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Why Is Altice USA, Inc. (ATUS) Down 13.2% Since Last Earnings Report?

A month has gone by since the last earnings report for Altice USA, Inc. (ATUS). Shares have lost about 13.2% in that time frame, underperforming the S&P 500.

Will the recent negative trend continue leading up to its next earnings release, or is Altice USA, Inc. due for a breakout? Before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late, let's take a quick look at its most recent earnings report in order to get a better handle on the important drivers.

Altice (ATUS) Surpasses Q2 Earnings & Revenue Estimates

Altice reported relatively modest second-quarter 2022 results, wherein the bottom line and top line beat the respective Zacks Consensus Estimate despite declining year over year. The company has been accelerating the pace of network rollouts and expects to better connect with customers with its rebranding campaign, thereby reporting improved performances in the long run.

Net Income

Net income in the quarter declined to $106.2 million or 23 cents per share from $197.7 million or 43 cents per share in the prior-year quarter, primarily due to top-line contraction. Adjusted net income in the reported quarter was 35 cents per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a couple of cents.

Revenues

Quarterly total revenues slipped to $2,463 million from $2,516 million in the prior year, owing to lower contribution from residential business due to a challenging macroeconomic environment. The top line, however, beat the consensus estimate of $2,450 million.

The company made progress in its growth strategies by accelerating network enhancement and customer experience. It plans to bring 100% fiber broadband to more than two-thirds of its footprint over the next four years to reach a total of 6.5 million FTTH (Fiber to the home) passings by the end of 2025. At quarter-end, Altice had 1.59 million FTTH passings, about 270,000 of which were added in the quarter. Broadband-only customer usage averaged 578 GB per month. FTTH broadband net additions were more than 23,000 in the quarter, led by increased migrations of existing customers. Total fiber broadband customers reached 104,000 by the end of the quarter, with 6.6% customer penetration of the FTTH network. Residential revenue per customer relationship declined 1.5% year over year to $140.13 due to the loss of higher ARPU video customers.

Residential revenues (which include Broadband, Video and Telephony) were $1,928.8 million, down 3% year over year due to a loss in customers of 48,000 residential customer relationships and a broadband net loss of 40,000. Business services and wholesale revenues remained relatively flat at $371.5 million. News and Advertising revenues were $133.2 million, up 1.1% driven by strength in the travel, entertainment and sports betting segments.

Other Quarterly Details

Operating income declined to $521.7 million from $626.8 million in the year-ago quarter. Adjusted EBITDA was $1,007.1 million compared with $1,104.6 million in the prior-year quarter. Altice rebranded its national mobile service dubbed Altice Mobile to Optimum Mobile, as part of its effort to align all the services under a single national Optimum brand. The rechristened Optimum Mobile witnessed healthy subscriber growth during the quarter, reaching 231,000 customers, representing 5.1% penetration of the residential customer base.

Cash Flow & Liquidity

Altice generated $676.3 million of cash from operating activities in the quarter compared with $729.5 million in the prior year, bringing the tallies for the first half of 2022 and 2021 to $1,276.6 million and $1,479.2 million, respectively. Free cash flow was $191.2 million, down 53% year over year. As of Jun 30, 2022, the company’s cash and cash equivalents totaled $233.2 million with net debt of $24,464 million.

How Have Estimates Been Moving Since Then?

In the past month, investors have witnessed a downward trend in estimates review.

The consensus estimate has shifted -7.14% due to these changes.

VGM Scores

Currently, Altice USA, Inc. has a subpar Growth Score of D, though it is lagging a bit on the Momentum Score front with an F. However, the stock was allocated a grade of A on the value side, putting it in the top 20% for this investment strategy.

Overall, the stock has an aggregate VGM Score of C. If you aren't focused on one strategy, this score is the one you should be interested in.

Outlook

Estimates have been broadly trending downward for the stock, and the magnitude of these revisions indicates a downward shift. Notably, Altice USA, Inc. has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). We expect an in-line return from the stock in the next few months.


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