Charter Communications (CHTR) Lost 172,000 Internet Subscribers in Q2 2026 as Broadband Competition Bites

Charter Communications (NASDAQ: CHTR) lost 172,000 internet subscribers in the second quarter of 2026, a steeper decline than the 116,000 it shed in the same period a year ago, underscoring the competitive pressure bearing down on its core broadband business. Total revenue fell 1.7% year-over-year to $13.5 billion, while Adjusted EBITDA of $5.4 billion declined 4.3% year-over-year. Shares fell -2.52% on Friday, July 25, while the S&P 500 gained 0.10%.

Q2 2026 Operating Results

• Internet subscribers: Total internet customers fell to 29.4 million, with net quarterly losses of 172,000, compared to a loss of 116,000 in Q2 2025.
• Mobile lines: Charter added 406,000 Spectrum Mobile lines in the quarter, bringing its total to 12.5 million, up 15.5% year-over-year from 10.9 million.
• Video customers: Declined by 21,000 in Q2 2026, a marked improvement from the 80,000 lost in Q2 2025, with total video customers at 12.5 million.
• Total customer relationships: Declined by 184,000 in the quarter, versus a decline of 100,000 in Q2 2025, with total relationships at 31.5 million.
• Free cash flow: $969 million, down $77 million versus the prior year period.

What Drove the Results

Internet revenue fell 3.2% year-over-year to $5.776 billion, reflecting both subscriber attrition and pricing pressure, while video revenue dropped 9.7% to $3.149 billion. The one clear bright spot was Spectrum Mobile, where service revenue rose 18.9% year-over-year to $1.095 billion, reflecting the continued ramp of Charter's converged connectivity strategy. Monthly residential revenue per residential customer declined to $117.52 from $119.70 a year earlier, a 1.8% contraction.

Net income attributable to Charter shareholders totaled $1.3 billion in the quarter. Capital expenditures were $2.9 billion, while net cash flows from operating activities rose to $3.9 billion from $3.6 billion in the prior year period. During the quarter, Charter repurchased 4.0 million shares of Class A common stock for $838 million, and also bought back $1.2 billion in aggregate principal of Charter Communications Operating and CCO Holdings notes for $1.0 billion in cash.

Why It Matters

Charter's broadband subscriber trajectory is the critical variable for the business, since internet is the highest-margin product in its portfolio. The acceleration in internet customer losses from 116,000 in Q2 2025 to 172,000 in Q2 2026 reflects an increasingly competitive fixed broadband environment. On the positive side, the video customer decline of just 21,000 compared to 80,000 a year ago suggests that packaging changes, including the addition of streaming applications such as Disney+, HBO Max, Paramount+, and Netflix access via the Spectrum App Store, are slowing traditional video cord-cutting.

CEO Chris Winfrey noted in the company's release that Charter intends to complete its network evolution initiative, which is rolling out symmetrical and multi-gigabit internet speeds across its footprint, by 2027. Charter also activated 127,000 subsidized rural passings in the quarter, with customer relationships in its subsidized rural footprint growing by 47,000.

Wall Street View

Analyst sentiment on Charter heading into the results was cautious, with the most recent consensus reflecting 15 Hold ratings alongside a mix of Buy and Sell views. The pending acquisition of Cox Communications remains a key reshaping event for investor expectations, as the transaction would add scale to Charter's converged connectivity platform.

Investor Takeaway

The Q2 2026 results present a dual narrative: mobile is growing at a meaningful clip, and video losses are slowing, but the core internet business is losing subscribers at an accelerating rate, which is the metric most critical to Charter's long-term cash flow profile. With the Cox Communications transaction pending and the network evolution set to complete in 2027, the near-term financial picture remains under pressure, and investors will be watching closely whether the network upgrade and expanded mobile offering can reverse internet subscriber losses before those trends compound further.