On July 25, 2025, %CharterCommunications, Inc. (NASDAQ: $CHTR), a leading broadband and cable provider operating under the Spectrum brand, experienced a sharp decline in its share price, dropping 11% in pre-market trading. The plunge followed the company’s second-quarter earnings report, which revealed a deeper-than-expected loss of 117,000 broadband subscribers, surpassing Wall Street’s projected loss of 73,250. This marked a significant setback for Charter, which has been grappling with intensifying competition from 5G and fiber home internet offerings by mobile providers.
The company also reported a loss of 80,000 video subscribers, reflecting the ongoing trend of cord-cutting as consumers shift toward streaming platforms like YouTube. Despite these losses, Charter’s subscriber retention showed improvement compared to the previous year, when it lost 149,000 broadband and 408,000 video subscribers, partly due to the expiration of the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), a federal subsidy that supported low-income households.
Charter’s earnings per share fell short of expectations, further fueling investor concerns. However, the company reported a 5% growth in converged connectivity revenue, with CEO Chris Winfrey emphasizing long-term growth potential through competitive pricing and high-speed offerings. Charter also revised its full-year 2025 capital expenditure guidance downward to $11.5 billion from $12 billion, citing reduced costs in rural expansion and commercial build-outs.
The broader cable industry faces challenges from fixed wireless access and fiber competitors, as evidenced by rival Comcast’s recent loss of 139,000 broadband customers. Charter’s stock drop underscores the market’s sensitivity to subscriber trends and the competitive pressures reshaping the telecommunications landscape.
