Altice USA Inc: Fiber and Mobile Growth Drive Long-Term Success Amid Revenue Decline

Altice USA Inc (ATUS) reported its fourth quarter and full-year 2024 financial results on February 13, 2025, highlighting significant growth in fiber and mobile services despite a decline in revenue. The company's strategic focus on expanding its fiber network and enhancing mobile services aligns with broader industry trends, positioning Altice USA for long-term success.

Revenue and Financial Performance

Altice USA reported total revenue of $2.2 billion in Q4 2024, a 2.9% year-over-year decrease, and $9.0 billion for the full year, down 3.1% from the previous year. These figures fell short of analyst estimates, which projected quarterly revenue of $2,239.92 million and annual revenue of $8,959.53 million. The company's net income (loss) attributable to stockholders was ($54.1) million ($(0.12)/share on a diluted basis) in Q4 2024 and ($102.9) million ($(0.22)/share on a diluted basis) in FY 2024, compared to ($117.8) million ($(0.26)/share on a diluted basis) in Q4 2023 and $53.2 million ($0.12/share on a diluted basis) in FY 2023. Adjusted EBITDA was $837.5 million (-7.3% year over year) and $3.4 billion (-5.4% year over year) for Q4 2024 and FY 2024, respectively, with margins of 37.5% and 38.1%.

Fiber and Mobile Growth

Altice USA achieved significant milestones in fiber and mobile growth:

* Fiber customer growth accelerated in Q4 2024 and FY 2024, with +57k and +197k fiber net additions, respectively, representing Optimum's best quarter and full year ever for fiber net adds.
* Fiber network penetration reached 18.2% at the end of Q4 2024, up from 12.5% at the end of Q4 2023.
* Best Mobile Line Net Add Performance in 5 Years, Reaching 460k Lines, a +43% Increase in Ending Mobile Lines Compared to Y/E 2023.
* Optimum Mobile added net mobile lines of +40k in Q4 2024 and +137k in FY 2024.
* 5.7% of broadband base converged with mobile at the end of Q4 2024, up from 3.5% at the end of Q4 2023.



Video Strategy Evolution

Altice USA's evolution of its video strategy, focusing on customer preferences and flexibility, has positively impacted its competitive position. The company introduced new TV packages, such as Entertainment TV, Extra TV, and Everything TV, driving more value through mutually beneficial programming agreements and offering consumers more content flexibility. This approach has improved the video gross add attachment rate, which reached approximately 20% in Q4 2024, a 200 basis point increase quarter over quarter, and has helped to inflect on multi-year trends of declining video attachment rates.

Long-Term Implications

Altice USA's strategic focus on fiber and mobile growth, coupled with its evolution of the video strategy, has positive long-term implications for the company's revenue and profitability. By aligning its products and offerings with customer preferences, Altice USA can expect to:

1. Increase customer satisfaction and loyalty, leading to reduced churn and lower customer acquisition costs.
2. Attract new customers who value the flexibility and customization offered by the new TV packages.
3. Generate additional revenue through upselling and cross-selling opportunities, as customers opt for more content-rich packages.
4. Improve operational efficiency by leveraging data-driven insights to optimize content negotiations and reduce programming cost inflation per subscriber.

In conclusion, Altice USA's strategic focus on fiber and mobile growth, coupled with its evolution of the video strategy, has positioned the company for long-term success despite a decline in revenue. By aligning its products and offerings with customer preferences, Altice USA can expect to enhance customer satisfaction, attract new customers, and improve operational efficiency, ultimately driving revenue and profitability.