Cable One Inc (CABO) 2025 Q1 法說會逐字稿

My name is Rebecca, and I will be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the Cable One first-quarter 2025 earnings call. (Operator Instructions)

我叫麗貝卡，今天我將擔任您的會議主持人。現在，我歡迎大家參加 Cable One 2025 年第一季財報電話會議。（操作員指示）

I will now turn the call over to Jordan Morkert, Vice President of Investor Relations. Please go ahead

現在我將把電話轉給投資者關係副總裁喬丹·莫克特 (Jordan Morkert)。請繼續

Good afternoon, and welcome to Cable One's first-quarter 2025 earnings call. We're glad to have you join us as we review our results.

下午好，歡迎參加 Cable One 2025 年第一季財報電話會議。我們很高興您能加入我們，共同回顧我們的成果。

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, customer growth, connects and churn rates, new product rollouts, customer yields from new build activities, including related costs, future cash flow, future ARPU, future levels of competition, capital expenditures, the anticipated impact of our change in dividend policy, our ability and sources of capital to fund the retirement of our 0% convertible notes in 2026, the anticipated after-tax proceeds from the expected monetization of certain investments and our future financial performance, capital allocation policy, leverage ratios, and financing plans.

在我們繼續之前，我想提醒您，今天的討論包含與未來事件有關的前瞻性陳述，這些陳述涉及風險和不確定性，包括有關未來寬頻收入、客戶增長、連接和流失率、新產品推出、新建活動的客戶收益（包括相關成本）、未來現金流、未來 ARPU、未來競爭水平、資本支出、我們股息政策變化的預期影響、我們為 2026 年 0%可轉換票據的退休提供資金的能力和資本來源、預期從某些投資貨幣化中獲得的稅後收益以及我們未來的財務業績、資本配置政策、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 and today's earnings release and in our SEC filings, including our annual report on Form 10-K.

您會發現一些因素可能導致 Cable One 的實際結果與今天的電話會議和今天的收益發布以及我們的 SEC 文件（包括我們的 10-K 表格年度報告）中討論的前瞻性陳述存在重大差異。

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.

Cable One 不承擔任何義務，並明確否認任何義務，除非法律要求，無論是由於新資訊、未來事件或其他原因，更新或修改其前瞻性聲明。

Additionally, today's remarks will include a discussion of certain financial measures that are not presented in conformity with US generally accepted accounting principles, or GAAP. When we refer to free cash flow during today's call, we mean adjusted EBITDA less capital expenditures as defined in our earnings release. 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（GAAP）的財務指標。當我們在今天的電話會議上提到自由現金流時，我們指的是調整後的 EBITDA 減去收益報告中定義的資本支出。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 指標的對帳可以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 Julie.

參加今天電話會議的還有我們的總裁兼執行長 Julia Laulis；以及我們的財務長 Todd Koetje。說完這些，讓我把電話轉給朱莉。

Thank you, Jordan, and good afternoon, everyone. We appreciate you joining us for today's call. Today, I want to unpack the factors, which underline my belief that we will achieve long-term subscriber growth grow residential broadband revenue in 2025 and beyond.

謝謝你，喬丹，大家下午好。感謝您參加今天的電話會議。今天，我想分析一下這些因素，它們強調了我的信念：我們將在 2025 年及以後實現長期用戶成長並增加住宅寬頻收入。

As I noted during our year-end call in February, we are executing on a multiyear plan to achieve sustained profitable growth in a rapidly changing and more competitive environment.

正如我在二月的年終電話會議上所指出的，我們正在執行一項多年計劃，以在快速變化且競爭更加激烈的環境中實現持續的盈利增長。

While our first quarter customer results were not what we wanted, a closer look at how the quarter unfolded along with multiple green shoots of growth now emerging presents a more promising path forward. As I'll detail further, we believe much of the noise of Q1 is behind us.

雖然第一季的客戶業績並不如我們所願，但仔細觀察本季的進展以及目前出現的多個成長綠芽，就會發現未來的道路更有希望。正如我將進一步詳細說明的那樣，我們相信第一季的大部分噪音已經過去了。

With the right people, platforms and processes in place, we're building a more effective and scalable customer acquisition engine, one that we believe will drive meaningful growth over the long term. We work very hard to listen to our investors.

透過合適的人才、平台和流程，我們正在建立一個更有效、更具可擴展性的客戶獲取引擎，我們相信這將推動長期的有意義的成長。我們非常努力地傾聽投資者的意見。

And right now, every discussion focuses on long-term broadband customer growth. So I want to spend most of my time today discussing that topic. Let me start by addressing our first quarter residential broadband customer numbers.

目前，每個討論都集中在長期寬頻客戶成長。所以今天我想花大部分時間來討論這個主題。首先，我來談談我們第一季的住宅寬頻客戶數量。

The key driver of our customer decline in the first quarter was lower-than-expected connects Driving growth through new Connect has been the focus of our plans, and I'll speak more about the early progress we are seeing in a moment.

第一季客戶數量下降的主要原因是連線數低於預期，透過新的連線推動成長一直是我們計劃的重點，稍後我將詳細介紹我們所看到的早期進展。

Our results were further impacted by unusual churn events which are now behind us with churn already reverting to historically low levels and with our plans to steadily improve connect underway, we remain confident in our ability to deliver residential broadband growth over time.

我們的業績進一步受到不尋常的客戶流失事件的影響，但這些事件現在已經成為過去，客戶流失率已經恢復到歷史最低水平，而且我們正在計劃穩步改善連接，我們仍然對我們隨著時間的推移實現住宅寬頻增長的能力充滿信心。

One of the key drivers of sustainable growth is the strength of our customer retention, after excluding the unusual events of this quarter, our churn levels remained historically low, and we're taking deliberate action to keep them there.

永續成長的關鍵驅動力之一是我們的客戶保留率，在排除本季的異常事件後，我們的客戶流失率仍然處於歷史低位，我們正在採取有意識的措施來維持這一水平。

Guided by our promise to keep our customers connected to what matters most, we are proactively enhancing our retention efforts. A great example of this is our homegrown AI-driven churn propensity model which rapidly identifies the customers most at risk of leaving.

我們承諾讓客戶與最重要的事物保持聯繫，為此，我們正在積極加強客戶保留。一個很好的例子就是我們自主研發的人工智慧驅動的客戶流失傾向模型，它可以快速識別最有可能流失的客戶。

Once identified, we take targeted action to engage and retain them. The combination of this high-touch plus high-tech approach reflects our broader commitment to providing an effortless yet personalized customer experience with neighborly service that sets us apart.

一旦確定，我們就會採取有針對性的行動來吸引和留住他們。這種高接觸和高科技方法的結合反映了我們更廣泛的承諾，即透過讓我們與眾不同的友善服務提供輕鬆而個性化的客戶體驗。

Importantly, we believe we are positioned for stronger performance through the remainder of the year, supported by a return to a more normalized churn profile, our plans to drive higher connects and continued efforts to compete effectively throughout the MSO.

重要的是，我們相信，在恢復更正常化的客戶流失狀況、推動更高連接量的計劃以及繼續努力在整個 MSO 中有效競爭的支持下，我們已準備好在今年剩餘時間內取得更強勁的業績。

I'd like to highlight several encouraging green shoots that we believe contribute to our future growth, particularly through increased connects.

我想強調幾個令人鼓舞的綠芽，我們相信這些綠芽將有助於我們未來的成長，特別是透過增加連結。

To start, I'll share an update on the products we've introduced for value-conscious customers, which we believe will play an important role in our broader growth strategy. First, there's our Pay & Go product, which we piloted specifically for the value-by-choice customer.

首先，我將分享我們為注重價值的客戶推出的產品的最新情況，我們相信這些產品將在我們更廣泛的成長策略中發揮重要作用。首先，我們有 Pay & Go 產品，該產品是我們專門為按需付費的客戶試行的。

We have rebranded this product as FlexConnect as it effectively competes with cell phone Internet by providing faster speeds, along with a more reliable connection and unlimited data, all at a great value with ultimate ease of use.

我們將該產品重新命名為 FlexConnect，因為它透過提供更快的速度、更可靠的連接和無限的數據，有效地與手機網路競爭，具有極高的價值和極高的易用性。

Since launching the pilot, we've seen growth in both customer count and ARPU within the cohort as the ability to choose their speed unlike cell phone Internet has led many to upgrade to higher tiers that better fit their needs. We will begin to market FlexConnect aggressively across the MSO and expect that it will be an effective tactic to increase connects.

自從試點啟動以來，我們看到客戶數量和 ARPU 都在成長，因為與手機網路不同，客戶可以選擇自己的速度，這使得許多人升級到更適合他們需求的更高層級。我們將開始在 MSO 上大力推廣 FlexConnect，並期望它成為增加連線的有效策略。

Second, we are now piloting Internet Lift, a product designed to serve the value by need customer. This offering is available to individuals who meet specific eligibility criteria and we're taking a targeted local approach to reach them. Internet lift represents an incremental broadband revenue opportunity for us.

其次，我們目前正在試行 Internet Lift，這是一種旨在滿足客戶需求、提供價值的產品。此項服務適用於符合特定資格標準的個人，我們採取有針對性的本地方式來接觸他們。網路升級對我們來說意味著增加寬頻收入的機會。

Early pilot results show that Lift is bringing additional customers to us with minimal risk of cannibalizing our existing base. We plan to accelerate our marketing efforts for Lift across targeted portions of the MSO with broader rollout beginning in the weeks ahead.

早期試點結果顯示，Lift 為我們帶來了更多客戶，同時最大程度地降低了蠶食我們現有客戶群的風險。我們計劃在未來幾週內開始在 MSO 的目標區域加速 Lift 的行銷力度，並進行更廣泛的推廣。

In addition to new products, we're leaning into strategic infrastructure innovations that support long-term growth. One example is how we're reengineering our approach to selecting and executing new builds to acquire customers more efficiently.

除了新產品，我們也傾向於支持長期成長的策略基礎設施創新。一個例子是我們如何重新設計選擇和執行新版本的方法以更有效地獲取客戶。

Moreover, we're beginning to see early signs that this is working stronger early penetration means we now expect the same number of passings to yield more customers within the first two quarters of release.

此外，我們開始看到早期跡象表明，這種做法正在發揮作用，更強大的早期滲透率意味著我們現在預計，在發布的前兩個季度內，相同數量的通過率將帶來更多的客戶。

At the end of the day, our ability to grow our customer base comes down to two things: how effectively we retain existing customers, and we're doing that exceedingly well as reflected in our continued low churn rate and how compelling our value proposition is for new customers. While no single product or initiative stands alone as the driver of growth, together, they create a powerful ecosystem of choice including flexibility, reliability, and neighborly service for our customers.

歸根結底，我們擴大客戶群的能力取決於兩件事：我們如何有效地留住現有客戶，我們在這方面做得非常好，這反映在我們持續的低客戶流失率上，以及我們的價值主張對新客戶有多麼有吸引力。雖然沒有任何單一產品或舉措能夠獨立推動成長，但它們共同為我們的客戶創造了一個強大的選擇生態系統，包括靈活性、可靠性和友善服務。

This not only improves our customers' lives, but it also supports our plan for long-term broadband revenue growth. Of course, none of this happens without the right people, and we have the team and the organizational structure in place to make it happen.

這不僅改善了我們客戶的生活，而且還支持了我們的長期寬頻收入成長計畫。當然，如果沒有合適的人才，這一切都不會發生，而我們擁有合適的團隊和組織結構來實現這一目標。

I'm incredibly proud of the talent, experience and momentum within our new customer acquisition and retention teams. Their energy, combined with strong collaboration across other functional areas gives us confidence that we are going to see positive results.

我為我們新客戶獲取和保留團隊的才華、經驗和動力感到無比自豪。他們的活力，加上其他職能領域的緊密合作，讓我們有信心看到正面的成果。

Turning to ARPU. We saw a slight dip this quarter driven by a variety of small factors, including promotional offers, which have proven track records of strong retention, increased adoption of pays and its associated discount and credit issued to certain customers impacted by third-party fiber cuts.

轉向 ARPU。本季度，我們發現由於各種小因素的影響，業務略有下滑，包括促銷優惠（這些優惠已被證明具有很強的保留率）、付費採用率的提高以及向受到第三方光纖削減影響的某些客戶發放的相關折扣和信貸。

That said, ARPU remains stable and the trends that we see support growth in the coming quarters. These include higher sell-in of our gig and multi-gig products, momentum from new product offerings and the number of discounts scheduled to roll off.

也就是說，ARPU 保持穩定，我們看到的趨勢支持未來幾季的成長。其中包括我們的千兆和多兆產品的銷售量增加、新產品的推出動能以及計劃推出的折扣數量。

Taken together, these factors position us well to improve ARPU through the balance of the year. Related to the potential growth of ARPU, I also want to highlight the continued growth of our SecurePlus product, which has seen a [15%] increase in customer adoption since the start of 2025.

綜合起來，這些因素使我們在今年餘下的時間裡能夠很好地提高 ARPU。與 ARPU 的潛在成長相關，我還想強調一下我們的 SecurePlus 產品的持續成長，自 2025 年初以來，該產品的客戶採用率成長了 [15%]。

SecurePlus delivers a suite of security-focused features, including remote access to the home network and household wide password management. SecurePlus is available a la carte for $8 a month or as part of our ultimate WiFi bundle, which we introduced last November at $24.99 per month. The bundle is resonating well with customers with 17% of new customers choosing it this quarter, a strong signal that our approach is aligned with the needs of today's connected homes.

SecurePlus 提供了一套以安全為中心的功能，包括遠端存取家庭網路和家庭範圍的密碼管理。SecurePlus 可單獨購買，價格為每月 8 美元，或作為我們終極 WiFi 套餐的一部分購買，後者於去年 11 月推出，每月 24.99 美元。該捆綁產品在客戶中反應良好，本季有 17% 的新客戶選擇了該產品，這強烈表明我們的方法符合當今連網家庭的需求。

When you combine these trends with our road map and ongoing executable plan, I remain confident in our ability to grow residential broadband revenue in 2025.

當你將這些趨勢與我們的路線圖和正在進行的可執行計劃結合起來時，我仍然對我們在 2025 年增加住宅寬頻收入的能力充滿信心。

Finally, before turning the call over to Todd for a review of our financial performance, I want to touch briefly on our decision to revise our capital allocation strategy, specifically the suspension of our dividend. We remain committed to a balanced approach to capital allocation.

最後，在將電話轉給托德審查我們的財務業績之前，我想簡要談談我們修改資本配置策略的決定，特別是暫停派發股息。我們仍然致力於採取平衡的資本配置方法。

And after careful consideration, we have decided to suspend our quarterly cash dividend in order to accelerate our debt reduction strategy and invest in organic growth initiatives.

經過仔細考慮，我們決定暫停季度現金分紅，以加速我們的債務削減策略並投資於有機成長計劃。

As Todd will cover in his remarks, we believe this change will bolster our financial strength and enhance our ability to proactively access the capital markets on favorable terms. With confidence in our strategy, the strength of our team and the plans we're putting into action, we are well positioned to execute on our goals through the remainder of the year.

正如托德在他的演講中提到的那樣，我們相信這一變化將增強我們的財務實力，並提高我們以優惠條件主動進入資本市場的能力。憑藉對我們的策略、團隊實力和正在實施的計劃的信心，我們已準備好在今年剩餘時間內實現我們的目標。

We remain focused on our long-term objectives of residential broadband customer and revenue growth while maintaining the financial discipline necessary to sustain strong free cash flow generation.

我們將繼續專注於住宅寬頻客戶和收入成長的長期目標，同時保持維持強勁自由現金流所需的財務紀律。

And now Todd who will provide a recap of our first quarter financial performance.

現在，托德將回顧我們第一季的財務表現。

Thanks, Julie. Beginning with the top line. For the first quarter of 2025, our total revenues to $380.6 million compared to $404.3 million in the first quarter of 2024. Residential data revenues decreased $10.7 million or 4.5% year over year. During the first quarter, residential data subscribers and ARPU both decreased by 1.1%.

謝謝，朱莉。從第一行開始。2025 年第一季度，我們的總營收為 3.806 億美元，而 2024 年第一季為 4.043 億美元。住宅數據收入較去年同期減少 1,070 萬美元，即 4.5%。第一季度，住宅數據用戶數和ARPU均下降1.1%。

However, as Julie noted, we continue to have confidence in our execution strategy to deliver residential broadband revenue growth in 2025. The remaining decrease in total revenue was primarily attributable to a decrease in residential video revenues of $9.6 million or 15.8% year over year, driven by losses in video subscribers as we continue to navigate the final phases of our video product life cycle.

然而，正如朱莉所指出的，我們仍然對我們的執行策略充滿信心，相信到 2025 年能夠實現住宅寬頻收入成長。總收入的剩餘減少主要歸因於住宅視訊收入年減 960 萬美元或 15.8%，這是由於我們繼續進入視訊產品生命週期的最後階段，導致視訊用戶流失。

On the business services side, for the first quarter of 2025 business data revenues grew by 1.2% compared to Q1 of 2024. As we mentioned earlier this year, our carrier and enterprise fiber businesses remained strong, delivering consistent results with an average contract term of about five years.

在商業服務方面，2025 年第一季商業數據收入與 2024 年第一季相比成長了 1.2%。正如我們今年稍早所提到的，我們的營運商和企業光纖業務保持強勁，取得了穩定的業績，平均合約期限約為五年。

Carrier sales recently reached their highest monthly levels since 2022, and we secured several new multimillion dollar long-term contracts that not only add recurring revenue, but also expand our network reach into new commercial areas, setting the stage for future growth.

營運商銷售額最近達到了 2022 年以來的最高月度水平，我們獲得了幾份新的數百萬美元的長期合同，這不僅增加了經常性收入，還將我們的網絡覆蓋範圍擴展到新的商業領域，為未來的增長奠定了基礎。

Operating expenses were now $99.9 million or 26.2% of revenues in the first quarter of 2025 compared to $106.5 million or 26.3% of revenues in the prior year quarter, with the decrease driven largely by a reduction in programming and labor costs. Selling, general and administrative expenses were $95.4 million for the first quarter of 2025 compared to $90.4 million in the prior year quarter.

2025 年第一季的營運費用為 9,990 萬美元，佔營收的 26.2%，而去年同期的營運費用為 1.065 億美元，佔營收的 26.3%，下降的主要原因是程式設計和勞動成本的減少。2025 年第一季的銷售、一般和行政費用為 9,540 萬美元，而去年同期為 9,040 萬美元。

SG&A as a percentage of revenue was 25.1% for Q1 of 2025 compared to 22.4% for Q1 of 2024 and with the increase driven largely by noncash stock-based compensation, billing system implementation costs and insurance-related costs, partially offset by a reduction in payroll costs and improved bad debt expense.

2025 年第一季度，銷售、一般及行政費用佔收入的百分比為 25.1%，而 2024 年第一季度為 22.4%，其增長主要受非現金股票薪酬、計費系統實施成本和保險相關成本的推動，但工資成本的減少和壞賬費用的改善部分抵消了這一增長。

Net income was $2.6 million for the first quarter of 2025 compared to $37.4 million in the first quarter of 2024 driven by lower income from operations and an increased noncash equity method accounting loss in Q1 of 2025.

2025 年第一季的淨收入為 260 萬美元，而 2024 年第一季的淨收入為 3,740 萬美元，原因是 2025 年第一季營業收入下降和非現金權益法會計損失增加。

Adjusted EBITDA was $203 million in Q1 of 2025, representing a 53.3% margin compared to $217 million, a 53.7% margin in Q1 of 2024. Capital expenditures of $71.1 million in Q1 were $5.2 million or 8% higher than in Q1 of last year.

2025 年第一季調整後 EBITDA 為 2.03 億美元，利潤率為 53.3%，而 2024 年第一季調整後 EBITDA 為 2.17 億美元，利潤率為 53.7%。第一季的資本支出為 7,110 萬美元，比去年第一季高出 520 萬美元，增幅為 8%。

During the quarter, we invested $7.1 million of CapEx for new market expansion projects and $3.9 million for integration activities. We expect the impact of any tariffs to be manageable and we are well positioned to carry out our previously outlined plan for total CapEx in the low 300s for the full year.

本季度，我們為新市場擴張項目投資了 710 萬美元，為整合活動投資了 390 萬美元。我們預計任何關稅的影響都是可控的，我們已做好準備，實現我們先前製定的全年總資本支出在 300 美元出頭的計劃。

Adjusted EBITDA less capital expenditures was $131.6 million in the first quarter of 2025 or 65% as a percentage of adjusted EBITDA. We will continuously assess the optimal allocation of the significant cash flow generated by our business, maintaining a commitment to long-term growth initiatives in a highly disciplined, conservative balance sheet management strategy. As Julie said, after careful and extensive consideration, we have decided to suspend our quarterly cash dividend on our common shares.

2025 年第一季調整後 EBITDA 減去資本支出為 1.316 億美元，佔調整後 EBITDA 的 65%。我們將不斷評估我們業務產生的大量現金流的最佳分配，以高度自律、保守的資產負債表管理策略致力於長期成長計畫。正如朱莉所說，經過仔細和廣泛的考慮，我們決定暫停普通股的季度現金股息。

This represents approximately $67 million annually and over $200 million of discretionary free cash flow over the next three years that we will be able to allocate towards accelerated debt repayment, refinancing support and ongoing investment in organic growth initiatives.

這意味著每年約 6,700 萬美元和未來三年超過 2 億美元的可自由支配的自由現金流，我們將能夠將其分配給加速債務償還、再融資支持和對有機增長計劃的持續投資。

While our near-term priorities will be centered around fortifying our balance sheet and investing in long-term growth. We will also remain balanced with our return of capital to shareholders and will opportunistically evaluate future share repurchases under our remaining $143 million authorization, subject to achieving lower leverage levels.

我們的近期重點將集中在加強資產負債表和投資長期成長。我們也將保持對股東的資本回報平衡，並將在剩餘的 1.43 億美元授權範圍內擇機評估未來的股票回購，但前提是實現較低的槓桿水平。

We repaid nearly $45 million of debt in the quarter, including $40 million of early debt repayment, along with an additional $10 million subsequent to the quarter close. Since Q2 of 2023 through today, excluding borrowing associated with our recently renegotiated MBI partnership agreement, our total debt repayment has exceeded $450 million.

我們在本季償還了近 4,500 萬美元的債務，其中包括 4,000 萬美元的提前償還債務，以及本季結束後償還的另外 1,000 萬美元。自 2023 年第二季至今，不包括與我們最近重新談判的 MBI 合作協議相關的借款，我們的債務償還總額已超過 4.5 億美元。

As of March 31, we had approximately $149 million of cash and cash equivalents on hand and our debt balance was approximately $3.6 billion, consisting of approximately $1.7 billion in term loans $90 million in convertible notes, $650 million in unsecured notes, $273 million of revolver borrowings and $3 million of finance lease liabilities.

截至 3 月 31 日，我們手頭上有大約 1.49 億美元的現金和現金等價物，我們的債務餘額約為 36 億美元，其中包括約 17 億美元的定期貸款、9000 萬美元的可轉換票據、6.5 億美元的無擔保票據、2.73 億美元的循環借款和 300 萬美元的融資負債。

We also had $977 million available for additional borrowings under our $1.25 billion committed revolving credit facility as of March 31. Our weighted average cost of debt for the first quarter of 2025 was 3.9%, and our net leverage ratio on a last quarter annualized basis was just north of 4 times.

截至 3 月 31 日，我們還擁有 12.5 億美元承諾循環信貸額度下的 9.77 億美元可用於額外借款。我們 2025 年第一季的加權平均負債成本為 3.9%，上一季的年化淨槓桿率略高於 4 倍。

As we continue our accelerated debt repayment and invest in EBITDA growth initiatives, we remain confident this ratio will decline expectations that our leverage will remain below 4x pro forma for the potential MBI consolidation in late 2026.

隨著我們繼續加速償還債務並投資於 EBITDA 成長計劃，我們仍然相信這一比率將會下降，預計我們的槓桿率將保持在 4 倍以下，以應對 2026 年底潛在的 MBI 合併。

A large majority of our borrowings are either fixed tens or have been synthetically fixed at underlying base rates that are approximately half of the prevailing floating rates. The nearest final maturity for any of our debt instruments are $575 million of 0% convertible notes does not occur until 2026.

我們的借款大多是固定利率，或已合成固定基礎利率，基礎利率約為現行浮動利率的一半。我們所有債務工具的最接近最終到期日是 5.75 億美元的 0% 可轉換票據，要到 2026 年才會到期。

Given the available capacity under our revolving credit agreement and our free cash flow generation, we would be well prepared to retire those instruments without accessing the capital markets for additional incremental capital.

鑑於我們的循環信貸協議下的可用容量和我們的自由現金流產生，我們將做好充分準備退出這些工具，而無需進入資本市場以獲取額外的增量資本。

However, as we previously stated, we remain ready and opportunistic in evaluating attractive windows in the capital markets.

然而，正如我們之前所說，我們仍然做好準備並抓住機會評估資本市場上的吸引力。

Turning to our investment partnerships. We posted updated information about our unconsolidated investments on our Investor Relations website. For the fourth quarter of 2024, the annualized adjusted EBITDA of select companies was approximately $682 million up 10% from the prior year. These companies also grew broadband subscribers by 11% and added over 240,000 new fiber passings during the year.

談到我們的投資夥伴關係。我們在投資者關係網站上發布了有關非合併投資的最新資訊。2024 年第四季度，精選公司的年化調整後 EBITDA 約為 6.82 億美元，較上年增長 10%。這些公司的寬頻用戶數量也增加了 11%，並在當年新增了超過 24 萬條光纖用戶。

That momentum carried into the first quarter with residential and business data customers increasing by approximately 16,000 or 1.8% sequentially. These figures exclude Metronet where our ownership stake is smaller.

這一勢頭延續到了第一季度，住宅和商業數據客戶數量環比增加約 16,000 人，增幅為 1.8%。這些數字不包括我們持有較少股權的 Metronet。

The pending monetization of our Ziply and Metronet investment in the coming months, along with our monetization of CTI towers in the first quarter are expected to generate well over $100 million of combined after-tax proceeds with each investment providing a solid return.

我們在未來幾個月內即將實現的 Ziply 和 Metronet 投資的貨幣化，以及我們在第一季實現的 CTI 塔的貨幣化，預計將產生超過 1 億美元的稅後收益，每項投資都將帶來可觀的回報。

We believe these outcomes, both the strong operating execution and the successful monetization of our investments reflect the strength of the businesses we partnered with and the opportunities we continue to see ahead.

我們相信，這些成果，包括強勁的營運執行力和投資的成功貨幣化，反映了我們合作企業的實力以及我們繼續看到的未來​​的機會。

Before we open it up for questions, I want to reiterate our confidence in the strategy we're executing to drive long-term sustainable broadband revenue growth and durable cash flow growth. As we allow the appropriate amount of time for our new and ongoing investments in people, operational platforms, and go-to-market playbooks to come together, we believe we have the foundational elements in place to return to delivering the differentiated results that have defined Cable One's reputation throughout our history.

在我們開始提問之前，我想重申我們對正在執行的策略的信心，以推動長期可持續的寬頻收入成長和持久的現金流成長。當我們為在人員、營運平台和行銷策略方面的新投資和持續投資留出適當的時間時，我們相信我們已經具備了基礎要素，可以重新提供差異化成果，而這些成果正是 Cable One 在整個歷史上享有的聲譽。

With that, we are now ready for questions.

現在我們可以回答問題了。

(Operator Instructions) Frank Louthan, Raymond James.

（操作員指示）弗蘭克·盧森、雷蒙德·詹姆斯。

Great. Thank you. So you have fallen into the trap that I've seen other companies that I've covered fall into where bankers or someone have talking to eliminating the dividend entirely. So I would be interested to know what led you to that decision?

偉大的。謝謝。所以，你已經陷入了陷阱，我所報道過的其他公司也陷入了同樣的陷阱，銀行家或其他人正在談論完全取消股息。所以我很想知道是什麼促使您做出這個決定？

And specifically, are there any going concern issues or debt covenants or some other issue that we're aware of in the business environment. that would require you to cut the dividend? And does this have anything to do with the short-term debt jumping out $575 million in the quarter?

具體來說，我們在商業環境中是否有持續經營問題、債務契約或其他問題。這是否意味著你需要削減股息？這與本季短期債務猛增 5.75 億美元有關係嗎？

Hey, Frank, it's Todd. Appreciate the question. I'll reassure you and our stakeholder audience has nothing to do with any going concern for debt covenant concerns. The capital allocation strategies that we've been extensively revisiting not just in the quarter but active discussions, active listening to many of our stakeholders was what drove us to that decision.

嘿，弗蘭克，我是托德。感謝你的提問。我向您和我們的利害關係人保證，這與任何持續經營的債務契約問題無關。我們不僅在本賽季廣泛地重新審視資本配置策略，而且積極討論，積極聽取許多利益相關者的意見，這些才是促使我們做出這一決定的原因。

This allows us, as we said in our prepared remarks to accelerate our debt repayment. In addition to what we generated leverage free cash flow in excess of $300 million annually in the next really 2 years in advance of the potential MBI transaction, another $120 million of that will be allocated towards debt repayment. Therefore, reiterating our view and our comfort that we'll be below 4x as we've stated previously.

正如我們在準備好的演講中所說，這使我們能夠加快償還債務。除了我們在潛在 MBI 交易之前的未來兩年內產生的每年超過 3 億美元的槓桿自由現金流之外，另外 1.2 億美元將用於償還債務。因此，我們重申我們的觀點和信心，正如我們之前所說的，我們將低於 4 倍。

Was eliminating the dividend part of the way you were confident you were going to get there before? Or is this new? And then as a follow-up, you mentioned about getting back to broadband subscriber growth. Can you articulate when you think you'll be able to cross that line?

取消股息是不是您之前有信心實現這一目標的一部分？還是這是新的？然後作為後續問題，您提到了恢復寬頻用戶成長的問題。您能否清楚說明您認為何時能夠跨越這條界線？

I'll address the first, and I'll let Julie jump in. But no, I said last quarter, we are confident in that less than 4x without a decision being effectively made on that dividend suspension. So that would not be a corollary to that. It just further reemphasizes that point.

我先解決第一個問題，然後讓朱莉加入。但不，我上個季度就說過，我們有信心，在沒有就暫停分紅做出有效決定的情況下，分紅率不會超過 4 倍。所以這不是必然結果。這只是進一步強調了這一點。

And on broadband growth, whether we segment out, are we talking about broadband revenue or broadband subscriber growth or customer growth. We believe we can do both, quite honestly. And we've been working on the setup of that for some time.

關於寬頻成長，無論我們細分，我們談論的是寬頻收入還是寬頻用戶成長或客戶成長。坦白說，我們相信我們可以同時做到這兩點。我們已經為此工作了一段時間了。

And it started with a team that was professional and experienced in a more competitive environment as well as the platforms that would allow us to track and be much more measured and strategic about the actions that we took.

一切始於一支在競爭更激烈的環境中經驗豐富的專業團隊，以及使我們能夠追蹤並更加謹慎和有策略地採取行動的平台。

And so for the first quarter to start out what I would call slowish, it's not a surprise to me because all those things were still being put into place. And even with that, we did see -- our biggest focus area has been connect because our churn is just so amazingly low. So working on Connect. And we did see connects improve month over month and still feel good about that trajectory.

因此，對於我所說的第一季的開局較為緩慢的情況，這並不令我感到意外，因為所有這些事情仍在實施中。即使如此，我們確實看到——我們最大的關注領域是連接，因為我們的客戶流失率非常低。因此正在致力於 Connect。我們確實看到連結數逐月改善，並且對這種發展軌跡感到滿意。

And that is not the way that it occurred last year. So that is something that we're bending the curve on -- and as before, we put our comprehensive plan into place.

而這與去年的情況不同。所以這就是我們正在扭轉局面的事情——和以前一樣，我們制定了全面的計劃。

So I'm not going to pick a month or a week where I'm going to say you're going to see broadband customer growth, but I will say in '25 that, that is what I believe we are going to deliver, and we absolutely will deliver revenue growth -- broadband revenue growth in '25. I'm happy to talk about why I think that's the case.

因此，我不會選擇某個月份或某週來預測寬頻客戶數量將會增加，但我可以肯定地說，在 25 年，我相信我們能夠實現這一目標，而且我們絕對會實現收入成長——25 年的寬頻收入成長。我很高興談論我為什麼這麼認為。

Glad to hear that.

很高興聽到這個消息。

Sebastiano Petti, JPMorgan.

摩根大通的塞巴斯蒂亞諾·佩蒂。

Thank you for taking the question. Could you unpack what the onetime unusual churn event was in the quarter? Just -- just one1 quick other follow-up there, but as we look out to the fourth quarter as well, right, there were some one-off activities or one-off events that were not necessarily supposed to be looked upon as a quote on run rate for the 2025 here we are.

感謝您回答這個問題。您能否解釋一下本季發生的一次不尋常的客戶流失事件是什麼？只是 - 只是一個快速的其他後續行動，但當我們展望第四季度時，對，有一些一次性活動或一次性事件不一定被視為對 2025 年運行率的報價。

And so just what underlies your confidence just piggybacking on Frank's question, what underlies the confidence in returning to broadband revenue growth for the year? As you think about the starting point with subscriber -- the subscriber decline as well as the ARPU decline in the quarter. Just if you could unpack the confidence there, particularly given the competitive backdrop. Thank you.

那麼，您基於弗蘭克的問題而產生的信心的根本原因是什麼？您對今年寬頻收入恢復成長的信心的根本原因是什麼？當您考慮訂戶的起點時—訂戶數量下降，而本季 ARPU 也下降。如果你能釋放出信心，特別是在競爭激烈的背景下。謝謝。

Yeah, yeah. So the one-term events, the unique headwinds that we referred to at year-end were primarily around ACP the sunset of ACP. We did also have a change in key team members that we referenced as well. So that would be the events from the fourth quarter of '24. In the first quarter of '25, it's not one thing.

是啊是啊。因此，我們在年底提到的唯一一個學期的事件和獨特的逆風主要與 ACP 的落幕有關。我們確實也提到了關鍵團隊成員的變動。這就是 24 年第四季發生的事件。在 2025 年第一季度，這並不是一件事。

It's a bunch of little things that if we took those out of the equation, our churn is little regardless, but if we took those out, it would be historically low.

這是一些小事，如果我們把它們從等式中剔除，我們的客戶流失率無論如何都會很小，但是如果我們把這些都剔除，我們的客戶流失率就會達到歷史最低水平。

And that was some heightened churn associated with our billing migration activities, the shutdown of unprofitable fixed wireless towers and the customers that were on them that we gained from an earlier acquisition and some weather-related events, tornadoes and storms.

這是由於我們的計費遷移活動、無利可圖的固定無線塔的關閉以及我們從早期收購中獲得的客戶以及一些與天氣有關的事件、龍捲風和風暴造成的。

So I would call those unusual and generally nonrecurring types of events. And again, our churn is incredibly low. It's historically low if we remove those items, and that's with us being in the current competitive environment that you referenced.

所以我將這些稱為不尋常且通常不會發生的事件類型。而且，我們的客戶流失率非常低。如果我們移除這些項目，其價格將處於歷史低位，而且這是在我們處於您提到的當前競爭環境中。

Our team is just so fanatical about measuring and getting the data from our experiments so that we can make smart decisions. And just one example related to churn, we've been tracking acquisition cohorts connect words from the first quarter specifically, when we look at it over all time, but since we're measuring first quarter.

我們的團隊非常熱衷於測量和獲取實驗數據，以便我們能夠做出明智的決定。僅舉一個與客戶流失相關的例子，我們一直在追蹤從第一季開始的收購群體連接詞，當我們從整個時間段來看時，但由於我們正在衡量第一季。

Since 2021 to current, and each year, our retention has gone up, and we are now 300 bps higher than we were in '21. So that's just an indication of the work that's done around churn and how these small things, unusual things occurred in the first quarter.

從 2021 年到現在，我們的留存率每年都在上升，現在比 2021 年高出 300 個基點。這只是顯示了圍繞客戶流失所進行的工作以及第一季發生的這些小事、不尋常的事情。

Let's see what else did you ask? Oh, confidence. So again, the way I actually say it to the team is, hey, we haven't even shot our big cans yet. Like where it's basically water guns and we're getting ready to bring out the canons because we wanted to put together a plan that was incredibly disciplined and strategic and comprehensive, not just bits and parts and tactics. And so we have been spending a lot of time, immense amount of work going on by the teams, what advertising messages will resonate.

讓我們看看您還問了什麼？哦，自信。所以，我再次對團隊說，嘿，我們甚至還沒有射出我們的大罐子。就像基本上是水槍一樣，我們正準備拿出大砲，因為我們想要製定一個非常有紀律、有戰略性和全面的計劃，而不僅僅是一些零碎的戰術。因此，我們的團隊花費了大量的時間和精力，致力於打造能夠引起共鳴的廣告訊息。

What does the research say about how our customers want to be approached. How do we interrupt share flow to our channels because we know when customers come to us, they stay with us? So again, given that connects and net improved month over month for the entire quarter and knowing that the plan for the future, starting imminently is to roll out products that we've trialed and we have data. So now we can forecast what to expect from those products, things like FlexConnect, which will go head-to-head against cell phone Internet.

研究顯示我們的客戶希望如何被對待。我們知道，當客戶來到我們這裡時，他們就會留在我們這裡，因此我們如何中斷到我們頻道的共享流？因此，鑑於整個季度連接和網路逐月改善，並且知道未來的計劃，即將開始的是推出我們已經試用過並且擁有數據的產品。所以現在我們可以預測這些產品會有什麼樣的表現，像是 FlexConnect，它將與手機網路展開正面交鋒。

And there's just so much data that we have learned from our trials, what people appreciate about it. the demos that are being attracted by it, the data usage of that group, it may even lead to other use cases like wireless substitution, win back, for example, or products like Lift, which are completely incremental to us, where we're going after the value by need customers. So we're not only helping out our levers, but we're getting incremental revenue and again, by trialing it, we have the confidence to understand that it won't cannibalize current customers.

我們從試驗中獲得了非常多的數據，人們對此表示讚賞。被它吸引的演示、該群體的數據使用情況，甚至可能導致其他用例，例如無線替代、贏回，或像 Lift 這樣的產品，這些產品對我們來說完全是增量的，我們追求的是需要客戶的價值。因此，我們不僅在幫助我們的槓桿，而且還獲得了增量收入，並且透過試用，我們有信心了解它不會蠶食現有客戶。

Tracking campaigns, for example, we did a campaign -- an acquisition campaign late in '24, and it resulted in a 13% Lift and that's fantastic, but it had a discount. So we've been tracking it over time. And we're retaining in the mid-90s, and that is post discount roll off. So that is a super successful campaign.

例如，追蹤活動，我們在 24 年末開展了一項活動 - 一項收購活動，其結果是 13% 的提升，這非常棒，但它有折扣。因此我們一直在追蹤它。我們保持在 90 年代中期，這是折扣後的水平。所以這是一個非常成功的活動。

Now that we know that we know that we're not -- we're threading the needle between lift and ARPU and customer satisfaction, we can replicate that over and over again. We are getting so much more sophisticated now that we have these best-in-class platforms in place. And so we are revamping, for example, our new build process. And so far, that's yielding about 2% higher penetration within two months of completion at a lower cost of capital.

現在我們知道了，我們不是——我們正在提升和 ARPU 以及客戶滿意度之間尋找平衡，我們可以一遍又一遍地複製這一點。現在，我們擁有了這些一流的平台，因此我們變得更加成熟。因此，我們正在改進我們的新建置流程。到目前為止，該項目在竣工兩個月內以較低的資本成本實現了約 2% 的滲透率提高。

I think about ancillary products that customers are approving by their purchasing decisions that they want and need these things, and there is price elasticity there because of that need because of that value. So things like SecurePlus or ultimate WiFi. And those are just things that we're doing now, not things that are on the drawing board.

我認為輔助產品是客戶透過購買決策而認可的，他們想要並且需要這些東西，並且由於這種需求和價值，存在價格彈性。例如 SecurePlus 或終極 WiFi。這些只是我們現在正在做的事情，而不是繪圖板上的事情。

Those were just some of the reasons why I have confidence. I have confidence, Sebastiano, because I know what we're getting ready to do.

這些只是我有信心的部分原因。我有信心，塞巴斯蒂亞諾，因為我知道我們準備做什麼。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Brandon Nispel, KeyBanc Capital Markets.

Brandon Nispel，KeyBanc 資本市場。

Yes. Thanks for taking the questions. I was hoping maybe you could help us in some of your trials with FlexConnect and Lift, Help us understand what intake ARPU looks like for those products. And then hoping you could provide an update on what percentage of your footprint is now overbuilt with fiber and the percentage of your footprint you think you're competing with fixed wireless in. Thanks.

是的。感謝您回答這些問題。我希望您能幫助我們進行 FlexConnect 和 Lift 的一些試驗，幫助我們了解這些產品的 ARPU 攝取量。然後希望您能提供最新信息，說明現在您的覆蓋範圍內有多少百分比的光纖被過度建設，以及您認為您在多大程度上與固定無線進行競爭。謝謝。

So FlexConnect is really pretty interesting because, again, it's going up against cell phone, Internet, we call it a value by choice. In other words, people are choosing to have a value-type product, but they're not in the same demo as the lift folks who have a strong need because of their income levels. FlexConnect offers customers really a super easy way to onboard and service themselves very similar to what cell phone Internet is like. However, it has a choice of speeds.

因此，FlexConnect 確實非常有趣，因為它再次與手機、網路競爭，我們稱之為選擇價值。換句話說，人們選擇購買價值型產品，但他們與因收入水平而有強烈需求的電梯用戶並不屬於同一群體。FlexConnect 為客戶提供了非常簡單的存取和服務方式，與手機網路非常相似。但是，它可以選擇速度。

Now I can't necessarily tell you what the ARPU is in that group because the speed and price -- the speeds and prices that we're going to aggressively market are changing in our mass rollout versus our trial because we learned some things in the trial.

現在我無法告訴您該組的 ARPU 是多少，因為速度和價格——我們將要積極推廣的速度和價格在我們的大規模推廣和試驗中發生了變化，因為我們在試驗中了解到了一些事情。

But there are two levels, a $45 level and a $75 level. And I can tell you that a portion not half, but a portion of the customers are electing to get the higher speed tier. And again, what we're learning about the people that are choosing that and their happiness with their satisfaction with the product and their data usage is really interesting.

但有兩個級別，45 美元級別和 75 美元級別。我可以告訴你們，有一部分（不是一半）客戶選擇使用更高速度的網速。再次，我們了解到選擇該產品的人以及他們對產品和數據使用的滿意度真的很有趣。

And wait for the advertising. I'll just tease you with that. I think it's pretty punchy. Let me put it that way. Lift, likewise, is its trial is nearing its end and we're getting ready to market that as well.

然後等待廣告。我只是想逗你一下。我覺得它很有衝擊力。讓我這樣說吧。同樣，Lift 的試驗也即將結束，我們也準備將其推向市場。

And there's a very discrete TAM for Lift, right? So these are folks that have to be eligible in order to get this product. And so we'll be marketing very discretely to that group. It will represent incremental revenue and actually find a place for folks who are most likely ACP customers in the past to find their home back with Sparklight again. Footprint for fiber, about half and half.

Lift 的 TAM 非常離散，對嗎？因此，這些人必須符合資格才能獲得該產品。因此，我們將非常謹慎地針對該群體進行行銷。它將代表增量收入，並且實際上為過去最有可能是 ACP 客戶的人們找到一個地方，讓他們再次透過 Sparklight 找到自己的家。光纖的足跡大約各佔一半。

Yeah. Well, it's a little over 50%, Brandon, very consistent with what we talked about last quarter. It hasn't moved meaningfully. And then with a broadband offering from a mobile operator, that's in nearly all of our markets as we also said last quarter that hasn't changed meaningfully, either and really can because it's pretty widely available.

是的。嗯，布蘭登，略高於 50%，這與我們上個季度討論的情況非常一致。它並沒有發生任何有意義的改變。然後，隨著行動營運商提供寬頻服務，幾乎涵蓋了我們所有的市場，正如我們上個季度所說的那樣，這種情況也沒有發生重大變化，而且確實不會發生重大變化，因為它已經相當普及了。

If anything, it contracts.

如果有的話，它會收縮。

Yeah. If anything from a spectrum capacity constraint, it will contract over time. But right now, that is the case. And that's, as Julie said, (technical difficulty) Connect challenge, which is why we've been piloting and now executing on some of these new initiatives that will go head to head.

是的。如果存在頻譜容量限制，那麼它將隨著時間的推移而收縮。但現在的情況就是這樣。正如朱莉所說，這就是（技術難度）連接挑戰，這也是我們一直在試行並正在執行一些將進行正面交鋒的新舉措的原因。

Thanks for all the color.

感謝所有的色彩。

I will now turn the call back over to Julie for closing remarks.

現在我將把電話轉回給朱莉，請她做最後發言。

Thank you, Rebecca. As we wrap up today's call, I want to thank our associates again for their continuing hard work and dedication to our customers and one another. This has been a challenging time for our company and our industry, but our people continue to believe in our mission to connect people to what matters most.

謝謝你，麗貝卡。在我們結束今天的電話會議時，我想再次感謝我們的同事們為我們的客戶和彼此所做的持續努力和奉獻。對我們公司和產業來說，這是一個充滿挑戰的時期，但我們的員工仍然相信我們的使命，那就是將人們與最重要的事物聯繫起來。

Indeed, high-speed data remains one of the most important products in rural America, where it is a lifeline for people to work, learn, and receive medical care.

事實上，高速數據仍然是美國農村地區最重要的產品之一，它是人們工作、學習和接受醫療照護的生命線。

While today's discussion centered on topics that our shareholders and investors frequently ask about, it's important to remember that it's our associates to provide an invaluable service to our customers. So to each of our associates, please accept my thanks for all that you do.

雖然今天的討論集中在我們的股東和投資者經常詢問的話題上，但重要的是要記住，我們的員工要為我們的客戶提供無價的服務。因此，對於我們的每一位同事，請接受我對你們所做的一切的感謝。

Thanks, everyone, and speak to you again next quarter.

謝謝大家，下個季度我們再聯絡。

Ladies and gentlemen, that concludes today's call. Thank you all for joining. You may now disconnect.

女士們、先生們，今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝大家的加入。您現在可以斷開連線。