Altice Usa Stock Price, News & Analysis
Company Description
Altice USA, Inc. (NYSE: ATUS), which is changing its corporate name to Optimum Communications, Inc., is a broadband communications and video services company in the Information sector, classified under All Other Telecommunications. According to its public disclosures, the company is one of the largest broadband and video providers in the United States, delivering broadband, video, mobile, proprietary content and advertising services to millions of residential and business customers across multiple states through its Optimum brand.
The company’s operations span broadband internet access, video services, telephony, mobile, business services and wholesale connectivity, and news and advertising activities. In its earnings materials, Altice USA groups its activities into revenue categories such as residential broadband, video, telephony and mobile, as well as business services and wholesale, news and advertising, and other revenue. This structure highlights a mix of consumer and enterprise-oriented services anchored by its network infrastructure.
Core Connectivity and Residential Services
Altice USA’s residential business includes broadband, video and telephony services. The company reports broadband subscribers in the millions, with broadband revenue forming a significant portion of total residential revenue. It also discloses residential video and telephony subscriber counts and related revenue, reflecting a traditional cable and telecommunications footprint that is being modernized through fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) deployments and network upgrades.
The company tracks metrics such as total passings, total customer relationships, broadband, video and telephony primary service units (PSUs), and average revenue per user (ARPU) for residential broadband and overall residential services. These disclosures show that Altice USA focuses on managing subscriber trends, ARPU, and service mix as key drivers of its residential business performance.
Mobile, Business Services, and Value-Added Offerings
Altice USA also reports a growing base of mobile lines, with mobile revenue presented as a distinct component of residential revenue. The company tracks mobile line net additions and mobile penetration of its broadband customer base, indicating that mobile is a complementary service offered to its broadband customers.
On the commercial side, the company reports Business services and wholesale revenue, reflecting services provided to small and medium-sized businesses and larger enterprise or wholesale customers. In its disclosures, Altice USA highlights business services product categories such as broadband, video and telephony for SMB customers, along with newer value-added services including Connection Back-up, Secure Internet Plus, Device Protection & Insurance, and Pro WiFi internet with marketing solutions. These offerings are described as continuing to scale within the SMB segment.
Content, Advertising, and Media Assets
Altice USA operates Optimum Media, described in its news releases as an advanced advertising and data business that provides audience-based, multiscreen advertising solutions to local, regional and national businesses and advertising clients. The company also operates News 12, which it characterizes as focused on delivering hyperlocal news content. These activities are reflected in the company’s News and Advertising revenue line, which sits alongside residential and business services revenue in its consolidated operating results.
Network Infrastructure, Fiber and AI-Related Connectivity
The company is investing in network modernization, including fiber-to-the-home and upgrades to its hybrid-fiber coaxial (HFC) network. In its quarterly results, Altice USA discloses FTTH total passings, FTTH customer relationships, and FTTH net additions, showing growth in fiber customers and fiber passings. It also references mid-split upgrades on its HFC network, which are expected to enable multi-gigabit speeds to a portion of HFC passings.
Altice USA’s connectivity strategy is complemented by its interest in Lightpath, an all-fiber, infrastructure-based connectivity provider jointly owned by Altice USA and Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners. Lightpath operates advanced fiber-optic networks and offers custom-engineered connectivity solutions, including dark fiber, wavelengths, Ethernet, Internet access, private networks, and managed services, according to Lightpath’s press releases. Lightpath focuses on dense metro and regional fiber systems serving enterprises, governments, educators, carriers, hyperscalers and data centers in markets such as New York, New Jersey, southeast Connecticut, Boston, Northern Virginia, Phoenix, Eastern Pennsylvania, Miami and Columbus.
Geographic Footprint and Customer Base
In its company descriptions included in multiple news releases, Altice USA states that it delivers broadband, video, mobile, proprietary content and advertising services to approximately 4.4 to 4.5 million residential and business customers across 21 states through the Optimum brand. It also notes that, in specific service areas such as the Bronx and Brooklyn, its operations span approximately 1.55 million locations passed and hundreds of thousands of subscribers. Across its entire footprint, the company reports nearly 10 million locations passed and more than 4 million subscribers.
These disclosures position Altice USA as a large-scale regional broadband and video provider with a multi-state presence, serving both residential and business customers, and leveraging its network assets for connectivity, media and advertising services.
Capital Structure, Credit Facilities and Financing
Altice USA and its subsidiaries regularly report on their capital structure and financing activities through SEC filings. The company provides details on net debt, leverage ratios, weighted average cost of debt and debt maturities for entities such as CSC Holdings, LLC and Cablevision Lightpath LLC. It has disclosed transactions including asset-backed loan facilities secured primarily by HFC network assets in specific service areas, as well as incremental term loans and credit agreement amendments designed to refinance existing debt and extend maturities.
For example, an asset-backed term loan facility secured by receivables and network assets in the Bronx and Brooklyn service area was described as a first-of-its-kind transaction securitizing parts of the HFC network. Subsequent 8-K filings describe credit agreement amendments and new term loan facilities at CSC Holdings and at indirect subsidiaries Cablevision Litchfield, LLC and CSC Optimum Holdings, LLC, including fixed-rate term loans maturing in the latter part of the decade.
Corporate Identity and Ticker Symbol Transition
Altice USA has announced that it will change its corporate name to Optimum Communications, Inc. and transition its New York Stock Exchange ticker symbol from “ATUS” to “OPTU”. According to the company’s news release, the name and ticker symbol changes are intended to align the corporate identity with the Optimum brand, which the company describes as trusted by millions of customers. The company states that these changes do not affect its ownership structure, leadership, services or day-to-day operations.
Subsequent Form 8-K filings refer to Optimum Communications, Inc. as the registrant, with Class A common stock trading under the symbol OPTU on the New York Stock Exchange. These filings confirm the formal adoption of the new corporate name and trading symbol while maintaining continuity in the company’s reporting entity.
Operational Focus and Transformation
In its quarterly earnings communications, Altice USA describes an operating environment characterized by low growth and heightened competition, particularly in broadband. The company emphasizes a focus on profitability, disciplined execution, operational efficiency and long-term value creation. It highlights initiatives such as workforce reductions to streamline the organizational structure, efforts to improve video gross margin, and the use of AI tools across sales, care, network and product functions to support smarter customer offers, automated network issue detection and more efficient customer interactions.
The company also reports on customer experience metrics such as relationship Net Promoter Score (rNPS), unique service call rates and unique service visit rates, indicating an emphasis on service quality and customer satisfaction alongside financial performance.
Relationship with Lightpath
Press releases from Lightpath state that the company is jointly owned by Altice USA and Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners. Lightpath focuses on all-fiber, infrastructure-based connectivity and reports that thousands of enterprises, governments and educators have used its services over several decades. Its network expansions in regions such as Greater New York, Eastern Pennsylvania, Phoenix and Greater Columbus are described as supporting AI-grade workloads, hyperscale data centers, carriers, and large enterprises, and are part of a nationwide initiative to interconnect key AI and hyperscale corridors.
For investors reviewing Altice USA, these disclosures indicate that, in addition to its core Optimum-branded broadband and video operations, the company has exposure to specialized fiber infrastructure through its ownership interest in Lightpath.
Position Within the Telecommunications Sector
Within the All Other Telecommunications industry classification, Altice USA’s combination of residential broadband and video, mobile, SMB and enterprise connectivity, media and advertising, and fiber infrastructure positions it as a diversified communications and media operator. Its SEC filings and news releases underscore the importance of network investments, capital structure management, and brand alignment as it continues its transformation under the Optimum name.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
- What does Altice USA (Optimum Communications, Inc.) do?
According to its public descriptions, Altice USA is a broadband communications and video services provider that delivers broadband, video, mobile, proprietary content and advertising services to residential and business customers across 21 states through its Optimum brand. - How does Altice USA generate revenue?
The company reports revenue from residential broadband, video, telephony and mobile services, as well as from business services and wholesale, news and advertising, and other revenue categories, as shown in its consolidated operating results. - What is the relationship between Altice USA and Optimum?
Altice USA has announced that it will change its corporate name to Optimum Communications, Inc., and it delivers its broadband, video, mobile and related services through the Optimum brand. The company states that the name change aligns its corporate identity with the Optimum brand. - What ticker symbol does the company trade under?
The company disclosed that it would cease trading under the NYSE ticker symbol “ATUS” and begin trading under the new symbol “OPTU” on the New York Stock Exchange, reflecting its Optimum Communications, Inc. name. - What types of customers does Altice USA serve?
The company reports serving approximately 4.4 to 4.5 million residential and business customers across 21 states, including residential households, small and medium-sized businesses, and larger enterprise and wholesale customers. - What is Lightpath and how is it connected to Altice USA?
Lightpath is described as an all-fiber, infrastructure-based connectivity provider that operates advanced fiber-optic networks and offers custom-engineered connectivity solutions. Lightpath is jointly owned by Altice USA and Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners. - How is Altice USA investing in its network?
The company reports ongoing investments in fiber-to-the-home passings, mid-split upgrades on its HFC network, and network enhancements aimed at enabling multi-gigabit speeds and expanding total passings, with a focus on fiber new builds. - What is Optimum Media?
In its news releases, Altice USA describes Optimum Media as an advanced advertising and data business that provides audience-based, multiscreen advertising solutions to local, regional and national businesses and advertising clients. - What is News 12?
News 12 is a media asset operated by Altice USA that the company describes as focused on delivering hyperlocal news content. - How does Altice USA describe its transformation efforts?
In its earnings communications, the company refers to a multi-year transformation that includes modernizing its network, enhancing the customer experience, investing in innovation, streamlining operations, and aligning its corporate identity with the Optimum brand.