ADT Details Subscriber Growth Strategy, ADT Blu Rollout During Analyst Q&A
Key Highlights
- ADT executives said early ADT Blu customers are gravitating toward professionally monitored security packages over camera-only offerings.
- Management attributed weaker subscriber additions to deliberate acquisition strategy changes, dealer softness and a smaller bulk account purchase.
- Executives outlined a 9- to 12-month dealer transition to ADT+ while pointing to operational improvements aimed at strengthening customer retention.
While ADT’s prepared remarks during its second-quarter earnings call centered on artificial intelligence and product innovation, the analyst question-and-answer session painted a more detailed picture of how the company expects to grow its subscriber base over the next year.
Executives fielded questions about slowing subscriber additions, the early performance of ADT Blu, the rollout of the ADT+ platform to dealers and the operational changes they believe will improve customer retention and acquisition economics.
ADT dials back costly channels amid slower subscriber growth
Questions from analysts quickly turned to subscriber additions, which declined during the second quarter.
CEO Jim DeVries said the year-over-year comparison was affected by a much smaller bulk account purchase than a year earlier. ADT completed a 10,000-unit bulk transaction during the quarter, compared with a 50,000-unit transaction in the second quarter of 2025. Excluding that difference, the company still added about 10,000 fewer subscribers than a year ago.
DeVries attributed the remaining decline to two factors: ADT’s decision to reduce its reliance on higher-cost affiliate marketing channels and softness from one dealer partner.
“It’s going to take a little bit of time to replace the volume from affiliate and some of the softness in dealer,” DeVries said. “But the underlying engine we feel excellent about.”
He pointed to the company’s direct residential business, which is growing at a high single-digit rate year to date, along with approximately 4% organic growth in its small and midsize business segment. DeVries also said installation revenue per unit and subscriber acquisition economics remain strong despite lower gross additions.
Chief Financial Officer Jeff Likosar said subscriber additions came in largely as expected and reiterated that ADT remains focused on improving customer acquisition economics while pursuing growth initiatives expected to contribute later this year and into next year.
Early ADT Blu adoption favors professional monitoring
Executives also shared additional details about the early rollout of ADT Blu, the company’s self-installed security offering.
Responding to questions about customer adoption, Chief Business Officer Omar Khan said a majority of early ADT Blu customers have selected professionally monitored security packages rather than lower-priced, camera-only options.
“The initial results show a majority of customers adopting and engaging with us in the fully monitored security package,” Khan said, adding that ADT is seeing stronger adoption of monitored service than is typical across the broader DIY security market.
Khan said ADT ultimately expects many customers to begin with camera-only installations before expanding into professionally monitored security systems over time. For now, however, customers have gravitated toward packages that include sensors, a base station and professional monitoring.
DeVries said ADT Blu’s initial rollout was concentrated on Amazon during the second quarter, with broader advertising now beginning and discussions underway with additional retail partners. Likosar added that while ADT Blu customers generally generate lower average monthly revenue than traditional professionally installed customers, the lower subscriber acquisition cost is expected to produce similar investment returns.
Dealer transition to ADT+ expected to take up to a year
Analysts also sought additional detail on ADT’s migration of dealers to the ADT+ platform.
Khan said the rollout began this month with dealers in the western U.S. and is now expanding to the eastern region. The transition is expected to take three to four quarters, with roughly one-third of ADT’s subscriber additions affected as dealers migrate to the new platform.
Rather than accelerating the rollout, Khan said ADT is intentionally pacing the transition to allow dealers time for training and installation.
“The initial feedback... from the dealer community has been very positive,” Khan said. “You’ll see that benefit phasing in over time, over the next, call it, 9 to 12 months.”
Operational changes target customer retention
Analysts also asked what was driving ADT’s attrition rate and whether the company was beginning to see improvements in customer retention.
DeVries said gross customer revenue attrition ended the quarter at approximately 13.1%, essentially unchanged from the prior quarter. Looking at the most recent three-month period, he said attrition was flat compared with a year earlier. Relocation-related losses also remained steady, while voluntary customer cancellations improved year over year, which he attributed to gains in customer service performance. Non-payment cancellations increased modestly during the quarter.
DeVries said several operational indicators are moving in the right direction, including higher net promoter scores, improvements in first-call resolution and digital self-service, and the lowest employee turnover the company has experienced within its retention organization. He also cited tighter credit standards and changes to proactive retention offers as additional measures intended to strengthen customer retention over time.
About the Author
Rodney Bosch
Editor-in-Chief/SecurityInfoWatch.com
Rodney Bosch is the Editor-in-Chief of SecurityInfoWatch.com. He has covered the security industry since 2006 for multiple major security publications. Reach him at [email protected].