Charter Announces Second Quarter 2025 Results

Core Insights - Charter Communications reported a revenue growth of 0.6% year-over-year for the second quarter of 2025, totaling $13.8 billion, driven by increases in residential mobile service and Internet revenues [4][16][52] - The company experienced a decline in total customer relationships by 2.0% year-over-year, with a total of 31.2 million customer relationships as of June 30, 2025 [3][4] - Adjusted EBITDA for the second quarter was $5.7 billion, reflecting a 0.5% increase year-over-year, while net income attributable to Charter shareholders rose to $1.3 billion [4][28][31] Financial Performance - Total revenues for the second quarter of 2025 were $13.8 billion, up from $13.7 billion in the same quarter of 2024, with notable growth in mobile service revenue by 24.9% and Internet revenue by 2.8% [4][16][19][21] - Video revenue decreased by 9.9% year-over-year to $3.5 billion, attributed to a decline in video customers and a higher mix of lower-priced video packages [20][52] - Free cash flow decreased to $1.0 billion from $1.3 billion in the prior year, primarily due to unfavorable changes in mobile device working capital [4][35] Customer Metrics - As of June 30, 2025, Charter served approximately 29.9 million Internet customers, a decrease of 117,000 from the previous quarter [4][7] - Total mobile lines increased by 500,000 in the second quarter, reaching 10.9 million, indicating strong growth in mobile services [4][9] - Total video customers decreased by 80,000, showing an improvement compared to a decline of 408,000 in the same quarter of 2024 [8][4] Operational Highlights - Charter's estimated passings increased by 2.5% year-over-year to 57.5 million, indicating expansion in service availability [3] - The company activated 123,000 subsidized rural passings during the second quarter, contributing to customer relationship growth in underserved areas [11] - Spectrum launched a new pricing strategy in September 2024, which has begun to yield positive results in customer retention and service adoption [6][8] Capital Expenditures and Investments - Capital expenditures for the second quarter totaled $2.9 billion, with expectations for full-year 2025 capital expenditures to be approximately $11.5 billion [4][32][33] - The company repurchased 4.5 million shares of its common stock for $1.7 billion during the quarter, reflecting a commitment to returning value to shareholders [4][37] Strategic Initiatives - Charter is focusing on network evolution and convergence, with investments aimed at enhancing service offerings and customer experience [2][4] - The company announced a definitive agreement with Cox Communications to combine their businesses, aiming to create a leader in mobile and broadband communications [4]