Charter Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: CHTR) reported second-quarter results that fell short of Wall Street expectations, triggering a 11% drop in its share price during pre-market trading.
The cable and internet giant continues to grapple with subscriber losses in its core video and broadband businesses as consumers shift away from traditional cable services and adopt alternative platforms like YouTube and streaming services.
Subscriber losses persist, though slower than prior year
Charter, which operates under the Spectrum brand, lost 117,000 Internet subscribers and 80,000 video customers during the second quarter ended June 30, 2025.
While still notable, these figures represented an improvement compared to the same period last year, when the company lost 149,000 Internet and 408,000 video subscribers.
The prior year’s elevated losses were partially attributed to the expiration of the federal Affordable Connectivity Program, which had supported low-income broadband access.
The company did see significant growth in its mobile segment, adding 500,000 new mobile lines in the quarter, bringing its total to 10.9 million, an increase of 23.7% year-over-year.
Despite this positive trend, Charter’s total customer relationships declined by 162,000, with the company serving 31.2 million customers excluding mobile-only users by quarter-end.
Financials: earnings miss, flat revenue growth
Charter posted adjusted earnings per share of $9.18 for Q2, missing the analyst consensus of $9.58.
This compares to EPS of $8.49 in the same quarter a year earlier. Revenue came in at $13.77 billion, a modest 0.6% increase year-over-year, in line with analyst forecasts.
The company reported net income attributable to shareholders of $1.3 billion, marking a 5.7% rise from the previous year.
Adjusted EBITDA rose slightly by 0.5% to $5.7 billion, while free cash flow dropped 19.3% to $1.0 billion.
The decline in free cash flow was driven by changes in mobile device working capital and the timing of tax and interest payments.
TV video revenue fell sharply by 10% to $3.5 billion, but this was offset by Internet revenue, which increased 2.8% to $6 billion.
Mobile service revenue was a standout, surging 24.9% year-over-year.
Outlook and market reaction
Despite the improved year-over-year subscriber retention, investors were unimpressed with the ongoing customer losses and earnings miss.
Shares of Charter fell 11% to $337 in pre-market trading. For the year to date, the stock has gained 10.86%.
Charter lowered its full-year 2025 capital expenditure guidance to approximately $11.5 billion, down from $12.0 billion, citing reduced rural build-out and commercial expansion costs.
CEO Chris Winfrey emphasized long-term growth opportunities, stating, “Our converged connectivity revenue grew by over 5% in the second quarter, with a long runway for growth.”
He also pointed to Charter’s competitive pricing and high-speed offerings as key differentiators.
The report comes shortly after Charter announced a $34.5 billion merger with Cox Communications, aimed at creating a major force in broadband and video services.
While the merger signals future scale, the short-term challenges of customer attrition and shifting consumption habits continue to weigh heavily on Charter’s business model.
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