Key Highlights

  • Cable One expects to lose 16,000 to 18,000 residential broadband subscribers in Q2 2026. That range came in worse than KeyBanc's 15,600 estimate and the consensus expectation of a 13,900 loss.
  • The company ended Q1 with 887,100 residential broadband connections, down 57,900 year-over-year. The pace of losses in the preliminary Q2 figures suggests this downward trend has not yet stabilized.
  • Expected ARPU for the quarter is in the range of $80 to $81. This is broadly in line with KeyBanc's $79.88 estimate and a consensus estimate of $80.22.
  • The disclosure arrives ahead of upcoming earnings reports from Charter and Comcast later this month. Cable One's early results may set a cautious tone for how investors approach those reports.

Cable One (NYSE: CABO) shares fell 7% after the company disclosed preliminary second-quarter results indicating it will lose more broadband subscribers than analysts had modeled. The early disclosure, made via an 8-K filing, offers an initial signal ahead of a broader wave of cable industry earnings reports expected later this month from peers Charter and Comcast.

According to the filing, Cable One expects to lose between 16,000 and 18,000 residential broadband subscribers in the second quarter of 2026. That anticipated range came in worse than KeyBanc Capital Markets' estimate of a 15,600 subscriber loss and above the broader consensus expectation of a 13,900 subscriber decline, according to a research note from KeyBanc analyst Brandon Nispel.

The disclosure adds to an ongoing trend of subscriber erosion for the company. Cable One ended the first quarter with 887,100 residential broadband connections, known internally as primary service units (PSUs), down 57,900 from the prior year. The continued pace of losses reflected in the preliminary Q2 figures suggests this multi-quarter downward trend in residential broadband subscribers has not yet stabilized.

Alongside the subscriber figures, Cable One indicated average revenue per unit (ARPU) in the range of $80 to $81 for the quarter, a figure that compares to KeyBanc's $79.88 estimate and a consensus estimate of $80.22. While the ARPU figures came in broadly in line with expectations, the larger-than-expected subscriber losses appear to be the primary factor weighing on the stock today.

The preliminary results arrive at a notable moment for the broader cable sector, as Charter and Comcast are set to report their own quarterly results later this month. Cable One's early disclosure — and the market's negative reaction to it — may set a cautious tone for how investors approach those upcoming reports, particularly if broader industry-wide broadband subscriber trends are following a similar trajectory across major operators.

As the sector continues to navigate a challenging competitive landscape, including inconsistent competitive pressure from alternative providers such as Starlink, today's preliminary disclosure from Cable One offers an early, if imperfect, preview of the broader pressures facing traditional cable broadband providers heading into this earnings cycle.