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Charter Communications, Inc.: Q3 FY2026 earnings call

What management said about Q3 FY2026, from the documents filed with the SEC on 6 November 2026: press release. Guidance figures: 1 new. The quarter’s numbers.

Key takeaways

  • Pro forma revenue declined, actual rose: Pro forma revenue fell 1.5% to $16.5 billion, while actual revenue rose 9.1% to $14.9 billion, mainly on the Cox Transactions. Excluding advertising and streaming-app netting, pro forma revenue fell 1.0%. Source
  • Pro forma Adjusted EBITDA declined 4.0%: Actual Adjusted EBITDA was $5.9 billion, up 6.9%, mainly from the Cox Transactions. Pro forma Adjusted EBITDA margin was 39.9% against 40.9% a year earlier. Source
  • Net loss driven by franchise impairment: Pro forma net loss attributable to Charter shareholders was $2.1 billion. The release cites a $1.4 billion gain on debt extinguishment as a partial offset. Source
  • Mobile lines kept growing: Pro forma mobile lines rose 508,000 in the quarter and 1.8 million over twelve months. Legacy Charter added 440,000 lines, down from 482,000 a year earlier. Source
  • Internet customers declined: Legacy Cox lost 77,000 Internet customers in the quarter. The pro forma total fell 233,000, a larger loss than a year earlier. Source
  • Demand and trends improved after launch: Management reports demand from consumers rose after the September 16 launch, and customer trends improved across the legacy Cox footprint. Source
  • New operating model targets growth: The model aims to speed new customer connects and improve retention and service, to raise revenue per passing over the long term. Source

“With the combination of Charter and Cox, we have the scale and network capabilities to connect more Americans than ever before,”

Chris Winfrey, President and CEO of Charter

Guidance

AreaPeriodFigureAgainst last quarter
Capital expenditures SourceFull year 2026, pro forma, excluding transition capital expendituresapproximately $13.0 billion
Operating expense savings and Cox synergies SourceNext 18 months (annualized run-rate)$2 billion in annualized run-rate operating expense savings; more than $1 billion Cox synergiesNew

What changed from last quarter

  • New: New operating model launched, reformulating go-to-market for the core Internet offering and redesigning how the company operates. Source
  • New: Cox Transactions closed August 19, 2026, adding more than 11 million passings and over 5 million customer relationships. Actual results include Cox from August 20. Source

Results and growth drivers

  • Pro forma revenue declined, actual rose: Pro forma revenue fell 1.5% to $16.5 billion, while actual revenue rose 9.1% to $14.9 billion, mainly on the Cox Transactions. Excluding advertising and streaming-app netting, pro forma revenue fell 1.0%. Source
  • Pro forma Adjusted EBITDA declined 4.0%: Actual Adjusted EBITDA was $5.9 billion, up 6.9%, mainly from the Cox Transactions. Pro forma Adjusted EBITDA margin was 39.9% against 40.9% a year earlier. Source
  • Net loss driven by franchise impairment: Pro forma net loss attributable to Charter shareholders was $2.1 billion. The release cites a $1.4 billion gain on debt extinguishment as a partial offset. Source
  • Per-share loss versus prior income: Basic loss per share was $20.50 against income of $8.50 a year earlier. Basic weighted average shares fell 12.6%. Source

Segments and regions

  • Residential revenue fell 4.1% pro forma: Residential customers fell 2.7% and monthly revenue per residential customer fell 1.6%, with pricing and packaging mix cited as a driver. Source
  • Commercial revenue roughly flat pro forma: Legacy Charter mid-market and large business revenue rose 2.1%, partly offset by a 1.1% decline in legacy Cox business revenue. Source
  • Advertising rose on political spending: Advertising including political rose 21.0% to $487 million. Linear advertising fell while streaming advertising rose. Source

“We are fundamentally rethinking how we operate and compete, with a renewed focus on delivering the best products and services.”

Chris Winfrey, President and CEO of Charter

Products and customers

  • Mobile lines kept growing: Pro forma mobile lines rose 508,000 in the quarter and 1.8 million over twelve months. Legacy Charter added 440,000 lines, down from 482,000 a year earlier. Source
  • Internet customers declined: Legacy Cox lost 77,000 Internet customers in the quarter. The pro forma total fell 233,000, a larger loss than a year earlier. Source
  • Video losses narrowed from last year: Over the last twelve months pro forma video customers fell 256,000, or 1.8%. Legacy Charter lost fewer video customers than a year earlier. Source
  • Streaming apps included in video packages: The release attributes improved legacy Charter video results to included streaming apps and simplified pricing and packaging. Source
  • Spectrum launched across Cox footprint: The launch covered more than 11 million homes and businesses, with no data caps, a free year of Spectrum Mobile for eligible customers, and a $1,000 Savings Guarantee. Source

Costs, margins and pricing

  • Programming costs fell with fewer customers: Pro forma programming costs fell $271 million, with $286 million of streaming-app costs netted in revenue against $106 million a year earlier. Source
  • Other costs of revenue rose 15.0%: Growth came from higher mobile device sales, mobile service direct costs and advertising sales costs tied to political revenue. Source
  • Pro forma operating costs roughly flat: Higher other costs of revenue were offset by lower programming costs in the pro forma cost base. Source
  • Transition costs from Cox integration: Transition expenses were $76 million, compared with $4 million in the prior-year pro forma figures. Source
  • Revenue per residential customer fell 1.6%: Monthly residential revenue per customer was $117.85 pro forma, down 1.6%. Excluding streaming-app costs netted in revenue, it declined 0.1%. Source

“We have the assets and competitive advantages to succeed and are moving with urgency to deliver more value for our customers and stronger results for our investors.”

Chris Winfrey, President and CEO of Charter

Demand and customer trends

  • Demand and trends improved after launch: Management reports demand from consumers rose after the September 16 launch, and customer trends improved across the legacy Cox footprint. Source
  • Legacy Charter video losses smaller: The release credits streaming apps in expanded basic packages and simplified pricing and packaging for the smaller video loss. Source
  • Connectivity and relationships declined: Pro forma connectivity customers fell 195,000 and total customer relationships fell 238,000 in the quarter. Source
  • Subsidized rural activations continued: Within legacy Charter's subsidized rural footprint, total customer relationships rose 48,000 in the quarter. Source

Capital, cash and shareholder returns

  • Pro forma capex fell to $3.2 billion: Lower line extension and scalable infrastructure spend drove the decline, partly offset by higher upgrade/rebuild spend, mainly network evolution. Source
  • Free cash flow fell to $674 million: Operating cash flow was $4.0 billion against $4.5 billion, reflecting cash tax timing and one-time Cox costs. Accrued capex changes also reduced free cash flow. Source
  • Secured notes exchanged for cash: The exchange produced about $1.5 billion of deleveraging. Charter also repaid $1.0 billion of legacy Cox notes at maturity; total debt was $108.6 billion. Source
  • Small share repurchase in quarter: Share repurchases were small in the quarter. A year earlier, treasury stock purchases were $2.1 billion. Source

Strategy and operating model

  • New operating model targets growth: The model aims to speed new customer connects and improve retention and service, to raise revenue per passing over the long term. Source
  • Savings focus on nonessential activities: The savings program targets nonessential activities, simpler organizational structures and efficiencies through vendor partnerships. Source
  • Higher free cash flow expected over time: Management expects the new model and savings program to improve financial performance and support significantly higher free cash flow generation. Source
  • Service reputation tied to revenue per passing: Management links better service and added customer value to deeper relationships and higher revenue per passing over the long term. Source

People and leadership

  • Organization to be simpler and faster: The CEO says Charter will return to Internet customer growth, become a simpler, faster, more agile organization, and reignite its culture. Source
  • Customer Commitment backed by U.S. staff: Spectrum says its Customer Commitment for legacy Cox customers is supported by 100% U.S.-based employees. Source
  • Fundamental redesign of operations: The company is redesigning how it operates to cut complexity and speed decisions, focusing resources on activities closest to growth. Source

Coming up, as management said on 6 November 2026

  • Cox customer service returns to U.S.: Spectrum plans to fully return legacy Cox customer service to the U.S. within 18 months. Source
  • Form 10-Q to be posted: The Form 10-Q for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2026 will be posted on the investor site once filed with the SEC. Source

Figures management reported

FigureReported
Total Internet customers Source34.3 million
Pro forma Internet net additions, third quarter Source(233,000)
Total mobile lines Source13.5 million
Pro forma mobile line net additions, third quarter Source508,000
Total video customers Source13.8 million
Pro forma monthly residential revenue per residential customer Source$117.85
Pro forma capital expenditures, third quarter Source$3.2 billion

Risks management discussed

  • Demand: Pro forma Internet revenue fell 3.7%, tied to fewer Internet customers and pricing and packaging mix. Source
  • Financial: Operating cash flow fell on cash tax timing and one-time Cox costs, which lowered free cash flow versus the prior year. Source
  • Operational: Management says the 2026 capex total depends on network evolution pace, supply chain timing, and residential and commercial growth rates. Source
  • Financial: Streaming-app costs netted in video revenue rose to $286 million from $106 million a year earlier, lowering revenue per customer. Source
  • Financial: A franchise impairment of $6.3 billion drove the pro forma and actual net losses for the quarter. Source

Earlier plans management reported on

  • Not stated: Earlier plan to deliver Spectrum benefits to Cox customers after closing. This release reports the close and the September 16 launch.
  • Not stated: Earlier timing for finishing the network evolution initiative. This release gives no update on that timing.

Other quarters

Summarised with AI from the documents the company filed with the SEC. Every point is checked against the filing before it is shown: management’s own words word for word, figures against the line or table row they come from. A point that fails the check is left out. Source opens the filing at that line.