What Happened?
Shares of cable, internet, and telephone services provider Charter (NASDAQ: CHTR) fell 25% in the afternoon session after the company reported disappointing first-quarter results.
Earnings per share fell below Wall Street's expectations while sales and operating income were roughly in line. The most alarming metric for investors was the loss of 120,000 broadband customers, a sharp increase from the 59,000 lost in the same period last year, signaling deepening competitive pressure in its core business. Beyond subscriber churn, revenue dipped 1% to $13.6 billion as traditional video revenue plunged over 9% due to persistent cord-cutting.
Meanwhile, capital expenditures surged 19% to $2.9 billion as the company invests heavily in network upgrades, which further squeezed free cash flow. This combination of shrinking margins and a deteriorating customer base left investors skeptical of Charter's growth trajectory, triggering the massive sell-off.
The shares closed the day at $180.21, down 25.5% from previous close.
The stock market overreacts to news, and big price drops can present good opportunities to buy high-quality stocks. Is now the time to buy Charter? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
What Is The Market Telling Us
Charter’s shares are not very volatile and have only had 8 moves greater than 5% over the last year. Moves this big are rare for Charter and indicate this news significantly impacted the market’s perception of the business.
The previous big move we wrote about was 9 days ago when the stock gained 2.6% as the company announced the launch of its Spectrum TV App on Google TV and other devices running Android TV's operating system, expanding its streaming service's reach.
The app, which was made available at no extra cost to Spectrum TV customers, offered features like live TV with pause capabilities, Cloud DVR, and On-Demand content. This expansion made the service accessible on a wider range of popular devices from manufacturers such as Hisense, Philips, Sony, and TCL. According to the company, its Spectrum TV App was already the most-viewed streaming service based on hours-per-household and the highest-rated pay TV streaming app, suggesting the move could further boost its user base.
Charter is down 14.1% since the beginning of the year, and at $179.73 per share, it is trading 57.9% below its 52-week high of $427.25 from May 2025. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Charter’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at only $275.41.
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