Charter Communications

Charter Communications is facing heightened competition from Verizon and T-Mobile’s wireless home internet products, and the cable company could soon lose even more subscribers when a key government program runs out of funding in April, JPMorgan analysts say in a research note. Charter’s 4Q results revealed a surprisingly steep loss of broadband subscribers, the analysts note. They add that the end of the Affordable Connectivity Program, which gave $30 a month to eligible customers to put toward their internet bills, could hurt Charter more than its peers. They cut their rating on the stock to neutral. Shares fall 3.1%.

By Will Feuer Shares of cable companies took a hit Friday after Charter Communications reported soft fourth-quarter earnings and said it lost tens of thousands of internet subscribers. Comcast shares traded 3% lower at $45.22. That stock is up 10% from 12 months ago. Altice USA shares slipped more than 8% to $2.27. Altice stock is down nearly 58% over the past 12 months. Shares of Charter dropped more than 11%, leading the sector lower. Charter said it lost 61,000 internet customers in the fourth quarter, with nearly all of the decline from residential customers. Analysts had expected the company to add 6,000 internet customers. Chief Financial Officer Jessica Fischer had warned in December that the company could lose internet customers in the quarter. At the time, speaking at an analyst conference, she said the company was facing short-term challenges and that results would be in line with the rest

By Angela Palumbo Charter Communications stock was tumbling Friday after the parent company of Spectrum Networks reported a surprise loss in internet subscribers. Charter shares were sinking 12% to $336.86. The stock was on pace for its largest percentage decrease since December 2022 and lowest close since June 2023, according to Dow Jones Market Data. The stock was also the second-worst performer in the S&P 500 Friday. The index was up 0.3%. The cable company said Friday that total residential and small- and medium-business internet customers declined by 61,000 in the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31. Analysts surveyed by FactSet were expecting internet customers to increase by 6,000. “Internet growth in our existing footprint has been challenging driven by admittedly more persistent competition from fixed wireless,” Chief Executive Christopher Winfrey said on the earnings call. Residential video customers decreased by 248,000 in the quarter, compared with Wall Street estimates for

CFRA, an independent research provider, has provided MT Newswires with the following research alert. Analysts at CFRA have summarized their opinion as follows: We keep our 12-month target at $450, applying an EV/EBITDA multiple of 7.4x to our ’24 estimate, comparable to the peer average, reflecting recent results. We trim our ’23 EPS estimate by $0.57 to $31.65 and cut ’24’s by $0.70 to $38.00. CHTR reported Q3 operating EPS of $8.25 vs. $7.38, $0.14 above the consensus. Q3 revenue increased 0.2%, driven by 33.8% growth in mobile service revenue, online growth, and higher bundled revenue allocation, as well as a 3.7% increase in internet revenue, driven by promotional rate step-ups and rate adjustments, partially offset by a 20.3% decline in advertising, impacted by lower political spending and a more challenging advertising market overall. Total internet net losses were 12k, while residential video customers fell by 320k and residential voice

Morgan Stanley analyst Benjamin Swinburne maintains Charter Communications (NASDAQ:CHTR) with a Equal-Weight and raises the price target from $460 to $500.