Charter Communications, which offers TV, internet and wireless services under the Spectrum consumer brand, reported fourth-quarter results that exceeded Wall Street expectations.
Earnings per share of $10.10 soared above analysts’ consensus outlook of $9.22. Revenue of $13.9 billion edged the forecast for $13.88 billion.
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The company shed 177,000 internet customers during the period ended Dec. 31, finishing with 30.1 million. Charter also lost 123,000 video subscribers in the quarter, less than half the drop of 257,000 a year ago. The company ended 2024 with 12.3 million subscribers, down almost 9% from the end of 2023. Charter remains the No. 1 U.S. pay-TV operator, but YouTube TV has gained millions of customers over the past couple of years, surpassing 8 million in 2024, as established players continue to see their TV footprints shrink.
The company credited residential mobile service revenue growth of 37% and a 26% rise in ad sales revenue as two key drivers of overall revenue growth.
Shares of Charter rose 3% in pre-market trading Friday after the earnings news. They had slumped 6% Thursday along with the stocks of other broadband providers in the wake of Comcast’s quarterly earnings report. Comcast disclosed higher broadband subscriber losses than Wall Street had been expecting, rattling investors given the long-established consistency of broadband as a counter-weight to the shrinking pay-TV business. Charter shares have fallen 12% over the past year.
On the pay-TV front, Charter is continuing to try to revise the longtime role of distributors given the overall effect of cord-cutting. The company gained wide attention in 2023 for taking a stand with Disney in a carriage negotiation, allowing ESPN, ABC and other networks to go dark for 10 days in late-summer. The companies wound up compromising and the signals were turned back on, but only after CEO Chris Winfrey had warned of a potential “‘moving on’ scenario with a completely different video product structure.” A few smaller, regional operators have abandoned pay-TV in favor of broadband. All providers, including giants Comcast and Charter, have been hurt by large telecom firms like AT&T and Verizon luring customers away with fiber-based internet service as an alternative to broadband.
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