Altice Usa — Income Statement, Cash Flows & Balance Sheet
Is Optimum Communications profitable?
Revenue has been declining steadily, and a massive non-cash write-down pushed the company to a large GAAP loss in 2025.
| 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | Change (2024→2025) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue ($M) | $9,237 | $8,954 | $8,590 | −4.1% |
| Operating income (loss) ($M) | $1,702 | $1,680 | $(113) | n/m |
| Net income (loss) ($M) | $79 | $(78) | $(1,833) | n/m |
Revenue has shrunk each year, and the 2025 operating loss was driven primarily by a $1.6 billion non-cash impairment charge on cable franchise rights — essentially the company writing down the value of its cable operating licenses to reflect a more competitive, lower-growth future. Strip that charge out, and the underlying operating business was still generating over $1.5 billion in operating income.
Interest costs consume nearly all of the underlying operating profit, leaving little room for error.
| 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operating income (excl. impairment) ($M) | ~$1,916 | ~$1,704 | ~$1,575 | −7.6% |
| Interest expense, net ($M) | $(1,639) | $(1,763) | $(1,791) | +1.6% |
Even before the write-down, the gap between what the business earns from operations and what it pays in interest is thin and shrinking — as revenue falls, that cushion narrows further.
Where does Optimum Communications' revenue come from?
Broadband is the largest revenue stream but is also declining, while video is in structural freefall.
| 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | Change (2024→2025) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residential broadband ($M) | $3,824 | $3,645 | $3,542 | −2.8% |
| Residential video ($M) | $3,072 | $2,897 | $2,591 | −10.6% |
| Residential telephony ($M) | $300 | $278 | $254 | −8.6% |
| Mobile ($M) | $77 | $117 | $165 | +40.9% |
| Business services & wholesale ($M) | $1,467 | $1,472 | $1,489 | +1.2% |
Broadband — the company's most important product — continues to lose ground as competition from fiber and fixed wireless providers intensifies. Video is declining rapidly as customers cut the cord. Mobile is a genuine bright spot, growing strongly off a small base, and business services provide stability. Neither growth area is yet large enough to offset the losses elsewhere.
Does Optimum Communications generate cash?
The business still generates meaningful operating cash flow, but free cash flow is thin after capital spending.
| 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | Change (2024→2025) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash from operations ($M) | $1,826 | $1,582 | $1,228 | −22.4% |
| Capital expenditures ($M) | $(1,705) | $(1,433) | $(1,347) | −6.0% |
| Free cash flow ($M) | $121 | $149 | $(119) | n/m |
The impairment charge is non-cash and does not affect operating cash flow, but cash from operations is falling as the business shrinks. Capital spending is coming down too — partly reflecting the tail-end of fiber network construction — but 2025 was the first year free cash flow (operating cash minus capex) turned negative. On the positive side, the company ended the year with over $1 billion in cash, a large jump from the prior year, driven primarily by new debt issuance.
How strong is Optimum Communications' balance sheet?
The company carries an enormous debt load, and a large chunk matures in 2027 — the company itself has flagged this as a potential going-concern risk.
| 2024 | 2025 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total long-term debt ($M) | $25,057 | $26,206 | +$1,149 |
| Cash & equivalents ($M) | $257 | $1,012 | +$756 |
| Stockholders' deficiency ($M) | $(457) | $(2,292) | −$1,835 |
| Debt maturing in 2027 ($M) | — | $7,365 | — |
Total debt has risen further, and the accumulated deficit has ballooned due to the franchise rights impairment, leaving the company in a deeply negative equity position (meaning liabilities far exceed assets). Most critically, over $7 billion in debt comes due in 2027, and the company has disclosed that a failure to arrange refinancing by April 2026 "may raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern." The Lightpath securitization announced in early 2026 is one step toward addressing this, but significant refinancing work remains.