Charter Communications Inc N — Financial Results
Mobile Is the Standout Growth Engine, Adding 1.9 Million Lines
| Metric | 2025 | 2024 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mobile service revenue | $3,762M | $3,083M | +22.0% |
| Mobile lines added | 1.9M | — | — |
Mobile is clearly Charter's fastest-growing product. Revenue jumped 22% year-over-year, driven entirely by adding customers rather than raising prices (rates actually dipped slightly). For a company whose core cable business is under pressure, mobile represents a meaningful new revenue stream that is growing faster than its associated costs.
Overall Revenue Edged Down While the Core Internet Business Held Up
| Metric | 2025 | 2024 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total revenue | $54,774M | $55,085M | -0.6% |
| Internet revenue | $23,765M | $23,360M | +1.7% |
| Video revenue | $13,703M | $15,129M | -9.4% |
Total revenue fell slightly, but the story underneath matters more. Internet — Charter's most important product — grew 1.7% even as the company lost 393,000 residential Internet customers, because each remaining customer is paying more. Video continued its long-term decline, down 9.4%, as customers cut traditional TV packages.
Free Cash Flow Jumped 18%, Supported by a Tax Law Windfall
| Metric | 2025 | 2024 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free cash flow | $5,004M | $4,257M | +$747M |
| Decrease in cash taxes | $669M | — | — |
Free cash flow (cash generated after capital spending) rose by $747 million. The biggest single contributor was $669 million in lower taxes paid, largely thanks to the July 2025 "One Big Beautiful Bill Act," which restored 100% bonus depreciation and other business tax breaks. This boosted cash in 2025 but may not repeat at the same level going forward.
Capital Spending Remains Enormous, Focused on Network Upgrades and Rural Expansion
| Metric | 2025 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Total capital expenditures | $11,659M | $11,269M |
| Subsidized rural construction | $2,208M | $2,152M |
Charter is investing heavily to upgrade its network to deliver faster, symmetrical (equal upload and download) speeds across its entire footprint — a program it calls network evolution. It also spent $2.2 billion building out broadband in rural areas, activating roughly 483,000 new rural homes that can now receive service. The company expects to spend approximately $11.4 billion on capital again in 2026.
Debt Load Is Large but Being Actively Managed
Charter carries $94.6 billion in total debt — a substantial figure for any company. However, its leverage ratio (net debt divided by Adjusted EBITDA) stood at 4.15 times at year-end, within its stated comfort range of 4.0–4.5 times. The company refinanced portions of its debt in 2025 and early 2026, pushing maturities further out and reducing near-term repayment pressure. Interest expense also fell by $187 million year-over-year.
Charter Is Buying Back Its Own Stock Aggressively
In 2025, Charter repurchased approximately 12.3 million shares of its own stock for roughly $3.8 billion — more than four times the prior year's buyback pace of $822 million for 2.7 million shares. Since its buyback program began in 2016, the company has spent approximately $78.8 billion repurchasing shares. Buybacks reduce the share count, which can increase earnings per share (profit divided across fewer shares) — Charter's diluted EPS rose from $34.97 to $36.21 despite net income falling slightly.