Uniti Posts Lower Revenue as Fiber Build Accelerates
The fiber-network operator constructed a record 141,000 fiber premises during the second quarter.
Uniti Group (UNIT), the fiber-network operator, reported lower pro forma revenue and narrower margins as spending on its fiber build accelerated.
The quarter showed growing demand across Uniti’s fiber businesses alongside higher costs following the Windstream combination. Consolidated fiber revenue grew 10% from a year earlier, while Kinetic consumer-fiber revenue rose 19%.
Second-quarter consolidated revenue fell 5.1% to $909.7 million from pro forma combined revenue of $958.4 million a year earlier. Adjusted consolidated EBITDA declined 10.1% to $357.1 million, compressing the margin to about 39% from 41.5%.
Kinetic added about 38,000 consumer-fiber subscribers, a quarterly record. Fiber Infrastructure also recorded about $2.2 million in new-bookings monthly recurring revenue, nearly 30% above its previous high.
Operating income fell to $32.2 million from $145.0 million as reported costs and expenses climbed following the combination. The net loss widened to $155.9 million from $10.7 million, with interest expense rising to $195.6 million from $128.8 million.
First-half capital expenditures more than tripled to $799.2 million as Uniti expanded its fiber network. Operating cash flow increased to $339.4 million from $183.6 million, leaving it well below the company’s capital spending.
Uniti now projects a 2026 net loss of $480 million to $530 million and adjusted EBITDA of $1.45 billion to $1.50 billion. The company also completed a $1.1 billion Kinetic fiber-network securitization at a weighted-average coupon of about 6.18%, bringing cumulative asset-securitization proceeds to nearly $3 billion as the build continued.