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FY2026 Q2
Softening
Charter Communications, Inc. earnings call
Buzzberg read
Internet customer loss of 172,000, higher than last year
Charter's Q2 2026 results showed continued broadband subscriber pressure and EBITDA decline, with mobile line growth of 406,000 and improved video losses. Management lowered full-year EBITDA guidance to a ~1% decline, citing persistent competition and top-of-funnel softness. Key cross-company signals included wireless offload comparison to Comcast and expansion of MVNO partnerships with Verizon and T-Mobile. Broadband net loss of 172,000 customers, driven by lower gross additions; churn flat.
Buzzberg read Internet customer loss of 172,000, higher than last year Charter's Q2 2026 results showed continued broadband subscriber pressure and EBITDA decline, with mobile line growth of 406,000 and improved video losses. Management lowered full-year EBITDA guidance to a ~1% decline, citing persistent competition and top-of-funnel softness. Key cross-company signals included wireless offload comparison to Comcast and expansion of MVNO partnerships with Verizon and T-Mobile. Broadband net loss of 172,000 customers, driven by lower gross additions; churn flat. Read full analysisCollapse analysis
Charter's Q2 2026 results showed continued broadband subscriber pressure and EBITDA decline, with mobile line growth of 406,000 and improved video losses. Management lowered full-year EBITDA guidance to a ~1% decline, citing persistent competition and top-of-funnel softness. Key cross-company signals included wireless offload comparison to Comcast and expansion of MVNO partnerships with Verizon and T-Mobile. Broadband net loss of 172,000 customers, driven by lower gross additions; churn flat.
- Mobile line adds of 406,000, total 12.5 million lines; offload at 88% vs Comcast's 90%.
- Full-year 2026 EBITDA guidance lowered to decline ~1% year-over-year (ex-Cox transition).
- Capex maintained at $11.4 billion for 2026; expects run-rate below $8B after network evolution.
Revenue$13.526B-1% QoQ
EPS$10.66+16% QoQ
Operating margin22.65%Reported
Free cash flow$1.054B-27% QoQ
6 grounded callouts
What matters now
The highest-signal changes from the call.
Capital return
Lowering post-transaction leverage target to 3.5x
Capex
Run-rate capex below $8B after evolution concludes
Show 3 more callouts
AI
AI service and cost benefits beginning to ramp
Other
Cox transaction synergies expected to grow to $1B
Demand
Mobile lines up 16% YoY, over 12.5M lines
Reported period
Actuals
| Metric | Reported | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $13.526B | -1% QoQ |
| EPS | $10.66 | +16% QoQ |
| Operating margin | 22.65% | Reported |
| Free cash flow | $1.054B | -27% QoQ |
| Capex | $2.871B | Reported |
| Net income | $1.292B | +11% QoQ |
Forward-looking
Forward guidance
| Metric | Period | Range | Midpoint | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capex | FY2026 | $11.4B | $11.4B | Maintained |
AI, capex & demand read
Management read
cautious
Management's tone was cautious due to weaker broadband subscriber trends and lowered EBITDA outlook, while expressing confidence in long-term growth, deleveraging plans, and the Cox transaction.
Management AI read
Management said AI service and cost benefits are beginning to ramp, and they expect to be a significant beneficiary of AI through network demand, data center connectivity, their own service capabilities, and the potential utilization of edge data centers with over 250 megawatts of available capacity.
Investment and capacity
Second quarter capex was $2.9 billion, flat year over year, and full-year 2026 capex is expected to be approximately $11.4 billion. Management reiterated that after evolution and expansion initiatives conclude, run-rate capex for standalone Charter would be below $8 billion per year.
all 7 named companies below
Companiesreturns since call
Partners
Partners
Chris Winfrey
Charter's wireless offload rate (88%) is slightly below Comcast's 90%, but a product change temporarily pushed it lower from 89% to 87% due to increased 5G usage, not a structural decline. — Shows cable operators can dynamically manage wireless traffic offload, reducing reliance on MNO networks and improving their own cost structure.
Evidence
“We have great partners. Verizon now principally on the residential side, who's been a great partner, great network.”
Partners
Chris Winfrey
Charter's wireless offload rate (88%) is slightly below Comcast's 90%, but a product change temporarily pushed it lower from 89% to 87% due to increased 5G usage, not a structural decline. — Shows cable operators can dynamically manage wireless traffic offload, reducing reliance on MNO networks and improving their own cost structure.
Evidence
“we've recently launched on the B2B side incrementally going forward with T-Mobile.”
Partners
Jessica Fischer
The Liberty Broadband merger will dilute Charter's shares and affect leverage calculations, a key capital structure event.
Evidence
“As of the end of the second quarter, our ratio of net debt to last 12-month adjusted EBITDA was 4.18 times and stood at 4.21 times pro forma for the pending Liberty Broadband transaction.”
Competitors
Competitors
Chris Winfrey
Charter's wireless offload rate (88%) is slightly below Comcast's 90%, but a product change temporarily pushed it lower from 89% to 87% due to increased 5G usage, not a structural decline. — Shows cable operators can dynamically manage wireless traffic offload, reducing reliance on MNO networks and improving their own cost structure.
Evidence
“I hadn't seen that Comcast reported up at 90%. We've been at 88%.”
Supply chain
Supply chain
Chris Winfrey
Charter has over 250 MW of available capacity in its edge data centers without further investment, positioning it to serve AI workloads at low incremental cost. — Edge data centers with fiber, power, and cooling could capture cloud/AI demand as a wholesale provider, potentially competing with hyperscaler data centers.
Evidence
“As we complete our network evolution, we'll have over 250 megawatts of available capacity without additional investment.”
External signals
Supply-chain alpha · 2returns since call
Charter's wireless offload rate (88%) is slightly below Comcast's 90%, but a product change temporarily pushed it lower from 89% to 87% due to increased 5G usage, not a structural decline.
Evidence
“I'd actually push this back down to 87%, which is where we've been previously, not because there was less offload, but because there was actually more 5G traffic usage.”
Charter has over 250 MW of available capacity in its edge data centers without further investment, positioning it to serve AI workloads at low incremental cost.
Methodology & coverage
Management-only analysis. All 7 validated company mentions are shown. Reported actuals and forward guidance are kept separate. Public evidence is limited to eight short attributed quotes. AI-generated analysis can be incomplete or wrong; verify important claims against the original source.