Charter Communications
CHTR Nasdaq Cable & Satellite Financials FY2016–FY2025
Charter Communications' revenue fell 0.6% to $54.8 billion in fiscal 2025. Its operating margin was 23.6%, down from 23.8% a year earlier. Free cash flow was $4.4 billion, up 39.8%. It paid out $5.1 billion in dividends and buybacks, 116% of free cash flow. The diluted share count fell 5.2%.
What Charter Communications does
Charter Communications sells internet, mobile, TV and voice services to homes and businesses under the Spectrum brand. Its services are available to 58 million homes and small to large businesses across 41 states. Founded in 1993, it began in cable TV and now sells broadband, WiFi and mobile service over its fiber-powered network. It uses Xumo stream boxes for TV viewing.
Charter earns most of its money from monthly fees. Approximately 89% of its revenues in 2025 came from subscription fees that customers pay for internet, mobile, video, voice and commercial services, and for regional sports and news channels. Customers can usually cancel at any time. Spectrum Mobile is available to Spectrum Internet customers on plans without contracts. Its strategy is to sell more products to each customer and keep customers longer.
It is upgrading its network for faster, multi-gigabit speeds, work it expects to be largely complete by the end of 2027. Since the start of 2022 it has spent $7.7 billion on a subsidized rural construction program to reach unserved areas. Its 10-K also discusses pending deals with Liberty Broadband and Cox Communications.
- Legal name
- Charter Communications, Inc.
- Fiscal year ends
- December 31, 2025
- Latest annual report
- 10-K · Jan 30, 2026
- Accession · CIK
- 0001091667-26-000017
0001091667
Revenue and margins
Charter Communications had $54.8B of revenue in fiscal 2025, down 0.6% on the year before.
Net income and earnings per share
From fiscal 2016 to 2025, diluted EPS grew 9.5% a year. Loss periods are shown in red.
Returns on capital
After-tax operating income as a share of the money invested in the business: debt plus equity, minus cash.
Cash flow
Free cash flow was $4.4B in fiscal 2025, 8.1% of revenue. Cash from operations minus capital spending.
Dividends, buybacks and share count
Charter Communications returned $5.1B to shareholders in fiscal 2025, 116% of free cash flow. The diluted share count fell 5.2%.
Value Charter Communications yourself
Change the assumptions and see what they imply per share. These are models, not forecasts or price targets — the answer depends entirely on what you put in.
Discounted cash flow
Value per share
—
Adds net cash of −$95.2B and divides by 137.7M diluted shares. Ten years of cash flows plus a terminal value, discounted to today.
Earnings multiple
Value per share
—
Reference multiples: today 2.8x · peers 13.1x · sector 17.3x.
Balance sheet
Cash, debt and the ratios that show how comfortably Charter Communications can carry it.
| Fiscal year end | FY21 | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash and short-term investments | $601M | $645M | $709M | $459M | $477M |
| Debt incl. finance leases | $91.6B | $97.6B | $98.2B | $94.7B | $95.7B |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 4.6x | 4.7x | 4.6x | 4.3x | 4.4x |
| Debt / equity | 6.5x | 10.7x | 8.9x | 6.1x | 6.0x |
| Interest coverage | 2.6x | 2.7x | 2.5x | 2.5x | 2.6x |
| Current ratio | 0.3x | 0.3x | 0.3x | 0.3x | 0.4x |
| Quick ratio | 0.3x | 0.3x | 0.3x | 0.3x | 0.4x |
| Total assets | $142.5B | $144.5B | $147.2B | $150.0B | $154.2B |
| Total liabilities | $124.3B | $132.0B | $132.5B | $130.3B | $133.7B |
| Shareholders' equity | $14.1B | $9.1B | $11.1B | $15.6B | $16.1B |
| Net debt (− = net cash) | $91.0B | $97.0B | $97.5B | $94.2B | $95.2B |
Insider trades
Open-market purchases and sales by officers, directors and 10% owners, from Form 4 filings. 'Plan' marks trades under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan.
Bought, 12 months
$3.8M
4 insiders
Sold, 12 months
$13.0M
2 insiders
Of sales under plans
0%
$0.0M
| Date | Insider | Trade | Shares | Price | Value | Filing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 27, 2026 | Thomas RutledgeDirector Emeritus | Sold | 18,200 | $146.94 | $2.7M | Form 4 |
| May 26, 2026 | Thomas RutledgeDirector Emeritus | Sold | 69,633 | $144.45 | $10.1M | Form 4 |
| May 15, 2026 | Mauricio RamosDirector | Bought | 9,929 | $140.93 | $1.4M | Form 4 |
| Apr 28, 2026 | Balan NairDirector | Bought | 1,000 | $175.46 | $0.2M | Form 4 |
| Apr 28, 2026 | Christopher L WinfreyPresident and CEO, Director | Bought | 6,936 | $172.23 | $1.2M | Form 4 |
| Apr 28, 2026 | Wade DavisDirector | Bought | 5,728 | $173.72 | $1.0M | Form 4 |
| Nov 5, 2025 | David C MerrittDirector | Sold | 1,200 | $226.18 | $0.3M | Form 4 |
Piotroski F-score
Nine pass/fail tests of profitability, funding and efficiency. 8–9 is strong, 0–2 weak.
| Test | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Net income is positive | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Cash from operations is positive | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Return on assets rose | ✕ | ✓ | ✕ |
| Cash from operations exceeds net income | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Debt fell relative to assets | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Current ratio rose | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Share count didn't rise | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Gross margin rose | — | — | — |
| Revenue rose relative to assets | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ |
| F-score | 5 / 8 | 7 / 8 | 6 / 8 |
| Accruals ratio | −6.8% | −6.3% | −7.3% |
| Altman Z'' | 0.01 | 0.17 | 0.26 |
Similar companies
Each company's latest fiscal year. Fiscal years end in different months, so periods don't line up exactly.
| Company | Market cap | Growth | Op. margin | FCF margin | ROIC | P/E | F-score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charter Communications CHTR | $13.2B | −0.6% | 23.6% | 8.1% | 8.7% | 2.8x | 6 | |
| Comcast CMCSA | $80.8B | −0.0% | 16.7% | 17.7% | 8.9% | 7.2x | 7 | Compare → |
| Versant Media Group VSNT | $4.4B | −5.3% | 19.0% | 27.7% | 8.7% | — | — | Compare → |
| Liberty Global LBTYA | $2.7B | 12.4% | −0.5% | −2.7% | −0.1% | — | 5 | Compare → |
| Netflix NFLX | $276.2B | 15.9% | 29.5% | 20.9% | 36.7% | 19.0x | 7 | Compare → |
10 years of figures
US$ millions unless stated. Hover a ratio's name for its definition.
| Fiscal year | FY16 | FY17 | FY18 | FY19 | FY20 | FY21 | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Income statement | ||||||||||
| Revenue | $29.0B | $41.6B | $43.6B | $45.8B | $48.1B | $51.7B | $54.0B | $54.6B | $55.1B | $54.8B |
| Operating income | $2.5B | $4.1B | $5.2B | $6.5B | $8.4B | $10.5B | $12.0B | $12.6B | $13.1B | $12.9B |
| Interest expense | $2.7B | $3.4B | $3.9B | $4.0B | $3.9B | $4.0B | $4.5B | $5.0B | $5.3B | $5.0B |
| Pretax income | $820M | $1.0B | $1.7B | $2.4B | $4.3B | $6.4B | $7.5B | $6.9B | $7.5B | $7.5B |
| Income tax | −$2.9B | −$9.1B | $180M | $439M | $626M | $1.1B | $1.6B | $1.6B | $1.6B | $1.7B |
| Net income | $3.5B | $9.9B | $1.2B | $1.7B | $3.2B | $4.7B | $5.1B | $4.6B | $5.1B | $5.0B |
| Diluted EPS | $15.94 | $34.09 | $5.22 | $7.45 | $15.40 | $24.47 | $30.74 | $29.99 | $34.97 | $36.21 |
| Diluted shares | 0.23B | 0.30B | 0.24B | 0.22B | 0.21B | 0.19B | 0.16B | 0.15B | 0.15B | 0.14B |
| Cash flow | ||||||||||
| Cash from operations | $8.0B | $12.0B | $11.8B | $11.7B | $14.6B | $16.2B | $14.9B | $14.4B | $14.4B | $16.1B |
| Capital expenditure | $5.3B | $8.7B | $9.1B | $7.2B | $7.4B | $7.6B | $9.4B | $11.1B | $11.3B | $11.7B |
| Free cash flow | $2.7B | $3.3B | $2.6B | $4.6B | $7.1B | $8.6B | $5.5B | $3.3B | $3.2B | $4.4B |
| Depreciation and amortization | $6.9B | $10.6B | $10.3B | $9.9B | $9.7B | $9.3B | $8.9B | $8.7B | $8.7B | $8.7B |
| Stock-based compensation | $244M | $261M | $285M | $315M | $351M | $430M | $470M | $692M | $651M | $673M |
| Acquisitions | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M |
| Share buybacks | $1.6B | $11.7B | $4.4B | $6.9B | $11.2B | $15.4B | $10.3B | $3.2B | $1.2B | $5.1B |
| Dividends paid | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M |
| Dividends and buybacks | $1.6B | $11.7B | $4.4B | $6.9B | $11.2B | $15.4B | $10.3B | $3.2B | $1.2B | $5.1B |
| Balance sheet | ||||||||||
| Cash and short-term investments | $1.5B | $621M | $551M | $3.5B | $1.0B | $601M | $645M | $709M | $459M | $477M |
| Total debt | $61.7B | $70.2B | $72.8B | $79.1B | $82.8B | $91.6B | $97.6B | $98.2B | $94.7B | $95.7B |
| Finance lease liabilities | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $62.0M | $63.0M | $64.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M |
| Current assets | $3.3B | $2.6B | $2.7B | $6.5B | $3.9B | $3.6B | $4.0B | $4.1B | $4.2B | $5.1B |
| Current liabilities | $9.6B | $11.1B | $12.1B | $12.4B | $9.9B | $12.5B | $12.1B | $13.2B | $13.5B | $13.3B |
| Inventory | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M |
| Property and equipment, net | $33.0B | $33.9B | $35.1B | $34.6B | $34.4B | $34.3B | $36.0B | $39.5B | $42.9B | $46.4B |
| Total assets | $149.1B | $146.6B | $146.1B | $148.2B | $144.2B | $142.5B | $144.5B | $147.2B | $150.0B | $154.2B |
| Total liabilities | $98.7B | $99.1B | $101.9B | $109.4B | $113.9B | $124.3B | $132.0B | $132.5B | $130.3B | $133.7B |
| Shareholders' equity | $40.1B | $39.1B | $36.3B | $31.4B | $23.8B | $14.1B | $9.1B | $11.1B | $15.6B | $16.1B |
| Margins | ||||||||||
| Operating margin | 8.5% | 9.9% | 12.0% | 14.2% | 17.5% | 20.4% | 22.1% | 23.0% | 23.8% | 23.6% |
| EBITDA margin | 32.3% | 35.3% | 35.6% | 35.9% | 37.7% | 38.5% | 38.6% | 38.9% | 39.6% | 39.5% |
| Net margin | 12.1% | 23.8% | 2.8% | 3.6% | 6.7% | 9.0% | 9.4% | 8.4% | 9.2% | 9.1% |
| FCF margin | 9.4% | 7.9% | 6.1% | 10.0% | 14.9% | 16.7% | 10.3% | 6.1% | 5.7% | 8.1% |
| Returns | ||||||||||
| Return on capital | 3.4% | 3.6% | 4.0% | 4.6% | 6.3% | 7.9% | 8.6% | 8.7% | 9.1% | 8.7% |
| Return on capital employed | 2.8% | 3.0% | 3.9% | 4.8% | 6.2% | 8.0% | 9.1% | 9.4% | 9.7% | 9.3% |
| Return on equity | 17.6% | 25.0% | 3.3% | 4.9% | 11.7% | 24.6% | 43.6% | 45.1% | 38.1% | 31.5% |
| Return on assets | 3.7% | 6.7% | 0.8% | 1.1% | 2.2% | 3.3% | 3.5% | 3.1% | 3.4% | 3.3% |
| Growth | ||||||||||
| Revenue growth | 197.3% | 43.4% | 4.9% | 4.9% | 5.1% | 7.5% | 4.5% | 1.1% | 0.9% | −0.6% |
| Net income growth | — | 181.0% | −87.6% | 35.6% | 93.2% | 44.4% | 8.6% | −9.9% | 11.5% | −1.9% |
| EPS growth | — | 113.9% | −84.7% | 42.7% | 106.7% | 58.9% | 25.6% | −2.4% | 16.6% | 3.6% |
| FCF growth | 423.3% | 20.5% | −19.3% | 72.3% | 57.0% | 20.4% | −35.5% | −40.2% | −4.7% | 39.8% |
| Share count change | 132.1% | 26.4% | −20.6% | −5.0% | −6.5% | −7.8% | −14.8% | −7.6% | −4.3% | −5.2% |
| Financial health | ||||||||||
| Net debt / EBITDA | 6.4x | 4.7x | 4.7x | 4.6x | 4.5x | 4.6x | 4.7x | 4.6x | 4.3x | 4.4x |
| Debt / equity | 1.5x | 1.8x | 2.0x | 2.5x | 3.5x | 6.5x | 10.7x | 8.9x | 6.1x | 6.0x |
| Interest coverage | 0.9x | 1.2x | 1.4x | 1.6x | 2.2x | 2.6x | 2.7x | 2.5x | 2.5x | 2.6x |
| Current ratio | 0.3x | 0.2x | 0.2x | 0.5x | 0.4x | 0.3x | 0.3x | 0.3x | 0.3x | 0.4x |
| Quick ratio | 0.3x | 0.2x | 0.2x | 0.5x | 0.4x | 0.3x | 0.3x | 0.3x | 0.3x | 0.4x |
| Capital allocation | ||||||||||
| Capex / revenue | 18.4% | 20.9% | 20.9% | 15.7% | 15.4% | 14.8% | 17.4% | 20.4% | 20.5% | 21.3% |
| Stock comp / revenue | 0.8% | 0.6% | 0.7% | 0.7% | 0.7% | 0.8% | 0.9% | 1.3% | 1.2% | 1.2% |
| Payouts / FCF | 57.5% | 357.9% | 166.5% | 151.0% | 157.0% | 179.4% | 185.2% | 96.9% | 38.4% | 116.2% |
| Quality scores | ||||||||||
| Piotroski F-score | 7.0 | 4.0 | 5.0 | 7.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 7.0 | 5.0 | 7.0 | 6.0 |
| Altman Z'' | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.3 | −0.1 | −0.0 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 0.3 |
| Accruals ratio | −4.8% | −1.4% | −7.2% | −6.9% | −7.8% | −8.1% | −6.9% | −6.8% | −6.3% | −7.3% |
Source: SEC EDGAR XBRL filings (CIK 0001091667). Data updated October 9, 2026. Quarterly fourth quarters are the full year minus the first nine months. For information only — not investment advice. Check the original filings before relying on any figure.