Charter Communications Net Income Drops 4.4% to $1.16B in Q1 2026

Charter Communications (NASDAQ: CHTR), a cable and broadband services provider, reported net income attributable to shareholders of $1.16 billion for the three months ended March 31, 2026, down from $1.22 billion in the same period last year. The company posted diluted earnings per share of $9.17, up from $8.42 a year earlier, driven by a 13% reduction in weighted average shares outstanding to 126.8 million from 144.6 million. Read more earnings reports.

Revenue for the quarter fell 1% to $13.60 billion from $13.74 billion in the first quarter of 2025. Income from operations declined slightly to $3.21 billion from $3.24 billion, while consolidated net income dropped 3.3% to $1.36 billion from $1.41 billion.

Operating Performance and Costs

Operating costs and expenses totaled $8.16 billion, down marginally from $8.19 billion in the prior-year quarter. Depreciation and amortization rose to $2.21 billion from $2.18 billion. The company recorded $15 million in other operating expenses compared to $123 million a year earlier, a decrease of $108 million driven by lower merger costs and disposal losses.

Interest expense climbed to $1.26 billion from $1.24 billion, while total other expenses fell to $124 million from $142 million. Income tax expense increased to $465 million from $445 million.

Customer Metrics Show Declines

Total customer relationships fell to 31.68 million as of March 31, 2026, from 32.16 million a year earlier, a decline of 478,000 relationships. Residential customers dropped to 29.45 million from 29.91 million, while small business customers slipped to 2.23 million from 2.25 million.

Total internet customers decreased to 29.56 million from 30.02 million, a loss of 464,000 subscribers year-over-year. Video customers fell to 12.55 million from 12.71 million, and voice customers declined to 5.87 million from 6.61 million. Mobile lines represented the sole growth area, rising to 12.13 million from 10.37 million, an increase of 1.77 million lines or 17%.

Monthly residential revenue per residential customer declined to $118.44 from $120.07, while monthly small business revenue per small business customer edged up to $162.71 from $161.31.

Cash Flow and Capital Allocation

Net cash flows from operating activities rose to $4.30 billion from $4.24 billion in the first quarter of 2025. The company spent $2.86 billion on property, plant and equipment, up from $2.40 billion, resulting in free cash flow of $1.37 billion compared to $1.56 billion a year earlier.

Charter repurchased $1.02 billion of treasury stock during the quarter, up from $802 million in the prior-year period. The company purchased 4.68 million shares at an average price of $218.02 per share. Long-term debt stood at $94.41 billion as of March 31, 2026, compared to $94.01 billion at December 31, 2025.

Balance Sheet and Financing

Total assets increased to $154.64 billion from $154.21 billion at year-end 2025. Cash and cash equivalents rose to $517 million from $477 million. Shareholders' equity attributable to Charter increased to $16.39 billion from $16.05 billion, while total shareholders' equity including noncontrolling interests reached $21.07 billion compared to $20.52 billion.

The company issued $7.22 billion in long-term debt during the quarter and repaid $7.50 billion. In January 2026, Charter issued 7.000% senior notes due 2033 and 7.375% senior notes due 2036 through its CCO Holdings subsidiaries.