Loading...
01/11 03:24
Loading...
Access earnings results, analyst expectations, report, slides, earnings call, and transcript.
The earnings call presents a mixed picture. Financial performance shows modest revenue growth and increased EBITDA, but customer retention issues and competitive pressures in mobile and broadband sectors are concerning. The share repurchase program is a positive, but economic factors and natural disasters pose risks. The Q&A reveals management's confidence in their strategy and minimal impact from tariffs, but unclear responses on KPIs and tariffs raise uncertainties. Overall, the sentiment is neutral due to balanced positives and negatives, with no strong catalyst for significant stock price movement.
Revenue Consolidated first quarter revenue was up 0.4% year-over-year, driven by a 1.4% growth in total commercial revenue and a 2.1% increase in residential revenue per customer relationship, despite a 0.1% decline in total residential revenue.
Adjusted EBITDA First quarter adjusted EBITDA grew by 4.8% year-over-year, driven by strong contributions from mobile growth and improved service quality, despite a decline in advertising revenue.
Net Income Net income attributable to Charter shareholders was $1.2 billion, up from $1.1 billion last year, attributed to higher adjusted EBITDA and lower interest expense, offset by a non-cash impairment.
Capital Expenditures Capital expenditures totaled $2.4 billion, down about $400 million from last year's first quarter, driven by timing of CPE spend and network evolution.
Free Cash Flow First quarter free cash flow totaled $1.6 billion, an increase of approximately $1.2 billion compared to last year's first quarter, primarily driven by lower capital expenditures, higher EBITDA, and lower cash interest.
Debt Principal Finished the quarter with $93.6 billion in debt principal, with a weighted average cost of debt at 5.2%.
Share Repurchase Repurchased 2.1 million shares totaling $750 million at an average price per share of $365.
Net Debt to EBITDA Ratio The ratio of net debt to last 12-month adjusted EBITDA moved down to 4.06 times, reflecting a decline in leverage.
Spectrum Mobile Lines Added: Added over 500,000 Spectrum Mobile lines in Q1 2025, totaling over 2.1 million lines over the last year, achieving a line growth of over 25%.
Gigabit Internet Service: Adding 2x1 gigabit per second service to recently upgraded markets this year, with plans for 5 gig and 10 gigabit per second service in future phases.
Seamless Entertainment Launch: Launch of seamless entertainment apps is expected to enhance video performance and customer engagement.
Rural Expansion: Grew subsidized rural passings by 89,000 in Q1 2025, totaling over 400,000 in the last 12 months, with expectations of approximately 450,000 rural passings growth in 2025.
Market Positioning: Positioned as the fastest-growing mobile provider in the U.S. with competitive pricing and service offerings.
Operational Efficiency: Adjusted EBITDA grew by 4.8% year-over-year, driven by mobile growth and improved service quality through employee and technology investments.
Cost Reduction: Cable billing and repair calls down 15% year-over-year, with service truck rolls down 6%, indicating improved operational efficiency.
Employee Stock Purchase Plan: New employee stock purchase plan to be announced, allowing eligible employees to purchase Charter stock with matching restricted stock units.
Life Unlimited Brand Refresh: Launched Life Unlimited brand refresh and new customer commitment, focusing on reliability and same-day service.
Competitive Pressures: The operating environment remains competitive, with challenges in maintaining market share and customer growth, particularly in the mobile and broadband sectors.
Regulatory Issues: The company is assessing the potential impact of new tariffs but does not expect them to significantly affect capital expenditures or the P&L.
Supply Chain Challenges: The company is working with equipment vendors to minimize the impact of tariffs on capital expenditures and maintain the health of the cable equipment ecosystem.
Economic Factors: The advertising revenue declined by 12.9%, primarily due to a less favorable political advertising market, indicating challenges in the broader economic environment.
Natural Disasters: The Los Angeles wildfires resulted in approximately 9,000 customer disconnects and incurred incremental expenses, although the first quarter adjusted EBITDA was not significantly impacted.
Customer Retention: The company lost 60,000 Internet customers in the first quarter, indicating challenges in customer retention despite improvements in churn rates for video and mobile.
Mobile Growth: Added over 500,000 Spectrum Mobile lines in Q1 2025, with over 2.1 million lines added over the last year, achieving a line growth of over 25%.
Fiber Expansion: Continued expansion of fiber overlap, although new fiber builds are expected to yield poor financial returns.
Employee Stock Purchase Plan: New employee stock purchase plan to be announced, allowing eligible employees to purchase Charter stock with matching restricted stock units.
AI Investments: Investments in machine learning and AI aimed at improving customer service and operational efficiency.
Life Unlimited Brand Refresh: Launched in September 2024, focusing on reliability and same-day service commitments.
Network Evolution: Plans to deliver 5 gig and 10 gigabit per second service as part of network upgrades.
2025 Capital Expenditures: Expected to reach approximately $12 billion, with no changes to multiyear capital outlook.
2025 Cash Taxes: Expected cash tax payments between $1.6 billion and $2 billion.
Free Cash Flow Growth: Expected significant improvements in free cash flow driven by reduced capital expenditures and increased EBITDA.
Debt Management: Plan to gradually increase leverage to the middle of the 4 to 4.5 times range pro forma for the Liberty transaction.
EBITDA Growth: Plan to grow EBITDA in 2025 with strong contributions from mobile business and efficiency improvements.
Share Repurchase Program: During the quarter, Charter repurchased 2.1 million shares and Charter Holdings common units, totaling $750 million at an average price per share of $365.
The earnings call reflects a mixed sentiment. While there's optimism about EBITDA growth, free cash flow surge, and the Cox acquisition, there are concerns about declining advertising revenue and significant upcoming EBITDA decline. The Q&A highlighted competitive challenges and unclear timelines for improvements. The strategic plan suggests potential positive impacts from tax savings and network evolution, but the lack of strong positive catalysts like new partnerships or record revenues tempers expectations. Overall, the sentiment is balanced, leading to a neutral prediction for stock price movement.
All transcripts are sourced directly from the official live webcast or the company’s official investor relations website. We use the exact words spoken during the call with no paraphrasing of the core discussion.
Full verbatim transcripts are typically published within 4–12 hours after the call ends. Same-day availability is guaranteed for all S&P 500 and most mid-cap companies.
No material content is ever changed or summarized in the “Full Transcript” section. We only correct obvious spoken typos (e.g., “um”, “ah”, repeated 10 times”, or clear misspoken ticker symbols) and add speaker names/titles for readability. Every substantive sentence remains 100% as spoken.
When audio quality is poor or multiple speakers talk over each other, we mark the section instead of guessing. This ensures complete accuracy rather than introducing potential errors.
They are generated by a specialized financial-language model trained exclusively on 15+ years of earnings transcripts. The model extracts financial figures, guidance, and tone with 97%+ accuracy and is regularly validated against human analysts. The full raw transcript always remains available for verification.
