Charter Communications CHTR is scheduled to report its second-quarter 2026 results on July 24.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for second-quarter 2026 revenues is pegged at $13.52 billion, indicating a decline of 1.77% from the figure reported in the year-ago quarter.
The consensus mark for earnings is pinned at $10.17 per share, which has been revised downward by 2.21% over the past 30 days. The figure suggests a 10.78% increase from the year-ago reported figure.
Charter Communications, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Charter Communications, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Charter Communications, Inc. Quote
CHTR missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings in all the trailing four quarters, with an average negative surprise of 6.95%.
Let us see how things are shaping up for the upcoming announcement.
Factors to Consider
Charter Communications is expected to have delivered a soft second-quarter 2026 performance, with mobile growth losing steam and broadband weakness persisting. Mobile line additions are expected to have remained positive but are likely to have decelerated further, as intensified device subsidy activity from AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile, including aggressive iPhone promotions, is expected to have pressured gross adds and elevated disconnects despite Spectrum Mobile's converged pricing advantage. Video customer losses, which had narrowed sharply in the first quarter, are expected to have widened again as the benefit of late 2024 pricing and packaging changes continues to fade, leaving the segment exposed to structural decline.
Elevated network investment is expected to have remained a drag on free cash flow during the quarter, with 2026 capital expenditures still guided at approximately $11.4 billion as Charter continues funding DOCSIS 4.0 upgrades, symmetrical speed rollouts and the Invincible WiFi expansion, offering limited near-term financial payoff.
Broadband is expected to have remained the central weak point in the quarter, with continued fiber overbuild and fixed wireless substitution weighing on Internet net additions, a top-of-funnel issue management has yet to show it can reverse. Transition expenses tied to the pending Cox acquisition, which was still awaiting final California regulatory clearance heading into the quarter, are expected to have further weighed on reported profitability.
EBITDA is expected to have faced renewed pressure, given difficult year-over-year comparisons, the absence of a meaningful political advertising benefit and rising integration-related costs, extending Charter's recent pattern of falling short of Wall Street estimates.
What Our Model Says
According to the Zacks model, the combination of a positive Earnings ESP and Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy), or 3 (Hold) increases the odds of an earnings beat. But that is not the case here.
Charter currently has an Earnings ESP of -5.22% and a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell). You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they are reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.
Stocks to Consider
Here are some stocks worth considering, as our model shows that these have the right combination of elements to beat on earnings this reporting cycle.
Amphenol APH has an Earnings ESP of +1.12% and a Zacks Rank #1 at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Amphenol shares have gained 16.8% year to date. Amphenol is scheduled to report its second-quarter 2026 results on July 29.
ASE Technology ASX has an Earnings ESP of +21.21% and a Zacks Rank #2.
ASE Technology shares have surged 148.5% year to date. ASE Technology is set to report its second-quarter 2026 results on July 30.
Fortive FTV has an Earnings ESP of +2.82% and a Zacks Rank #2 at present.
Fortive shares have gained 9.9% in the year-to-date period. Fortive is set to report second-quarter 2026 results on July 29.
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Charter Communications, Inc. (CHTR): Free Stock Analysis Report
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).