MeritValue

Optimum Communications, Inc.

OPTUdata completeness 100%10 fiscal years on file
The thesis, from the filings

Optimum Communications, Inc. earns about 0% on invested capital, with a roughly flat share count. The applicable estimate puts fair value near $1.18 a share.Whether it’s worth owning at today’s price is the last question — and yours to answer, below.

i. The business — what you’d actually own
FigureFY 2021FY 2022FY 2023FY 2024FY 2025
Revenue$10.1B1$9.65B2$9.24B3$8.95B3$8.59B3
Net income$990.3M4$194.6M5$53.2M6−$102.9M6−$1.87B6
Operating cash flow$2.85B7$2.37B8$1.83B9$1.58B9$1.23B9
Capital expenditure$1.23B10$1.91B11$1.7B12$1.43B12$1.35B12
Free cash flow (derived)$1.62B7$452.6M8$121.6M9$149.4M9−$118.8M9
Total debt$53.1B13$53.2B14$50.1B15$50.1B16$52.4B16
Cash & equivalents$195.7M17$305.5M18$302.1M19$256.5M20$1.01B20
Diluted shares462.3M453.3M455.0M459.9M467.8M

Superscripts are receipts. Each links to the SEC filing the number came from (full list at the bottom).

ii. Your slice — ownership made literal
If you owned
shares
Net assets behind them
−$49.47
your share of equity
Profit it earned you last year
−$39.96
Free cash flow it threw off
−$2.54
Debt you’d be carrying
$1,120.45

10 shares is a claim on −$49.47 of net worth that earned you −$39.96 and generated −$2.54 of cash last year, against $1,120.45 of debt.

iii. Is this a good business?
Moat signal · return on invested capital
0% avg · 5y
FY21 4%FY22 0%FY23 0%FY24 -0%FY25 -3%

It earned an average 0% on invested capital over 5 years. Compare that to what it costs to fund the business.

seeing a moat in the numbers →
Management signal · capital allocation
+1% shares · 5y

Share count is roughly flat over 5 years — little dilution, little buyback. Total debt has held roughly steady.

reading capital allocation →

Signals, not verdicts — read from the filings above. Numbers don’t prove a moat; they show its footprint. You decide.

iv. What it’s worth — engine v0.1.0
DCF · Growth Exit 10Y
not applicable
negative equity value — refusing to publish per-share figure
assumptions (10)
  • riskFreeRate4.7%
  • equityRiskPremium5.0%
  • beta100.0%
  • equityWeight85.0%
  • costOfDebtSpread1.5%
  • taxRate21.0%
  • terminalGrowth2.5%
  • projectionYears10
  • fcfGrowth0.0%
  • fcfBase$121.6M
DCF · Growth Exit 5Y
not applicable
negative equity value — refusing to publish per-share figure
assumptions (10)
  • riskFreeRate4.7%
  • equityRiskPremium5.0%
  • beta100.0%
  • equityWeight85.0%
  • costOfDebtSpread1.5%
  • taxRate21.0%
  • terminalGrowth2.5%
  • projectionYears5
  • fcfGrowth0.0%
  • fcfBase$121.6M
Earnings Power Value
$1.18
assumptions (8)
  • riskFreeRate4.7%
  • equityRiskPremium5.0%
  • beta100.0%
  • equityWeight85.0%
  • costOfDebtSpread1.5%
  • taxRate21.0%
  • normalizedEarnings$53.2M
  • growthAssumed0.0%
Graham Number
not applicable
diluted EPS missing or non-positive — Graham Number undefined

Different models answer different questions — which to trust when →

Sources — the receipts
  1. 10-K/A · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001628280-24-034231 (Revenues)
  2. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001628280-25-005486 (Revenues)
  3. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001702780-26-000013 (Revenues)
  4. 10-K/A · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001628280-24-034231 (NetIncomeLoss)
  5. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001628280-25-005486 (NetIncomeLoss)
  6. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001702780-26-000013 (NetIncomeLoss)
  7. 10-K/A · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001628280-24-034231 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  8. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001628280-25-005486 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  9. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001702780-26-000013 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  10. 10-K/A · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001628280-24-034231 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  11. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001628280-25-005486 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  12. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001702780-26-000013 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  13. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001628280-23-004614 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  14. 10-K/A · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001628280-24-034231 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  15. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001628280-25-005486 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  16. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001702780-26-000013 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  17. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001628280-23-004614 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  18. 10-K/A · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001628280-24-034231 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  19. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001628280-25-005486 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  20. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001702780-26-000013 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)