Wow! Announces Fourth Quarter And Full Year 2024 Earnings Results

WideOpenWest, Inc. (WOW) today announced its financial results for the latest quarter, revealing a slight miss on both earnings and revenue estimates. The company reported a quarterly revenue of $152.6 million, falling short of the expected $154.2 million. Additionally, WOW posted a diluted earnings per share of -$0.13, narrowly missing the anticipated -$0.12656. Despite these misses, the results reflect the company’s ongoing efforts to navigate a challenging market environment.

Key Highlights:

• WOW! reported a decrease in total revenue for both the fourth quarter and full year 2024, with a 9.6% and 8.1% decline respectively compared to 2023.
• The company experienced a net loss of $10.6 million for the fourth quarter and $58.8 million for the full year 2024.
• Adjusted EBITDA increased by 3.5% for the fourth quarter and 4.7% for the full year 2024.
• WOW! expanded its market by passing approximately 31,500 new homes in Greenfield markets, achieving a penetration rate of 16.6%.
• The company implemented a simplified pricing strategy, contributing to year-over-year ARPU growth.
• WOW! entered into a new Priority Credit Agreement, refinancing prior debt and securing $200 million in new borrowings.
• The company is evaluating an unsolicited acquisition proposal from DigitalBridge Investments, LLC and Crestview entities.

Summary:

WideOpenWest, Inc. (WOW!) reported a challenging financial year in 2024, with total revenue declining by 8.1% compared to the previous year. The company faced a net loss of $58.8 million for the year, although it managed to increase its Adjusted EBITDA by 4.7%, reflecting strong cost management and operational efficiencies. Despite the revenue decline, WOW! made significant strides in its market expansion efforts, passing 31,500 new homes in Greenfield markets and achieving a penetration rate of 16.6%. CEO Teresa Elder expressed satisfaction with the progress, highlighting the success of the company’s simplified pricing strategy, which contributed to year-over-year ARPU growth.

CFO John Rego emphasized the company’s focus on driving efficiencies and re-accelerating investments in new markets, which resulted in a 4.7% year-over-year growth in Adjusted EBITDA. WOW! also took strategic financial steps by entering into a new Priority Credit Agreement, refinancing its prior debt, and securing $200 million in new borrowings. Additionally, the company is currently evaluating an unsolicited acquisition proposal from DigitalBridge Investments, LLC and Crestview entities, with a special committee of independent directors formed to assess the proposal. The company’s outlook for the first quarter of 2025 includes expected HSD revenue between $102.0 million and $104.0 million, with total revenue projected to be between $147.0 million and $149.0 million.

WideOpenWest, Inc. (WOW) has experienced a tumultuous ride in the stock market, with its price showing a significant decline over the short term. Over the past week, the stock has dropped by 11.46%, contributing to a one-month decrease of 6.71% and a three-month fall of 15.93%. The six-month trajectory is even more concerning, with a 24.18% decline, although the stock has managed to achieve a notable 35.83% increase over the past year. Despite this annual gain, the company’s fundamental metrics paint a challenging picture. WOW’s price-to-earnings ratio is negative, indicating a lack of profitability, and its return on invested capital is also in the red at -6.23%. The net profit margin is deeply negative at -26.78%, suggesting that the company is struggling to convert revenue into profit. Additionally, the revenue two-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) is negative, reflecting a decline in sales over the period. These metrics highlight the financial hurdles WOW faces, despite the stock’s recent annual gains.

WideOpenWest, Inc. provides high speed data, cable television, and digital telephony services to residential and business services customers in the United States. Its video services include basic cable services that comprise local broadcast television and local community programming; digital cable services; WOW tv+ that offers traditional cable video and cloud DVR functionality, voice remote with Google Assistant, and Netflix integration along with access to various streaming services and apps through the Google Play Store; and ultra-video products, as well as offers commercial-free movies, TV shows, sports, and other special event entertainment programs. The company’s telephony services consist of local and long-distance telephone services; business telephony and data services include fiber based, office-to-office metro Ethernet, session initiated protocol trunking, colocation infrastructure, cloud computing, managed backup, and recovery services. As of December 31, 2021, it served approximately 1.9 million home and business, and 532,900 customers in the states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, South Carolina, and Tennessee. The company was formerly known as WideOpenWest Kite, Inc. and changed its name to WideOpenWest, Inc. in March 2017. WideOpenWest, Inc. was founded in 2001 and is based in Englewood, Colorado.