Uniti Group (UNIT) TD Cowen 12th Annual Communications Infrastructure Summit summary

Strategic initiatives and operational progress

• Celebrated one-year anniversary of the Windstream merger, delivering on promises to simplify structure, achieve operational synergies, and accelerate Kinetic fiber build.

• Continued focus for the second half of the year includes executing the Kinetic build, increasing hyperscaler activity, and maintaining strategic momentum.

• Achieved record operational metrics in Q2, including fiber adds, home construction, and infrastructure bookings, with three consecutive quarters of strong KPI performance.

• Increased guidance for the remainder of the year, emphasizing execution on controllable factors despite market disappointment over M&A expectations.

M&A strategy and value optimization

• Actively engaged in M&A, with a focus on maximizing shareholder value and leveraging a modular business structure for strategic flexibility.

• Open to both simple and complex transaction structures, including joint ventures and creative solutions, with tax leakage on complex deals lower than expected.

• Non-core assets valued at $500 million to $1 billion targeted for sale over 12 to 36 months, including spectrum licenses, unused fiber, and certain market properties.

• Elliott, owning 20% of shares and holding a board seat, is a constructive, long-term oriented shareholder focused on strategic exits.

Fiber and broadband business performance

• Despite a 2.6% ARPU decline in Q2, maintains conviction in 2%-3% ARPU growth for 2026 and 2027, supported by refined retention strategies and new value-added services.

• Enhanced customer retention through AI-driven call monitoring, improved performance management, and stricter controls on retention credits.

• Aggressively migrating DSL customers to fiber, with copper expected to become immaterial over the next few years and a robust copper decommissioning strategy underway.

• Fiber churn at record lows, with further improvements expected from targeted market clustering, AI systems, and a customer-first mindset.

• Terminal penetration guidance could be revised higher due to better-than-expected performance and effective deterrence of overbuilders.