STAMFORD, Conn., April 24, 2026, 13:05 (ET)
Charter Communications shares slumped about 22% on Friday after the Spectrum owner lost more internet customers than Wall Street expected, a sharp setback for cable investors looking for signs that broadband declines had started to ease. The stock recently traded at $187.65, down $54.13.
The miss matters because broadband remains the core profit engine for U.S. cable groups, even as video fades and mobile grows from a smaller base. It also landed a day after Comcast reported a smaller-than-feared broadband loss, briefly raising hopes that the sector’s worst subscriber pressure was cooling.
The timing is awkward for Charter. The company is trying to close its $34.5 billion Cox Communications acquisition, a deal meant to add scale as cable operators fight streaming, fiber and fixed wireless, or home internet delivered over cellular networks. The FCC approved the transaction in February, and Charter told investors it had received all needed approvals except California, with a summer close still targeted.
Charter’s first-quarter revenue fell 1% to $13.6 billion. Net income attributable to Charter shareholders dropped to $1.16 billion from $1.22 billion, while diluted earnings per share rose to $9.17 from $8.42, helped by fewer shares outstanding. Adjusted EBITDA, a non-GAAP profit measure that strips out items such as interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, fell 2.2% to $5.64 billion.
The subscriber detail was the problem. Charter lost 120,000 internet customers in the quarter, twice the 59,000 it lost a year earlier, leaving it with 29.6 million internet customers. Video losses narrowed to 60,000 from 181,000, while mobile lines grew by 368,000 to 12.1 million.
Analysts had expected Charter to lose 100,036 broadband customers, according to Visible Alpha data cited by Reuters. Mobile additions also missed expectations of 431,920 lines, though revenue topped the LSEG estimate of $13.55 billion.
Chief Executive Chris Winfrey said in the company’s release that Charter remained “confident about our ability to win in the marketplace.” On the earnings call, he was more direct on the pressure point: “We are very focused on returning to broadband growth,” he said. Charter Communications Inc.
New Street Research analyst Vikash Harlalka wrote in a note summary that Charter had “weak broadband subscriber and ARPU results,” while EBITDA was “fine.” ARPU means average revenue per user, a measure investors use to judge pricing power and customer mix. Harlalka said investors probably expected a beat after Comcast’s results, but his firm had cautioned against that. ResearchPool
Comcast, Charter’s closest listed cable peer, lost 65,000 broadband customers in the first quarter, far less than the 175,500 loss expected by analysts polled by FactSet. Its wireless business added a record 435,000 customers, a contrast that sharpened the market reaction to Charter’s weaker mobile and broadband figures.
Charter also faces a heavy spending year. Capital expenditures rose to $2.9 billion in the quarter, and the company still expects about $11.4 billion for 2026, excluding Cox-related effects. Free cash flow — cash left after capital spending — fell to $1.4 billion from $1.6 billion.
Management tried to offset that with Cox deal math. Chief Financial Officer Jessica Fischer said Charter now estimates run-rate operating expense synergies of “at least $800 million,” up from $500 million, citing procurement, programming and better visibility into Cox’s financials. She also said Charter still plans to grow EBITDA slightly this year, excluding transition costs. The Motley Fool
The risk is that scale does not fix the near-term sales problem. If fixed wireless and fiber keep taking new customers, Charter may have to lean harder on promotions, which could weigh on ARPU, margins and free cash flow. California approval and Cox integration add another moving piece, just as investors are pressing for proof that the broadband base can stabilize.
