Rogers Communications' Q1 Earnings and Revenues Miss Estimates

Financial Performance - Rogers Communications reported first-quarter 2025 adjusted earnings of 69 cents per share, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 2.82% and remaining flat year over year [1] - Revenues totaled $3.47 billion, missing the consensus mark by 1.19% and decreasing 4.6% year over year [1] - In Canadian dollars, adjusted earnings were C$0.99 per share, remaining flat year over year, while total revenues increased 1.5% year over year to C$4.98 billion [2] Wireless Segment - Wireless revenues, accounting for 51.1% of total revenues, increased 0.6% year over year to C$2.54 billion, with service revenues rising 1.5% to C$2.02 billion [3] - Monthly mobile phone ARPU was C$56.94, down 1.9% year over year, while the prepaid subscriber base grew by 111K to 1.13 million [4] - The postpaid wireless subscriber base reached 10.78 million, with net additions of 293K subscribers year over year [4] Cable Segment - Cable revenues, representing 38.9% of total revenues, decreased 1.2% year over year to C$1.93 billion due to competitive promotional activity [6] - Service revenues in the cable segment fell 1.2% year over year to C$1.92 billion, while equipment revenues decreased 8.3% to C$11 million [6] - The retail Internet subscriber count increased by 108K to nearly 4.296 million [6] Media Segment - Media revenues increased 24.4% year over year to C$596 million, driven by higher sports-related revenues and advertising revenues [9] - Segment operating expenses rose 13.9% year over year to C$663 million, resulting in a negative adjusted EBITDA of C$67 million [10] Consolidated Results - Operating costs increased 1.3% to C$2.72 billion, while adjusted EBITDA rose 1.8% year over year to C$2.25 billion [11] - Adjusted EBITDA margin expanded 10 basis points to 45.3% [11] Balance Sheet & Cash Flow - As of March 31, 2025, available liquidity was C$7.5 billion, including C$2.7 billion in cash and cash equivalents [12] - The debt leverage ratio was 4.3 times, with cash flow from operating activities at C$1.29 billion [13] - Free cash flow was C$586 million, down from C$878 million in the previous quarter [13] Dividends & Guidance - The company paid dividends worth C$269 million and declared a C$0.50 per share dividend [14] - For 2025, Rogers Communications expects total service revenues and adjusted EBITDA to grow in the range of 0-3% [15]