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…
Earnings analysis · 10-Q
CHTR earnings analysis
Filed July 24, 2026 · Our reading of the company's report
The latest report
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,…
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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.
Gross and operating margin
How much of each revenue dollar the business keeps.
One point per quarterly or annual filing. Both margins are shares of that report's revenue.
From revenue to operating profit
Where each $100 of revenue went in this report.
Cost of sales, operating expenses, and what remained. Figures are rounded to whole dollars.
Where revenue came from
The business segments reported by the company.
Shares of the segments disclosed in this filing, largest first.
How we read each report
Our analysis across the last few reports.
Our model's reading of each filing, not the share price or the market's reaction. Annual and quarterly reports each occupy one position.
Reported figures
- Earnings per share
- $10.66
What stood out
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
What to watch
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
Management's outlook
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.
Earlier filings 4
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 itself. Analysis can contain errors; check the source document for full context.