Charter Communications Shares Plummet to Record Low After Disappointing Earnings Report

Charter Communications Inc. Shares Plummet 23% After Underwhelming Quarterly Results

Charter Communications Inc., one of the country's largest home internet providers, reported a dismal first quarter with a loss of 117,000 residential customers at its flagship Spectrum internet brand. This surpasses the 98,445 customer loss that analysts had expected. The company also experienced a decline in cable TV customers, shedding 51,000 subscribers. This loss follows a surprising increase at the end of 2025, driven by an aggressive bundling strategy.

The company's revenue of $13.6 billion was in line with estimates, but earnings per share of $9.17 fell short of forecasts for $9.52. The disappointing results led analysts at Vital Knowledge to describe the report as "underwhelming," particularly in comparison to Comcast Corp.'s results earlier this week. Charter's stock tumbled 23% to $186.12 on Friday in New York, marking its largest decline since shares were listed in 2009.

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Charter's mobile business, which is usually a bright spot for the company, also failed to meet analysts' expectations. The company added 368,000 wireless lines through its partnership with Verizon Communications Inc., falling short of the 438,734 lines predicted by Wall Street. Charter's Chief Executive Officer Chris Winfrey attributed the decline to high competition for new customers, as well as mobile substitution and a challenging housing environment.

Charter had been making progress in stemming video cord cutting, but this quarter marked the first decline since the early days of the pandemic. The company's late 2025 cable increase was largely driven by the introduction of streaming services at no additional cost to cable-TV customers, as well as a seasonal lift in signups from National Football League fans. However, Winfrey had warned that this uptick would not be sustainable.

The company is currently in the process of combining with Cox Communications, which will bring together a business with a viable video strategy and one that has largely abandoned video. Analysts are increasingly eyeing Charter as a prime candidate for continued M&A as competition for broadband services heats up. Winfrey expressed interest in acquiring more cable assets if the conditions are right.