPUs.

所以這對他們來說是一次有效的利率調整。Sparklight 中約有 35 萬名客戶擁有我們的品牌系列，但尚未擁有這些客戶。顯然，如果客戶不選擇中和它，它可能會表現為費率調整。當談到 ARPU 差異時，我的意思是，這很簡單。我們制定了高生命週期價值策略。我們以優質產品追求高端，我們的滲透率較低，但 ARPU 領先。

And so of course, when you go into an environment where you're no longer in what we used to term safe harbor and you're going to go compete, you're going to likely give up some ARPU in those cases, whereas others are coming from a much lower base and have room to grow up. So we are very different by design or we were very different by design.

因此，當然，當您進入一個不再處於我們過去所說的「安全港」的環境並且您要參與競爭時，在這種情況下您可能會放棄一些ARPU，而其他人則可能會放棄一些ARPU 。所以我們在設計上就非常不同，或者說我們在設計上就非常不同。

And I think over time, where we continue to penetrate in that value segment, recall, it's really only about a year that we've really been more targeted to customer acquisition in that segment. And we had to really monitor and measure it very closely relative to not only the cost to install, the cost to serve, but also the retention of that customer to be able to evaluate the unit economics, the way that we would want from an accretive contribution perspective.

我認為隨著時間的推移，我們繼續滲透到這個價值領域，回想一下，實際上只有大約一年的時間，我們才真正更有針對性地在該領域獲取客戶。我們必須真正密切地監控和衡量它，不僅涉及安裝成本、服務成本，還涉及客戶的保留，以便能夠評估單位經濟效益，這是我們希望從增值中獲得的方式。

And as I've mentioned in the past, correlation of that retention is very, very high to our premium customer base, which is very encouraging. And then over time, that base also has an opportunity for whether it be more organic upgrades or potential some price elasticity as well as Julie was alluding to.

正如我過去提到的，這種保留率與我們的優質客戶群的相關性非常非常高，這是非常令人鼓舞的。隨著時間的推移，該基地也有機會進行更多的有機升級或潛在的價格彈性，就像朱莉提到的那樣。

But to be clear, we tried a lot of things in the past nine months, 12 months, and not all the things that we tried worked, and we learned from them. So...

但要明確的是，我們在過去的 9 個月、12 個月裡嘗試了很多事情，但並非所有我們嘗試過的事情都有效，我們也從中學到了東西。所以...

And then on the build front, you were asking about the build front on the competitive stabilization. We've talked about the access to capital, the cost of capital. I think what you're seeing in the M&A environment right now is large scale consolidation with some of these super regional platforms. And obviously, cost of capital and access to capital is going to be less of an issue for those large -- many of them investment-grade issuers.

然後在構建方面，您詢問了競爭穩定方面的構建方面。我們已經討論了獲得資本的途徑和資本成本。我認為您現在在併購環境中看到的是與其中一些超級區域平台的大規模整合。顯然，對於那些大型企業（其中許多是投資級發行人）來說，資本成本和獲得資本的機會將不再是一個問題。

But at the same time, the needle moving impact for those large companies is going to be probably less focused on our small communities. For the Temos and the Verizons and the BCE to move the build needle, it's either going to be upgrading to larger markets or building into larger markets in our opinion.

但同時，對那些大公司的影響可能不會那麼集中在我們的小社區。我們認為，Temos、Verizon 和 BCE 要推動建設，要嘛升級到更大的市場，要嘛建立更大的市場。

All right. And that is all the time we have for questions today. So I'd like to turn it back over to Julie and the Cable One team for closing remarks.

好的。這就是我們今天提問的全部時間。因此，我想將其轉回朱莉和電纜一號團隊進行總結演講。

Thank you, Jeremy. Before we conclude, I want to extend my sincere gratitude to our associates for their relentless efforts throughout our recent billing conversion. Your dedication around-the-clock and it literally has been around-the-clock is making this milestone possible, unlocking significant opportunities for the company's future. None of this would be achievable without your unwavering commitment. Thank you, and we look forward to speaking with you all again next quarter.

謝謝你，傑瑞米。在結束之前，我要向我們的同事表示衷心感謝，感謝他們在我們最近的計費轉換過程中所做的不懈努力。你們日以繼夜的奉獻精神使這一里程碑成為可能，為公司的未來釋放了重大機會。如果沒有您堅定不移的承諾，這一切都無法實現。謝謝您，我們期待下個季度再次與大家交談。

That does conclude today's presentation. Have a pleasant evening.

今天的演講到此結束。祝您有個愉快的夜晚。