Cable One (CABO) stock jumps 15% on a report of a $1.25 billion term loan, a day before its Mega Broadband deadline, October 8, 2026

Cable One shares closed up 15.06% at $15.20 on Thursday, October 8, 2026, after reports that the cable operator was close to a $1.25 billion first-lien term loan from existing and new lenders, one day before its deadline to buy the 55% of Mega Broadband Investments it does not already own. The stock jumped at 13:52 ET from $11.21 to $13.04, a minute after touching $10.86, and the New York Stock Exchange halted trading at $13.04. It reached $15.40 by 14:09 ET.

Cable One has not announced a loan. The reports said the money would go toward the company's balance sheet, and one said an announcement could come as early as Friday.

How CABO traded around the jump

The stock traded below Wednesday's close of $13.21 throughout the half hour before the report and was at $12.02 at 13:50 ET, 9.01% lower. In the minute that followed it fell to $10.86, 17.79% below the prior close, on 75,087 shares, far more than in any minute of the previous half hour. The next minute it rose to $13.04 and was halted. Trading resumed by 13:57 ET, the first resumed minute touched $14.40, and from the 13:51 low to the 14:09 high the stock gained 41.80%.

The MoveSurge reaction reading starts from $11.20, the last trade before the halt notice reached the MoveSurge news feed at 13:52:21 ET, and puts the stock $12.37 ten minutes later, 10.45% higher.

Why a loan report moves this stock so far

Cable One had $3.06 billion of gross debt at June 30, 2026, against $166.2 million of cash, while GuruFocus put the whole company's stock market value at about $75 million at a share price of $13.25. With the shares worth so little next to what the company owes, the stock behaves like a small residual claim that only has value if the debt gets refinanced on workable terms, so a single financing report can move it by double digits in either direction. CABO jumped 14.8% to $12.72 on October 2 on the company's own statement that financing talks were advanced, and by that day it was down 87.8% for the year and 92.9% below its 52-week high of $178.48, set in October 2025.

The business behind the debt is shrinking. Second-quarter revenue fell 8.4% to $348.9 million from $381.1 million a year earlier, and adjusted EBITDA dropped to $173.5 million from $203.2 million. Cable One cut gross debt from $3.21 billion at the end of 2025 by repurchasing notes and prepaying loans.

The Mega Broadband deadline

In January Cable One agreed to buy the 55% of Mega Broadband Investments, the owner of Vyve Broadband, that it did not own, from GTCR. It put the price at about $475 million to $495 million, said it could pay with cash, borrowings under its existing $1.25 billion revolving credit facility or new debt, and expected Mega Broadband to bring about $845 million to $895 million of its own term loans, maturing in November 2027, when the deal closed. The reported term loan is the same size as that revolver but a separate instrument. Mega Broadband had about 210,000 data customers, 675,000 homes and businesses passed and about $310 million of revenue in the twelve months to September 30, 2025.

1. January 5, 2026: Cable One agrees to buy the rest of Mega Broadband, with closing expected on October 1, 2026.
2. June 30, 2026: gross debt stands at $3.06 billion.
3. August 6, 2026: second-quarter revenue falls 8.4%.
4. October 2, 2026: Cable One says it is in advanced financing talks with GTCR, existing lenders and private lenders, and the deadline moves to October 9.
5. October 8, 2026: reports say a $1.25 billion first-lien term loan is close.
6. October 9, 2026: the extended deadline for the Mega Broadband purchase.