U.S. cable operator Cable One Inc. faces heightened competition from fiber-to-the home (FTTH) and fixed wireless access (FWA) providers, which has pressured its earnings and kept leverage elevated above our downgrade trigger. Therefore, S&P Global Ratings lowered all ratings on Cable One by one notch, including the issuer credit rating to 'BB-' from 'BB'. The negative outlook reflects the potential that we will further tighten our thresholds for the company if its earnings trajectory remains significantly negative. We revised our forecast to account for the company's lower residential broadband earnings, given the 8.5% year-over-year decline in its EBITDA in the first quarter of 2025, which caused its last-quarter annualized debt to EBITDA to remain at 4.3x. Heightened fixed wireless and
