If you’ve been watching the ticker for Cable One stock price lately, you might feel like you’re looking at a mountain climber who just lost their grip. It hasn’t been pretty. Honestly, "rough" is an understatement. As of mid-January 2026, we are seeing the stock hovering around the $86 mark. To put that into perspective, this is a company that once traded comfortably in the four-figure range. It’s a wild fall from grace that has left a lot of long-term investors scratching their heads and wondering if the floor is even in sight.
The market has basically turned its back on the traditional cable model, and Cable One—trading under the ticker CABO—is catching the worst of it. It’s not just a bad day or a bad week. We’re talking about a massive, structural shift in how people get their internet, especially in the rural and mid-sized markets where Cable One used to be the only game in town.
The Brutal Reality of the Numbers
Let's get real about the data. On January 16, 2026, Cable One stock closed at $86.29. That was a 4.6% drop in a single session. If you look at the 52-week range, the high was $345.39. It's currently sitting at its 52-week low. When a stock loses 75% of its value in a year, something is fundamentally broken in the narrative.
What happened? Well, the Q3 2025 earnings report was a bit of a mixed bag that leaned toward "yikes." They actually beat on earnings per share (EPS) if you look at certain adjusted metrics, coming in at $14.32 against a $7.65 forecast. But investors didn't care about the profit margins. They cared about the people leaving. The company lost 21,200 broadband subscribers in just three months. That’s the worst result they’ve seen in years.
Revenue is also sliding. It dropped to $376 million, down from $393.6 million the year before. This isn't just a "streaming killed the video star" story anymore. We all knew cable TV was dying. The problem now is that the "fail-safe" plan—selling high-speed internet—is under siege.
Why the "Rural Moat" is Evaporating
For a long time, the bull case for Cable One was simple. They operated in markets where it was too expensive for the big guys like Comcast or Spectrum to build. They had a "moat." If you lived in a small town in Idaho or a rural patch of Mississippi, Cable One was your only choice for real speed.
But then came 5G Home Internet (Fixed Wireless Access).
Verizon, T-Mobile, and AT&T have been aggressive. They don't need to dig trenches or string wires to every house; they just need a tower. Suddenly, those "captive" customers in rural America have a $50-a-month alternative that works "good enough." Analysts at Wells Fargo recently hammered this point home, downgrading the whole cable sector to "Underweight." They expect the industry to lose a million subscribers collectively in 2026.
👉 See also: What Is Elon Musks Net Worth: Why The Trillion-Dollar Prediction Might Actually Be True
And then there's fiber. Everyone is building fiber now. Companies like Frontier and various local co-ops are getting government subsidies to run glass to the home. When a customer has a choice between old-school coaxial cable and symmetrical fiber-optic speeds, they pick fiber almost every time.
The Dividend Trap or a Secret Value?
Here is where it gets weird. Because the stock price has cratered, the dividend yield looks insane on paper. At $86 a share, the annual dividend of $11.80 ($2.95 per quarter) represents a yield of over 13%.
Normally, a 13% yield is a giant red flag that a dividend cut is coming.
However, Cable One’s payout ratio is still technically manageable because they’ve been so disciplined about costs. They even paid down about $200 million in debt recently. But there's a limit to how much you can "cost-cut" your way to greatness when your customer base is shrinking by 2% every quarter. In fact, some tracking services are already labeling the payout as "suspended" or "at risk" because the market just doesn't believe it's sustainable in the long run.
The Leadership Shakeup
It’s also worth noting that the captain is changing. Julia Laulis, who has been at the helm for years, is stepping down. Jim Holanda, who spent 15 years leading Astound Broadband, took over as CEO in early January 2026.
A new CEO usually means one of two things:
- A "kitchen sink" quarter where they write off all the bad news at once.
- A total pivot in strategy, likely toward mobile.
Cable One is finally testing a mobile service pilot, but they are late to the party. Comcast and Charter have been using mobile to "bundle" and keep their internet customers from leaving. Cable One is just now getting the engine started.
👉 See also: AARP Phone Number to Contact: What Most People Get Wrong
What Most People Get Wrong About CABO
Everyone thinks the Cable One stock price is down just because of "cord-cutting." That’s the old story. The new story is "broadband-cutting."
People are realizing they don't necessarily need a $90-a-month wired connection if they can get 200Mbps over the air for half the price. Cable One’s Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) is actually quite high—around $82 for data alone. That makes them a prime target for competitors to undercut.
Is there a bottom? Maybe. The company is still very profitable on an EBITDA basis. They have a high-quality network. But until they can show they’ve stopped the "flood of disconnects," as the CFO Todd Koetje called it, the stock is likely to stay in the penalty box.
Actionable Insights for Investors
If you're looking at Cable One right now, don't just chase the 13% yield. High yields are often a warning.
💡 You might also like: Bristol Myers Squibb Share Price Today: What Most Investors Get Wrong
- Watch the Q4 Earnings: Expected around February 26, 2026. This will be the first big test for the new CEO. If they lose another 20,000+ subs, the $80 floor might not hold.
- Check the ARPU: If Cable One starts cutting prices to keep customers, their margins will tank. If they keep prices high, they’ll lose more customers. It’s a classic "Catch-22."
- Monitor 5G Expansion: Keep an eye on T-Mobile and Verizon’s rural coverage maps. Every time a new 5G tower goes up in a Cable One "legacy" market, CABO loses a bit of its power.
- Wait for the Dividend Clarity: If the board confirms the $2.95 quarterly payout in February, it might provide a temporary relief rally. But if they cut it to save cash for fiber builds, expect another leg down.
Basically, Cable One is a "show me" stock. It has to prove it can survive in a world where it’s no longer a monopoly. Until then, the Cable One stock price is a high-stakes gamble on whether rural broadband is still the cash cow it used to be. Keep your eyes on those subscriber numbers; they tell the only story that matters right now.