NEW YORK, June 29, 2026, 10:10 EDT
- Charter jumped 13.8% to $152.03 in the latest quote. The stock earlier touched $171.50.
- About 4.7 million Charter Communications Inc. shares traded, 1.7 times the typical full-day volume from last week.
- Charter shares are trading about 32% under the average $224 price the company paid for its Q1 repurchases.
- Comcast’s breakup offers a clearer look at cable sector merger trends, but there’s still no word on a Comcast-Charter tie-up.
Charter Communications, Inc. NASDAQ:CHTR surged early Monday after Comcast Corp NASDAQ:CMCSA announced plans to spin off NBCUniversal and Sky from its main broadband and wireless businesses. The move turned Charter into a cable merger proxy even though it hadn’t made any big announcements itself. Charter shares were up 13.8% at $152.03, after jumping as much as 28.3% to $171.50. The rally tacked on about $2.3 billion to Charter’s market value, according to quote data.
Charter shares lost steam after an early jump. The stock started at $167.80, but now trades down 11.4% from its high of the day. Nothing new showed up on its investor-relations site for June 29. The latest updates were a May 13 conference, May 7, and April 24.
Latest quotes had Charter and Liberty Broadband Corp NASDAQ:LBRDA, which is tied to Charter, well above the Communication Services Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSEARCA:XLC) and SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSEARCA:SPY). Percent moves and value changes come off those quotes.
| Security | Latest | Move | Intraday high | Volume | Approx. value change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charter Communications NASDAQ:CHTR | $152.03 | up 13.8% | $171.50 | 4.7 mln | $2.3 bln higher |
| Comcast NASDAQ:CMCSA | $25.52 | up 10.1% | $29.66 | 47.0 mln | $8.4 bln added |
| Liberty Broadband NASDAQ:LBRDA | $35.55 | up 13.5% | $39.70 | 0.1 mln | up $0.6 bln |
| T-Mobile US Inc NASDAQ:TMUS | $175.64 | down 3.9% | $182.99 | 0.6 mln | lost $7.8 bln |
| XLC (NYSEARCA:XLC) | $108.38 | gained 2.1% | $108.50 | 1.0 mln | — |
| SPY (NYSEARCA:SPY) | $739.45 | added 1.4% | $739.76 | 5.5 mln | — |
Charter’s buyback numbers are telling. The company spent $963 million on 4.3 million shares in the first quarter, paying around $224 each. The stock, despite Monday’s jump, still trades about 32% off that average price. It would have to climb another 47% from the latest price to match what Charter spent on its repurchases.
| Charter price check | Figure |
|---|---|
| Closed Friday | $133.64 |
| Recent price | $152.03 |
| Hit high intraday | $171.50 |
| Q1 buyback avg | ~$224.00 |
| Price vs buyback avg | -32.1% |
| To match buyback avg, needs | +47.3% |
Comcast plans to break into two companies: one focused on cable, wireless and business, and another holding Universal’s parks, film and TV studios, NBC, Peacock and Sky. Shareholders would get stock in both, with Comcast holding up to 19.9% of NBCUniversal for up to a year after the spinoff. Chairman Brian Roberts said the split will “unlock a more entrepreneurial management approach.” Ross Benes at eMarketer called NBCU a likely buyout target in time. Paolo Pescatore at PP Foresight said “Connectivity and media are no longer naturally moving at the same speed.” Reuters
That’s why Comcast’s move on the split shifted Charter. Back in January, Light Reading reported New Street’s Blair Levin saw a real shot that regulators might clear a Comcast-Charter merger, if it ever happened. But Levin said Comcast wouldn’t show its hand on spinning off NBCUniversal unless that piece was key to a deal. “Until then it’s a ‘no way,’” he told Light Reading. Monday’s news from Comcast tweaked one part of that old playbook, but there’s still no actual offer. Light Reading
Charter has a major deal pending. The FCC cleared Charter’s $34.5 billion deal to buy Cox Communications in February. Reuters said the combined company would have about 38 million subscribers, making it the biggest U.S. cable TV and broadband provider. The companies see $500 million in cost cuts within three years after the expected mid-2026 close. Charter will also take on $12.6 billion in Cox net debt and other liabilities. FCC Chair Brendan Carr said the deal “means that customers will get access to lower priced plans.” Reuters
Charter’s core business keeps feeling the squeeze. The company’s latest quarter showed gains in mobile, but broadband numbers fell. Total revenue dropped, and adjusted EBITDA came in lower as well.
| Charter Q1 data point | Result | Investor read |
|---|---|---|
| Spectrum Internet customers | -120,000 | Broadband losing traction |
| Spectrum Mobile lines | +368,000 | Mobile stays positive |
| Total revenue | $13.60 bln, -1.0% | Revenue fell |
| Mobile service revenue | $1.05 bln, +15.1% | Mobile tops growth chart |
| Video revenue | $3.25 bln, -9.2% | Pain from cord-cutting |
| Adjusted EBITDA | $5.6 bln, -2.2% | EBITDA moves lower |
| Capital expenditures | $2.9 bln | Includes $812 mln for new lines |
Mobile came back into focus. Reuters said June 27 that SpaceX and Charter have had executive talks about launching a U.S. consumer mobile service, citing Bloomberg News. Charter wouldn’t comment to Reuters, and SpaceX wasn’t available outside business hours. According to the report, Charter might run some SpaceX mobile traffic over its own wired network. SpaceX already has a direct-to-cell deal with T-Mobile.
