Altice USA, Inc. (ATUS): BCG Matrix [Dec-2025 Updated]

You're staring down the barrel of Altice USA, Inc.'s late 2025 reality, and it's a classic tale of funding the future with the past. We see the massive $3.4 billion projected Full Year Adjusted EBITDA from the legacy HFC business being poured directly into the 46% year-over-year growth of the Fiber-to-the-Home initiative, while the mobile offering remains a high-growth, low-penetration gamble. To understand where to invest, hold, or divest, you need to see exactly which parts are printing cash and which are draining resources right now. Dive below for the hard look at their Stars, Cash Cows, Dogs, and Question Marks.

Background of Altice USA, Inc. (ATUS)

You're looking at Altice USA, Inc., which, as of late 2025, is in a significant transition period. This company was built up from major acquisitions, specifically bringing together Suddenlink and Cablevision, and it primarily serves customers under the consumer-facing Optimum brand. Honestly, the company is so focused on this shift that it announced a corporate name change to Optimum Communications, Inc., effective November 7, 2025, with the stock ticker set to change from ATUS to OPTU on November 19, 2025.

Altice USA, Inc. provides essential services-television, internet access, and phone-to about 10 million homes and businesses across the US. You'll find their main footprint in areas like Texas, West Virginia, Idaho, Arizona, Louisiana, and the New York City metro area. Plus, they hold the local news asset, News 12 Networks, which is a distinct part of their offering.

Looking at the most recent numbers from the third quarter ending September 30, 2025, the financial picture is certainly mixed. Total revenue came in at $2.11 billion, which was a 5.4% drop year-over-year. The bottom line was hit hard, reporting a net loss attributable to stockholders of $1,625.9 million, largely due to a massive $1.6 billion non-cash impairment charge related to cable franchise rights. Still, management pointed to an all-time high gross margin of 69.7% as a sign of operational discipline.

Operationally, the story is about balancing legacy declines with growth in newer areas. Altice USA ended Q3 2025 with 4.2 million total broadband subscribers after shedding 58,000 broadband Primary Service Units (PSUs) that quarter. The real bright spot is the fiber buildout; fiber customers jumped to 703,000, marking a 46% increase year-over-year, pushing fiber network penetration to 23.0%. Mobile lines also showed strong relative growth, increasing by 38,000 to reach 584,000 total lines.

The leadership, under Chairman and CEO Dennis Mathew, is clearly navigating intense competition and a low-growth environment for traditional services. They are doubling down on operational efficiency-seeing service call rates improve by approximately 6%-and network modernization to support fiber and mobile growth. Despite these efficiency gains, Free Cash Flow was negative at a deficit of ($178.1) million for the quarter, underscoring the ongoing need to manage a substantial debt load, which was recently addressed with $2 billion in new term loans in November 2025.

Altice USA, Inc. (ATUS) - BCG Matrix: Stars

You're looking at the growth engines for Altice USA, Inc. (ATUS) right now, the areas where high market share meets a rapidly expanding market. These are the units demanding heavy investment to maintain their lead, but they are the ones that will eventually transition into the Cash Cows when the market growth matures.

The primary Star for Altice USA, Inc. (ATUS) is clearly its aggressive Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) buildout and subsequent customer acquisition. This segment represents the future of the business, consuming significant capital expenditure but establishing market dominance in high-speed connectivity.

Here are the key metrics defining the Star quadrant for Altice USA, Inc. (ATUS) as of the third quarter of 2025:

• Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) Customer Base: Grew 46% year-over-year to over 703,000 customers in Q3 2025.
• Fiber Network Penetration: Rising to 23.0% of fiber passings, up from 16.6% in Q3 2024.
• Multi-Gigabit Speeds: Rollout of 2-Gig speeds initiated in November 2025.

Lightpath Business Services also fits the Star profile by focusing on high-growth enterprise and hyperscaler demand, which requires substantial ongoing investment in 'AI-Grade' fiber networks to secure future revenue streams. For instance, Lightpath continues to expand in the hyperscaler community, and cash capital expenditures for FY 2025 are expected to be higher due to additional hyperscaler builds.

Here's a quick look at the operational scale supporting these Star assets:

The commitment to speed leadership is evident; the launch of 2-Gig speeds in November 2025 directly challenges competitors in the high-speed segment. This aggressive network deployment, targeting over 3 million fiber passings by Q3 2025, is the necessary investment to convert these Stars into long-term Cash Cows when the market growth inevitably slows.

You can see the investment intensity reflected in the capital allocation:

• Cash Capital Expenditures (Q3 2025): $325.5 million, down 9.4% year-over-year.
• Capital Intensity (Q3 2025): 15.4%.
• FY 2025 Cash Capex Projection: Approximately $1.3 billion.

Maintaining this pace is crucial; if market share is kept, these fiber assets are definitely poised to become the next generation of Cash Cows for Altice USA, Inc. (ATUS).

Altice USA, Inc. (ATUS) - BCG Matrix: Cash Cows

You're looking at the core engine of Altice USA, Inc. (ATUS) right now, the segment that generates the necessary cash to fund the future, even while the market matures. These are your Cash Cows, characterized by a high market share in a low-growth environment, and they are definitely showing strong profitability.

The Residential Broadband segment, heavily reliant on the existing Hybrid Fiber-Coaxial (HFC) footprint, remains the largest revenue driver for Altice USA, Inc. (ATUS). This established base provides the stable, high-margin connectivity that defines a Cash Cow. You see this clearly in the third quarter results.

The profitability here is what matters most, as the market for legacy cable services isn't expanding rapidly. Altice USA, Inc. (ATUS) achieved an all-time high Gross Margin of 69.7% in Q3 2025. That margin expansion, up 160 basis points year-over-year, shows the success of shifting away from video and improving programming agreements, letting the cash flow build up.

This cash generation is critical for the entire corporation. The overall Adjusted EBITDA for Full Year 2025 is projected to be approximately $3.4 billion, and this is the pool of money management is using to fund the fiber buildout and cover corporate overhead. You can see the quarterly contribution with Q3 2025 Adjusted EBITDA hitting $830.7 million, with an Adjusted EBITDA Margin of 39.4%.

The stability comes from the sheer scale of the existing HFC footprint. You are supporting 4.2 million total broadband subscribers as of Q3 2025. While the company lost 58,000 broadband primary service units (PSUs) in that quarter, the remaining base is highly profitable. The fiber buildout is happening within this framework, with over 700,000 fiber customers now on the network, but the legacy HFC base is the primary cash machine.

Because this is a mature market, the investment strategy shifts from aggressive promotion to efficiency. You want to 'milk' the gains passively while making targeted investments that improve efficiency and increase cash flow further. The projected Cash Capital Expenditures for Full Year 2025 are around $1.3 billion, which supports both maintaining the HFC base and accelerating fiber deployment, which is the next generation of growth.

Here are the key financial characteristics supporting the Cash Cow classification for the core broadband business:

• Residential Broadband Revenue (Q3 2025): $873.449 million.
• Gross Margin (Q3 2025): Reached 69.7%.
• Total Broadband Subscribers (Q3 2025): 4.2 million.
• FY 2025 Adjusted EBITDA Target: Approximately $3.4 billion.
• Q3 2025 Net Broadband PSU Loss: 58,000.

The focus here is maintaining productivity and extracting maximum free cash flow. If onboarding takes 14+ days, churn risk rises, so operational efficiency in supporting this base is defintely key to maintaining that 69.7% gross margin.

Finance: draft 13-week cash view by Friday.

Altice USA, Inc. (ATUS) - BCG Matrix: Dogs

Dogs are units or products with a low market share and low growth rates. They frequently break even, neither earning nor consuming much cash. Dogs are generally considered cash traps because businesses have money tied up in them, even though they bring back almost nothing in return. These business units are prime candidates for divestiture. Dogs are in low growth markets and have low market share. Dogs should be avoided and minimized. Expensive turn-around plans usually do not help.

The legacy service lines at Altice USA, Inc. (ATUS) clearly fit the Dogs quadrant, characterized by market contraction and minimal future prospects, tying up capital without generating meaningful returns. Here is a look at the specific metrics defining these units as of the third quarter of 2025.

Residential Video Services: Continued significant decline, with revenue falling 9.8% year-over-year in Q3 2025. This segment generated revenue of $645.207 million for the quarter. The company saw a net loss of 61,000 total subscribers during the quarter, pushing the total video customer base lower.

Total Video Subscribers: Fell to 1.67 million in Q3 2025, reflecting a deep, ongoing trend of cord-cutting. While the company added 58,000 customers to new video tiers, this migration effort is set against the backdrop of overall market contraction in traditional video offerings.

Telephony Services: A legacy product line with minimal future growth and declining subscriber numbers. This service line contributed revenue of $61.791 million in Q3 2025, indicating its diminishing role in the overall revenue mix.

Cable Franchise Rights: Took a massive $1.6 billion non-cash impairment charge in Q3 2025, signaling declining value of legacy assets. This single charge was the primary driver behind the reported net loss attributable to stockholders of $1,625.9 million for the quarter, a stark contrast to the $43.0 million net loss in Q3 2024.

The overall financial impact of these legacy assets is clear:

• Net Loss Attributable to Stockholders (Q3 2025): ($1,625.9 million).
• Non-Cash Impairment Charge: $1.6 billion.
• Free Cash Flow (Deficit) (Q3 2025): ($178.1 million).
• Net Cash Flows from Operating Activities (Q3 2025): $0.1 billion (a 66.2% decrease YoY).

Finance: draft 13-week cash view by Friday.

Altice USA, Inc. (ATUS) - BCG Matrix: Question Marks

You're looking at the high-growth, low-market-share segments of Altice USA, Inc. (ATUS) as of the third quarter of 2025. These units consume cash because they are in growing markets, but their current market share means they aren't yet generating significant returns. The strategy here is clear: invest heavily to capture more market, or divest before they become Dogs. Here's the quick math on what's currently categorized as a Question Mark for Altice USA, Inc. (ATUS).

The mobile offering, Optimum Mobile (MVNO), is definitely showing strong top-line momentum. It added 38,000 mobile lines in the quarter, pushing the total to 584,000 mobile lines. That represents a 39% year-over-year increase in lines served. Still, when you look at its penetration relative to the core business, it's small; mobile customer penetration of the broadband customer base reached only 7.3% at the end of Q3 2025, up from 5.2% in Q3 2024.

The News and Advertising segment presents a different kind of challenge. While it is a growth market in theory, the actual financial performance shows volatility. Revenue for News & Advertising clocked in at $106 million for Q3 2025. However, this figure reflects a 10% year-over-year decline, suggesting the market share gains aren't translating into revenue growth, or perhaps the market itself is contracting for Altice USA, Inc. (ATUS).

The core broadband business, which funds these Question Marks, is still bleeding customers, which is the primary reason these mobile and content ventures are cash consumers rather than generators. The company experienced a net loss of 58,000 broadband Primary Service Units (PSUs) in Q3 2025. This loss accelerated from the 50,000 lost in Q3 2024. The total broadband subscriber base ended the quarter at 4.2 million.

The fiber build-out is the investment Altice USA, Inc. (ATUS) is making to try and convert these Question Marks into Stars. Fiber customers grew by 40,000 in the quarter, reaching 703,000 total fiber customers, a 46% increase from Q3 2024. This fiber growth, however, is not yet large enough to offset the losses in the legacy cable footprint.

Here is a snapshot of the key operational metrics defining these Question Marks as of Q3 2025:

• Optimum Mobile Lines: 584,000 total lines.
• Mobile Line Growth (YoY): +39%.
• Mobile Penetration of Broadband Base: 7.3%.
• News & Advertising Revenue: $106 million.
• News & Advertising Revenue Change (YoY): -10%.
• Broadband PSU Net Loss (Q3 2025): 58,000.
• Total Broadband Subscribers: 4.2 million.
• Fiber Customers Added (Q3 2025): 40,000.

To give you a clearer picture of the revenue dynamics across the business units, including the smaller mobile segment:

The investment thesis for these units hinges on whether the high growth in mobile lines and fiber customers can rapidly increase market share to a point where they generate positive cash flow, turning them into Stars. If the 58,000 broadband losses continue to outpace the 40,000 fiber gains, the pressure on cash flow will only intensify, making the divestiture option more likely for these high-growth, low-share businesses.