Charter Communications (CHTR)
Communication Services · $21.0B market cap · SEC CIK 0001091667
fundamentals score out of 100
Next reports on Oct 29, 2026, with analysts expecting $10.03 in earnings per share.
The case for CHTR
- Cheap on earnings at 4.3×, well under the market's usual 20×.
- Earns 30% back on shareholder equity.
- Free cash flow of 21.1% of its market value a year: a lot of cash for the price.
- A PEG of 0.78: a P/E of 4.3× is low for EPS growing 5%.
- Trades at 1.03× book value, close to what the balance sheet says it owns.
- Moves less than the market (beta 0.73).
The case against
- Down 53.0% over the past year.
- Long-term debt of $94.0B would take 6 years of operating cash flow to repay.
- Revenue was flat on the year (-1.5%).
- Current liabilities exceed current assets (ratio 0.36).
- Near the bottom of its 52-week range, 59% below the high. Falling prices usually have a reason; find it first.
What the score is made of
Each factor is half a curve over reported figures and half a rank among the other Communication Services companies (momentum is judged against fixed thresholds only), and the five are blended by weight. It describes the last filing and the current price. It is not a forecast.
| Valuewhat you pay for the earnings, sales, assets and cash | 94 |
|---|---|
| Growthhow fast revenue and earnings are moving, this year and over five | 31 |
| Profitabilityhow much of the revenue becomes profit, and how much of that is cash | 54 |
| Momentumhow the price has behaved lately | 17 |
| Stabilityhow violently it moves, what it owes and what it pays you | 37 |
- Each factor except momentum is half fixed thresholds, half rank among the 19 Communication Services companies.
Key numbers
| Price / earnings | 4.3× |
|---|---|
| Price / book | 1.03× |
| Price / sales | 0.4× |
| Revenue growth (YoY) | -1.5% |
| EPS growth (YoY) | +5.5% |
| Gross margin | 47% |
| Operating margin | 24% |
| Net margin | 9% |
| Return on equity | 30% |
| Debt / equity | 5.70× |
| Current ratio | 0.36 |
| Dividend yield | none |
| Beta | 0.73 |
| 52-week range | $111.55 – $285.82 |
| Position in that range | 3% of the way up |
| 3-month return | -2.3% |
| 1-year return | -53.0% |
Five years of financials, as filed
Pulled from Charter Communications's XBRL filings on SEC EDGAR. Italic rows are derived from the rows above.
| FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $54.8B | $55.1B | $54.6B | $54.0B | $51.7B |
| Operating income | $12.9B | $13.1B | $12.6B | $12.0B | $10.5B |
| Net income | $5.0B | $5.1B | $4.6B | $5.1B | $4.7B |
| Operating cash flow | $16.1B | $14.4B | $14.4B | $14.9B | $16.2B |
| Capital expenditure | $11.7B | $11.3B | $11.1B | $9.4B | $7.6B |
| Total assets | $154B | $150B | $147B | $145B | $142B |
| Shareholder equity | $16.1B | $15.6B | $11.1B | $9.1B | $14.1B |
| Cash | $477M | $459M | $709M | $645M | $601M |
| Long-term debt | $94.0B | $92.1B | $95.8B | $96.1B | $88.6B |
| Free cash flow | $4.4B | $3.2B | $3.3B | $5.5B | $8.6B |
| Operating margin | 23.6% | 23.8% | 23.0% | 22.1% | 20.4% |
| Net margin | 9.1% | 9.2% | 8.3% | 9.4% | 9.0% |
| Diluted shares | 138M | 145M | 152M | 164M | 193M |
Share count is down 28.6% over 4 years. Buybacks have been shrinking the pie.
What Charter Communications says it does
— Products and Services" for further description of these services, including customer statistics for different services. During the year ended December 31, 2025, we added 1.9 million mobile lines while Internet and video losses improved as compared to the prior year period. Sales were challenged by the competitive environment but were offset by lower customer churn. We remain focused on improving customer results through our brand platform, Life Unlimited which emphasizes the power of our advanced fiber-powered network and cutting-edge connectivity products and services, and our simplified pricing and packaging strategy that better utilizes our seamless connectivity and entertainment products to offer lower promotional and persistent bundled pricing to drive growth. Our Internet and mobile product bundles provide a differentiated connectivity experience by bringing together Spectrum Internet, Advanced WiFi and Unlimited Spectrum…
Risk factors CHTR lists in its 10-K
- Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates
- Capitalization of labor and overhead costs
- Valuation and impairment of franchises and goodwill
- Net income attributable to noncontrolling interest
- Net income attributable to Charter shareholders
- Historical Operating, Investing, and Financing Activities
- Charter Communications Operating, LLC
- Recently Issued Accounting Standards
- Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk
- Financial Statements and Supplementary Data
- Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure
- Conclusion Regarding the Effectiveness of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
- Management’s Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
- Internal Control — Integrated Framework