Charter Posts $6.3 Billion Franchise Impairment After Cox Close

The Tip Desk · November 6, 2026 · 4 min read

Pro forma revenue was $16.5 billion, down 1.5%, as the company booked a $6.3 billion franchise impairment and launched a $2 billion savings plan.

Charter Communications (CHTR) reported a $6.3 billion franchise impairment in the third quarter, flipping pro forma results to a $2.1 billion net loss attributable to shareholders from net income of $1.0 billion a year earlier. Actual net loss was $2.4 billion, or $20.50 a share, versus income of $8.50 a share. The company said the year-over-year swing was primarily the impairment, partly offset by a $1.4 billion gain on debt extinguishment.

The broadband operator completed its Cox Communications transactions on August 19, adding more than 11 million passings and over 5 million customer relationships. Actual results include Cox only from August 20 through September 30. On September 16 it launched Spectrum products, pricing and packaging across the legacy Cox footprint.

On a pro forma basis, third-quarter revenue of $16.5 billion declined 1.5% year-over-year, after a 1.7% decline in the second quarter. Actual revenue was $14.9 billion, up 9.1%, driven by the Cox Transactions. Pro forma Adjusted EBITDA of $6.6 billion declined 4.0% year-over-year, or 3.0% excluding transition expenses. Actual Adjusted EBITDA was $5.9 billion.

The company said pro forma revenue was driven by lower residential video revenue, mostly from higher costs allocated to programmer streaming applications and netted within video, and lower residential Internet revenue, partly offset by higher mobile device revenue, residential mobile service revenue and advertising sales. Excluding advertising and those streaming-application costs, total revenue declined 1.0%.

Pro forma residential revenue of $12.2 billion declined 4.1%, reflecting a 2.7% drop in residential customers and a 1.6% decline in monthly residential revenue per residential customer to $117.85. Excluding the streaming-application costs, residential revenue declined 2.6% and monthly residential ARPU declined 0.1%. The company attributed the ARPU decline to pricing and packaging mix, $286 million of streaming-application costs versus $106 million a year earlier, and a decline in video customers, partly offset by Spectrum Mobile growth.

Internet customers declined 233,000 on a pro forma basis, including 156,000 at legacy Charter and 77,000 at legacy Cox, versus a 171,000 pro forma decline a year earlier. Legacy Charter lost 156,000 versus 109,000 a year earlier. Pro forma Internet revenue of $7.1 billion declined 3.7%.

Mobile lines increased 508,000 on a pro forma basis, versus an increase of 514,000 a year earlier; legacy Charter added 440,000. As of September 30, Charter served 13.5 million mobile lines. Pro forma mobile service revenue of $1.2 billion increased 17.3%.

Video customers decreased 77,000 on a pro forma basis, compared with a 121,000 decline a year earlier; legacy Charter lost 38,000 versus 70,000 a year earlier. The company said the improvement was driven by programmers’ streaming applications in expanded basic video packages and simplified pricing. Pro forma video revenue of $3.6 billion declined 9.8%, including the $286 million of streaming-application costs versus $106 million a year earlier; excluding those costs, video revenue declined 5.2%.

Pro forma advertising sales revenue of $487 million increased 21.0% on higher political advertising; excluding political advertising in both periods, advertising sales revenue decreased 5.2%. Pro forma other revenue of $1.1 billion increased 18.1%, primarily from higher mobile device sales.

Pro forma capital expenditures declined to $3.2 billion from $3.6 billion a year earlier. Actual capital expenditures totaled $3.0 billion. Charter expects pro forma full-year 2026 capital expenditures, excluding transition capital expenditures, of approximately $13.0 billion. Actual free cash flow of $674 million declined $947 million versus the year-ago quarter. Operating cash flow was $4.0 billion.

Charter announced a new operating model and a $2 billion annualized run-rate operating-expense savings plan over the next 18 months, in addition to more than $1 billion in anticipated Cox synergies. Transition expenses for Cox integration totaled $76 million. The company said the savings program will focus on eliminating nonessential activities, simplifying structures and vendor partnerships, and that the initiatives are expected to support significantly higher free cash flow generation over time.