Charter Communications Faces Challenges with Subscriber Losses

Charter Communications reported Q2 earnings, revealing subscriber losses and mixed results. The company's stock is currently trading cheaply due to these challenges. Earnings beat estimates, despite bleak subscriber trends.

CHTR reported second-quarter 2026 results showing continued broadband subscriber erosion, with the company losing about 172,000 internet customers, a steeper decline than the 116,000 subscribers shed in the same quarter last year. Management attributed the weakness primarily to softer top-of-funnel gross additions amid intensifying competition from fixed wireless and fiber overbuilders, noting that churn itself remained largely unchanged.

Despite the subscriber pressure, Charter's Q2 earnings beat estimates and the company added 406,000 Spectrum Mobile lines while video (cable TV) losses narrowed to roughly 21,000 subscribers. Total revenue came in around $13.5 billion, down about 1.7% year-over-year on lower residential video revenue, while adjusted EBITDA fell roughly 4.3% to about $5.4 billion; the company also trimmed its full-year EBITDA outlook to a roughly 1% decline.

Against this backdrop, Charter's stock is trading at a historically low valuation, drawing interest from some analysts even as the subscriber losses raise questions about the durability of that discount. The earnings call pointed to mobile bundling and cost discipline as the company's main levers as it navigates a broadband market that has grown more competitive across the industry.

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