CHARTER COMMUNICATIONS, INC. /MO/ (CHTR)

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AI: Undervalued

Price checkThe shares look undervalued, but heavy debt makes the discount unusually risky.

At $154.27, Charter traded at about 4.0 times trailing earnings of $38.43 per share and 4.8 times free cash flow, meaning cash left after operating and investment spending. Its roughly $20.8 billion market value is small beside $93.8 billion of principal debt; including net debt, the business cost about 5.4 times cash operating earnings before interest, taxes and major non-cash charges. The low price implies prolonged decline. Even allowing for that risk, the earnings and cash yields support an Undervalued verdict.

Big pictureCash generation remains solid, yet the core internet business is shrinking.

Operating cash flow stayed between $14.4 billion and $16.1 billion during 2023-2025, despite annual network investment rising above $11 billion. The latest twelve months produced about $4.36 billion of free cash flow. However, second-quarter 2026 revenue fell 1.7%, adjusted cash operating earnings fell 4.3%, and internet customers declined by 172,000. Mobile added 406,000 lines and service revenue grew 18.9%, but has not offset broadband pressure. Subscription demand is relatively recession-resistant; competition from fiber and fixed-wireless networks is the more important structural threat, while political advertising causes smaller cyclical swings.

Business strengthNetwork scale supports profits, while leverage and the Cox deal reduce safety.

Charter still generated a 40.3% adjusted cash operating margin in the latest quarter, but had $93.8 billion of debt against $509 million of cash, about 4.3 times annual cash operating earnings. It repurchased four million shares for $838 million and retired $1.2 billion of debt principal for $1.0 billion; weighted-average shares fell 13.1% from a year earlier, boosting per-share earnings without operating growth. Cox adds assets, but also roughly 33.6 million exchangeable units, $6 billion of preferred units paying 6.875%, $4 billion of cash consideration and about $12 billion of assumed debt.

What could change the storyStable internet customers and lower spending could unlock value; continued losses could erase it.

The strongest bull case requires internet losses to approach zero, mobile growth to improve retention, and annual investment to fall after Charter’s network upgrade is substantially completed in 2027. Those changes could lift free cash flow materially while low-priced repurchases amplify each remaining share’s claim. The bear case is concrete: repeated internet losses near the latest 172,000 quarterly pace, further mid-single-digit declines in cash operating earnings, or disappointing Cox integration would weaken debt coverage. The present price assumes substantial deterioration; sustained free cash flow below roughly $3 billion would make that discount less compelling.

$154.27 price considered

AI: News

California clears Cox dealCalifornia’s approval removed the last stated regulatory obstacle to Charter’s transformative Cox combination.

On August 13, 2026, the California Public Utilities Commission approved the transfer, clearing the final state obstacle identified by Charter. The $34.5 billion transaction brings approximately $12 billion of assumed Cox debt, 33.6 million exchangeable common units, $6 billion of preferred units and $4 billion of cash consideration. It therefore adds scale and potential savings while substantially changing leverage and ownership. Charter shares closed 1.4% lower the next day, but timing alone does not establish that the approval caused the move.

Broadband losses deepenSecond-quarter broadband losses deepened, while mobile growth and share buybacks softened the financial blow.

On July 24, Charter reported 172,000 second-quarter internet customer losses, versus 116,000 a year earlier. Revenue fell 1.7% to $13.5 billion and cash operating earnings, excluding financing and major accounting charges, fell 4.3%; mobile lines still rose by 406,000. Earnings per share reached $10.66 largely because the diluted share count fell 13.1%. Shares were reported down about 12% before trading, then closed 2.5% lower at $123.31, suggesting early concern partly reversed during the session.

Record earnings-day selloffFirst-quarter customer losses and an earnings miss triggered Charter’s steepest recorded one-day share decline.

On April 24, Charter reported 120,000 internet customer losses, twice the 59,000 lost one year earlier. Revenue declined 1.0% to $13.6 billion, while diluted earnings of $9.17 per share missed the roughly $10.63 consensus cited in contemporaneous reporting. The shares closed down 25.5%, their largest one-day decline on record. The market reaction reflected concern that aggressive bundles and promotions were not stabilizing broadband customers, threatening the cash needed for network investment, debt service and repurchases.

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Financial statements

	2025	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019	2016	2015	2014	2013	2012	2011	2010
Revenue	$889.0M	$941.0M	$993.0M	$1.10B	$1.10B	$1.10B	$45.76B	$29.00B	$9.75B	$9.11B	$8.15B	$7.50B	$7.20B	$7.06B
Operating expenses	$32.74B	$33.17B	$33.41B	$32.88B	$31.48B	$29.93B	$29.22B	$18.66B	$6.43B	$5.97B	$5.34B	$4.86B	$4.56B	$4.49B
Operating income	$12.91B	$13.12B	$12.56B	$11.96B	$10.53B	$8.40B	$6.51B	$3.35B	$1.11B	$971.0M	$909.0M	$915.0M	$1.04B	$1.02B
EBITDAderived	$21.62B	$21.79B	$21.25B	$20.86B	$19.87B	$18.11B	$16.44B	$10.26B	$3.24B	$3.07B	$2.76B	$2.63B	$2.63B	$2.55B
Net income	$4.99B	$5.08B	$4.56B	$5.05B	$4.65B	$3.22B	$1.67B	$3.52B	−$271.0M	−$183.0M	−$169.0M	−$304.0M	−$369.0M	−$237.0M
Basic EPSper diluted share	$36.90	$35.53	$30.54	$31.30	$25.34	$15.85	$7.60	$17.05	-$2.68	-$1.88	-$1.65	-$3.05	-$3.39	-$2.09
Diluted EPSper diluted share	$36.21	$34.97	$29.99	$30.74	$24.47	$15.40	$7.45	$15.94	-$2.68	-$1.88	-$1.65	-$3.05	-$3.39	-$2.09

Review source filings at SEC.gov ↗

Insider buys & sells

Jul 1, 2024–Jun 30, 2026

Buys10$1.29B disclosed value

Sells (SEC code S)6$873.66M disclosed value

Transaction	Insider	Type	Shares	Price	Value	Owned after
May 27, 2026Form 4	Rutledge ThomasOther	SellClass A Common Stock · indirect	9.1K	$146.92	$1.34M	0
May 27, 2026Form 4	Rutledge ThomasOther	SellClass A Common Stock · indirect	9.1K	$146.96	$1.34M	0
May 26, 2026Form 4	Rutledge ThomasOther	SellClass A Common Stock	69.6K	$144.45	$10.06M	4.0K
May 15, 2026Form 4	Ramos MauricioDirector	BuyClass A Common Stock	9.9K	$140.93	$1.40M	19.3K
Apr 28, 2026Form 4	Davis WadeDirector	BuyClass A Common Stock	5.7K	$173.72	$995.1K	6.9K

Review ownership filings at SEC.gov ↗

CHARTER COMMUNICATIONS, INC. /MO/ (CHTR)

Financial charts

Financial statements

Insider buys & sells