CHTR earnings analysis
What we found in CHTR's 10-Q: the parts that mattered, the offsets in the same document, and what the company said about what comes next.
Our reading of the filing · Free to read, no account needed
Charter delivered Q2 diluted EPS of $10.66, above consensus, but revenue declined 1.7% year over year to $13.526 billion and Adjusted EBITDA fell 4.3% to $5.449 billion. Mobile, advertising, and business services grew, but persistent Internet, video, and customer-relationship declines pressured the core business and reduced operating margin to 22.6%. Liquidity remains adequate with $509 million of cash and $3.7 billion of revolver capacity, although leverage, elevated capital spending, and funding requirements for the Cox transaction remain material constraints.
The parts that mattered.
Pulled out of the filing itself, with the figures the company reported.
- EPS beat despite lower net income
- Diluted EPS was $10.66, up 16.1% from $9.18 a year earlier and 16.2% from $9.17 in Q1 2026; it exceeded the $10.19 consensus estimate by $0.47. The increase occurred despite net income attributable to Charter shareholders declining $9 million year over year to $1.292 billion, aided by a lower diluted share count of 121.3 million versus 141.7 million.
- Mobile remained the core growth engine
- Mobile service revenue rose $174 million, or 18.9% year over year, to $1.095 billion as total mobile lines increased by approximately 1.7 million to 12.540 million. Management reported 406,000 net mobile-line additions in the quarter.
- Commercial and advertising offset some pressure
- Commercial revenue increased $29 million, or 1.5%, to $1.865 billion, led by mid-market and large-business revenue growth of $21 million, or 2.8%, to $761 million. Advertising sales rose $45 million, or 12.3%, to $416 million, driven by political and streaming advertising.
- Operating cash flow and liquidity improved
- Operating cash flow increased $325 million, or 9.0%, year over year to $3.925 billion. Cash on hand increased to $509 million at June 30, 2026 from $477 million at December 31, 2025, and undrawn credit-facility availability was approximately $3.7 billion.
- Network evolution and rural build continue
- Management expects to complete network evolution to enable symmetrical, multi-gigabit speeds across its footprint; capital spending on upgrade/rebuild was $657 million in Q2, up from $457 million a year earlier. It activated approximately 127,000 subsidized rural passings in the quarter after spending $391 million on the rural initiative.
And the other side of it.
The offsets in the same document — the things a summary that only listed the good news would have left out.
- Revenue and customer trends remain negative
- Revenue fell $240 million, or 1.7% year over year, to $13.526 billion and was modestly below the $13.530 billion consensus estimate. It was also about 0.5% below Q1 2026 revenue of $13.600 billion; management cited fewer customer relationships and a higher seamless-entertainment allocation.
- Broadband and video customer erosion
- Internet revenue declined $193 million, or 3.2%, to $5.776 billion as total Internet customers fell 510,000 year over year to 29.388 million; management reported a quarterly loss of 172,000 Internet customers. Video revenue declined $339 million, or 9.7%, to $3.149 billion.
- EBITDA and operating-margin contraction
- Adjusted EBITDA declined $244 million, or 4.3%, to $5.449 billion, while income from operations declined $216 million, or 6.5%, to $3.063 billion. Operating margin was 22.6%, down from 23.8% a year ago and 23.6% in Q1 2026, reflecting lower revenue and Cox transition expenses.
- Capital intensity remains elevated
- Free cash flow declined $77 million year over year to $969 million as capital expenditures remained $2.871 billion, equal to 21.2% of revenue. Six-month capital expenditures increased $453 million to $5.726 billion, driven by network evolution and customer-premise equipment.
- Leverage and Cox funding obligations are sizable
- Principal debt was $93.8 billion at June 30, plus a $1.6 billion carrying value for the EIP Financing Facility; net debt/LTM Adjusted EBITDA was 4.18x. The pending Cox Transactions require approximately $4.2 billion of cash at closing and entail assuming approximately $12.4 billion of Cox net debt and finance leases.
- No formal risk-factor updates; impairment watch
- The filing states there were no material changes to risk factors from the 2025 Form 10-K. However, management said that if its lower stock price persists, it may need a quantitative impairment assessment for franchises and goodwill, notwithstanding that franchise fair value exceeded carrying value by more than 10% in the Q4 2025 analysis.
What they reported.
What the company itself reported, taken out of the document.
- Earnings per share
- $10.66
- Gross margin
- 100.0%
- Operating margin
- 22.6%
- Segment
- Internet: $5.776 billion (-3.2% YoY)
- Segment
- Mobile service: $1.095 billion (+18.9% YoY)
- Segment
- Video: $3.149 billion (-9.7% YoY)
- Segment
- Voice: $331 million (-4.5% YoY)
- Segment
- Small business: $1.104 billion (+0.7% YoY)
- Segment
- Mid-market & large business: $761 million (+2.8% YoY)
- Segment
- Advertising sales: $416 million (+12.3% YoY)
- Segment
- Other: $894 million (+7.1% YoY)
What they said about what is next.
Charter provided no revenue or EPS outlook in the 10-Q. It continues to expect approximately $11.4 billion of full-year 2026 capital expenditures, excluding Cox Transactions; actual spending depends on network-evolution and expansion pace, supply-chain timing, and residential/business growth.
The filing reads about the same as the one before it.
What came before.
- 10-Q · April 24, 2026
- Charter reported Q1 2026 revenue of $13,597 million, down $138 million (1.0%) versus Q1 2025, with Adjusted EBITDA of $5,637 million and diluted EPS of $9.17. Connectivity revenue grew modestly while Internet, video and…
- 10-K · January 30, 2026
- Charter positions itself as a large-scale, fiber-powered broadband provider serving 58 million homes across 41 states and is executing an aggressive network evolution (spectrum expansion, DAA, DOCSIS 4.0) with the…
- 10-Q · July 25, 2025
- Charter reported Q2 2025 revenue of $13,766 million and diluted EPS of $9.18; revenue was roughly flat year-over-year while operating income and EPS increased versus the prior year. Cash and liquidity positions improved…
- 10-K · January 31, 2025
- Charter positions itself as a high-bandwidth broadband connectivity leader focused on network evolution (DOCSIS 4.0/DAA/high-split) and converged products (Internet, Advanced WiFi, Mobile, Xumo video) to grow customers…
This is our reading of a public filing, not the filing. Read the original on SEC.gov · Educational only. Nothing here is investment advice.
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