Charter Communications Inc - Class A

Charter Communications delivered a mixed but ultimately earnings-positive fourth quarter, posting diluted EPS of $10.34 against the $9.86 consensus estimate for a 4.87% beat, even as revenue of $13.60 billion fell short of the $13.73 billion forecast and declined 2.3% year-over-year. The headline revenue shortfall was largely attributable to falling residential video revenue and a steep drop in political advertising, yet the underlying business showed meaningful resilience; connectivity revenue grew 2.3% to $6.87 billion, anchored by Spectrum Mobile's 428,000 net line additions and a 13.1% surge in mobile service revenue to $973.00 million. Internet customer losses narrowed considerably to 119,000 from 177,000 a year ago, and a surprising addition of 44,000 video subscribers reversed a prior-year decline of 123,000, reflecting early benefits from simplified pricing and streaming app bundling. With intense competition intensifying across the wireless sector, Charter's converged network strategy appears to be gaining traction. Looking ahead, the company plans $11.40 billion in 2026 capital expenditures as it targets full network evolution completion by 2027.