Cable One (CABO) Struggles with Subscriber Growth and Competitive Pressures

Artisan Partners, an investment management company, released its fourth-quarter 2025 investor letter for “Artisan Mid Cap Value Fund”.  A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. The Fund seeks to invest in undervalued companies with solid financial health and compelling business economics. US equities continued to advance in the fourth quarter of 2025, despite volatility. At the start of the quarter, a government shutdown unsettled investors and delayed key economic data, raising questions about the Federal Reserve’s easing timeline. However, as the quarter progressed, risk appetite increased, and clarity around monetary policy improved, leading the Fed to implement rate cuts and end quantitative tightening. This suggests a continued easing of financial conditions into 2026. While AI remained a key focus, markets diversified in November, with value and non-AI stocks leading. This could indicate a shift in market leadership moving forward. Mid-cap stocks lagged large caps in Q4, particularly on the growth side, as the Russell Midcap® Growth Index declined 3.7% while mid-cap value posted a modest gain and outperformed the growth index for the quarter and full year. In the quarter, the fund’s Investor Class fund ARTQX returned 1.53%, Advisor Class fund APDQX posted a return of 1.54%, and Institutional Class fund APHQX returned 1.63%, compared to a 1.42% return for the Russell Midcap Value Index. Please review the Fund’s top five holdings to gain insights into their key selections for 2025.

In its fourth-quarter 2025 investor letter, Artisan Mid Cap Value Fund highlighted Cable One, Inc. (NYSE:CABO). Cable One, Inc. (NYSE:CABO) is a broadband communication provider that offers data, video, and voice services to residential and business customers. On March 31, 2026, Cable One, Inc. (NYSE:CABO) closed at $91.21 per share. One-month return of Cable One, Inc. (NYSE:CABO) was -20.97%, and its shares lost 66.97% over the past 52 weeks. Cable One, Inc. (NYSE:CABO) has a market capitalization of $517.4 million.

Artisan Mid Cap Value Fund stated the following regarding Cable One, Inc. (NYSE:CABO) in its fourth quarter 2025 investor letter:

“Turning to our review of the full year, the portfolio trailed the index in 2025. Stock selection was negative for a second consecutive year after contributing positively for the calendar years 2021, 2022 and 2023. Besides our investment style being out of favor, we also made missteps. Our biggest was Cable One, Inc. (NYSE:CABO), a broadband provider in rural markets, which we sold in September. Our investment case had been predicated on Cable One’s ability to grow subscribers given its premium offering and low penetration; however, subscriber trends meaningfully weakened during our holding period. Tepid household formation in a sluggish housing market, fixed wireless and fiber competition taking market share and execution issues rolling out a new billing system were among the key factors. While its valuation indicated a cheap security based on a variety of scenarios, its financial condition is now impeding on the business and leaves management no room to operate the business strategically if conditions deteriorate further.”