CHTR Charter Communications Inc New

STAMFORD, Conn., April 25, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Charter Communications, Inc. (along with its subsidiaries, the "Company" or "Charter"), which operates the Spectrum brand, today reported financial and operating results for the three months ended March 31, 2025.

• First quarter total Internet customers decreased by 60,000. As of March 31, 2025, Charter served 30.0 million Internet customers.
• First quarter total mobile lines increased by 514,000. As of March 31, 2025, Charter served 10.4 million mobile lines.
• As of March 31, 2025, Charter had a total of 31.4 million customer relationships, excluding mobile-only relationships.
• First quarter revenue of $13.7 billion grew by 0.4% year-over-year, driven by residential mobile service revenue growth of 33.5%, residential Internet revenue growth of 1.8% and other revenue growth of 13.4%.
• Net income attributable to Charter shareholders totaled $1.2 billion in the first quarter.
• First quarter Adjusted EBITDA¹ of $5.8 billion grew by 4.8% year-over-year.
• First quarter capital expenditures totaled $2.4 billion and included $878 million of line extensions.
• First quarter net cash flows from operating activities totaled $4.2 billion, compared to $3.2 billion in the prior year.
• First quarter free cash flow¹ of $1.6 billion increased from $358 million in the prior year, primarily due to lower capital expenditures, higher Adjusted EBITDA and lower cash paid for interest.
• During the first quarter, Charter purchased 2.1 million shares of Charter Class A common stock and Charter Communications Holdings, LLC ("Charter Holdings") common units for approximately $751 million.

"We continue to execute on our long-held strategy of delivering the best network and products, at the best value, combined with unmatched service," said Chris Winfrey, President and CEO of Charter. "That strategy is working, as evidenced by our first quarter results. We remain on track to deliver customer, EBITDA and robust free cash flow results for many years to come, driving outstanding shareholder value."

Key Operating Results

In September 2024, Spectrum launched a new brand platform, Life Unlimited, which emphasizes the power of Spectrum's advanced network and cutting-edge connectivity products and services to create opportunities and remove barriers to help customers live their best lives. As part of its new brand platform, Spectrum launched a new and simplified pricing and packaging strategy that better utilizes its seamless connectivity and entertainment products to offer lower promotional and persistent bundled pricing to drive growth. Additionally, Spectrum announced new customer commitments focused on reliable connectivity, transparency, exceptional service and a focus on always improving.

First quarter total Internet customers decreased by 60,000, including approximately 9,000 customer disconnects related to the wildfires in California in January, compared to a decline of 72,000 during the first quarter of 2024. Spectrum Internet^® delivers the fastest Internet speeds¹ in the nation. Spectrum is evolving its connectivity network to offer symmetrical and multi-gigabit Internet speeds across its entire footprint and has launched symmetrical Internet service in eight markets. In January 2025, Spectrum launched 2x1 Gbps service in two markets. In the coming months, Spectrum will launch 2x1 Gbps service in additional markets. Unlike competitors, Spectrum upgrades its network to serve all of its passings and can do so at a much lower cost. Spectrum Advanced WiFi provides customers an optimized home network while providing greater control of connected devices with enhanced security and privacy.

Total video customers decreased by 181,000 in the first quarter of 2025, compared to a decline of 405,000 in the first quarter of 2024, with the improvement driven by new and simplified pricing and packaging launched in September 2024. As of March 31, 2025, Charter had 12.7 million total video customers. Spectrum TV Select video customers now receive up to approximately $70 per month (soon to be approximately $80 per month) of programmers' streaming application retail value at no extra cost, including the ad-supported versions of Max, Disney+, ESPN+, Paramount+, Peacock, AMC+, ViX, Tennis Channel Plus, Discovery+ and BET+. This programmer streaming application inclusion is part of Charter's broader video evolution strategy to provide flexible packages with enhanced value, whether through full packages with seamless entertainment, smaller video packages or a suite of a-la-carte programmer application options for broadband customers.

During the first quarter of 2025, Charter added 514,000 total mobile lines, compared to growth of 486,000 during the first quarter of 2024. Spectrum Mobile^TM is available to all new and existing Spectrum Internet customers and offers the fastest overall speeds,² with plans that include 5G access, do not require contracts and include taxes and fees in the price. In March 2025, Spectrum Mobile launched satellite-based services through a collaboration with Skylo, a non-terrestrial network service provider. Spectrum Mobile is central to Charter's converged network strategy to provide consumers a differentiated connectivity experience with highly competitive, simple data plans and pricing.

During the first quarter of 2025, total wireline voice customers declined by 278,000, compared to a decline of 279,000 in the first quarter of 2024. As of March 31, 2025, Charter had 6.6 million total wireline voice customers.

Charter continues to work with federal, state and local governments to bring Spectrum Internet to unserved and underserved communities. During the first quarter of 2025, Charter activated 89,000 subsidized rural passings. Within Charter's subsidized rural footprint, total customer relationships increased by 39,000 in the first quarter of 2025.

First Quarter Financial Results
(in millions)

Revenues

First quarter revenue increased by 0.4% year-over-year to $13.7 billion, driven by growth in residential mobile service, residential Internet and other revenues, partly offset by lower residential video and advertising sales revenues.

Residential revenue totaled $10.8 billion in the first quarter, a decrease of 0.1% year-over-year.

First quarter 2025 monthly residential revenue per residential customer totaled $123.06, an increase of 2.1% compared to the prior year period. The growth was driven by promotional rate step-ups, rate adjustments and the growth of Spectrum Mobile, partly offset by a lower mix of video customer relationships, a higher mix of lower priced video packages within Charter's video customer base and $47 million of costs allocated to programmer streaming applications and netted within video revenue.

Internet revenue grew by 1.8% year-over-year to $5.9 billion, driven by promotional rate step-ups, rate adjustments and less unfavorable bundled revenue allocation year-over-year, partly offset by a decline in Internet customers year-over-year.

Video revenue totaled $3.6 billion in the first quarter, a decrease of 8.4% compared to the prior year period, driven by a decline in video customers during the last year, a higher mix of lower priced video packages within Charter's video customer base, $47 million of costs allocated to programmer streaming applications and netted within video revenue and more unfavorable bundled revenue allocation year-over-year, partly offset by promotional rate step-ups and video rate adjustments that pass through programmer rate increases.

First quarter mobile service revenue totaled $914 million, an increase of 33.5% year-over-year, driven by mobile line growth and mobile service revenue per line growth.

Voice revenue decreased by 5.0% year-over-year to $356 million, driven by a decline in wireline voice customers, partly offset by voice rate adjustments.

Commercial revenue increased by 1.4% year-over-year to $1.8 billion, driven by mid-market and large business growth of 3.9% year-over-year, partly offset by a decline in small business revenue of 0.2%.¹ Mid-market and large business revenue excluding wholesale increased by 4.4% year-over-year, mostly reflecting PSU growth. The year-over-year decrease in first quarter 2025 small business revenue was driven by a decline in small business customer relationships year-over-year, partly offset by higher monthly small business revenue per small business customer.

First quarter advertising sales revenue of $340 million decreased by 12.9% compared to the year-ago quarter, primarily driven by lower political revenue. Excluding political revenue in both periods, advertising sales revenue decreased by 5.1% year-over-year due to a more challenged local and national advertising market.

Other revenue totaled $793 million in the first quarter, an increase of 13.4% compared to the first quarter of 2024, primarily driven by higher mobile device sales.

Operating Costs and Expenses²

First quarter programming costs decreased by $268 million, or 10.4% as compared to the first quarter of 2024, reflecting fewer video customers, a higher mix of lower cost packages within Charter's video customer base and $47 million of costs allocated to programmer streaming applications and netted within video revenue, partly offset by contractual programming rate increases and renewals. First quarter 2025 programming costs include $12 million of favorable adjustments compared to $28 million of favorable adjustments in the prior year period.

Other costs of revenue increased by $126 million, or 8.7% year-over-year, primarily driven by higher mobile device sales and mobile service direct costs.

Field and technology operations decreased by $8 million, or 0.7% year-over-year.

Customer operations decreased by $38 million, or 4.5% year-over-year, primarily due to lower labor costs, given an increasingly efficient service infrastructure.

Marketing and residential sales expenses increased by $68 million, or 7.7% year-over-year, given Spectrum's continued focus on driving growth and the launch of its new brand platform, Life Unlimited.

Other expenses decreased by $90 million, or 7.8% as compared to the first quarter of 2024, mostly driven by one-time benefits of $75 million.

Net Income Attributable to Charter Shareholders

Net income attributable to Charter shareholders totaled $1.2 billion in the first quarter of 2025, compared to $1.1 billion in the first quarter of 2024, due to higher Adjusted EBITDA and lower interest expense, partly offset by an increase in other operating expenses due to a non-strategic asset impairment charge this quarter versus a gain on sale of assets in the first quarter of 2024.

Net income per basic common share attributable to Charter shareholders totaled $8.59 in the first quarter of 2025 compared to $7.66 during the same period last year. The increase was primarily the result of the factors described above in addition to a 2.0% decrease in basic weighted average common shares outstanding versus the prior year period.

Adjusted EBITDA

First quarter Adjusted EBITDA of $5.8 billion grew by 4.8% year-over-year, reflecting growth in revenue of 0.4% and a decline in operating expenses of 2.6%.

Capital Expenditures

Capital expenditures totaled $2.4 billion in the first quarter of 2025, a decrease of $392 million compared to the first quarter of 2024, driven by timing of CPE, upgrade/rebuild (primarily network evolution) and line extensions.

Charter continues to expect full year 2025 capital expenditures to total approximately $12 billion, including line extensions capital expenditures of approximately $4.2 billion and network evolution spend of approximately $1.5 billion. The actual amount of capital expenditures in 2025 will depend on a number of factors including, but not limited to, the pace of Charter's network evolution and expansion initiatives, supply chain timing and growth rates in Charter's residential and commercial businesses.

Cash Flow and Free Cash Flow

During the first quarter of 2025, net cash flows from operating activities totaled $4.2 billion, an increase from $3.2 billion in the prior year. The year-over-year increase was primarily due to higher Adjusted EBITDA, lower cash paid for interest and a less unfavorable change in working capital.

Free cash flow in the first quarter of 2025 totaled $1.6 billion, an increase of $1.2 billion compared to the first quarter of 2024. The year-over-year increase in free cash flow was primarily driven by higher net cash flows from operating activities and lower capital expenditures, partly offset by a more unfavorable change in accrued expenses related to capital expenditures.

Liquidity & Financing

As of March 31, 2025, total principal amount of debt was $93.6 billion and Charter's credit facilities provided approximately $6.4 billion of additional liquidity in excess of Charter's $796 million cash position.

Share Repurchases

During the three months ended March 31, 2025, Charter purchased 2.1 million shares of Charter Class A common stock and Charter Holdings common units for $751 million.

Webcast

Charter will host a webcast on Friday, April 25, 2025 at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time (ET) related to the contents of this release.

The webcast can be accessed live via the Company's investor relations website at ir.charter.com. Participants should go to the webcast link no later than 10 minutes prior to the start time to register. The webcast will be archived at ir.charter.com two hours after completion of the webcast.

Additional Information Available on Website

The information in this press release should be read in conjunction with the financial statements and footnotes contained in the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the three months ended March 31, 2025, which will be posted on the "Results & SEC Filings" section of the Company's investor relations website at ir.charter.com, when it is filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"). A slide presentation to accompany the conference call and a trending schedule containing historical customer and financial data will also be available in the "Results & SEC Filings" section.

Use of Adjusted EBITDA and Free Cash Flow Information

The Company uses certain measures that are not defined by U.S. generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP") to evaluate various aspects of its business. Adjusted EBITDA and free cash flow are non-GAAP financial measures and should be considered in addition to, not as a substitute for, net income attributable to Charter shareholders and net cash flows from operating activities reported in accordance with GAAP. These terms, as defined by Charter, may not be comparable to similarly titled measures used by other companies. Adjusted EBITDA and free cash flow are reconciled to net income attributable to Charter shareholders and net cash flows from operating activities, respectively, in the Addendum to this release.

Adjusted EBITDA is defined as net income attributable to Charter shareholders plus net income attributable to noncontrolling interest, net interest expense, income taxes, depreciation and amortization, stock compensation expense, other income (expenses), net and other operating (income) expenses, net, such as special charges and (gain) loss on sale or retirement of assets. As such, it eliminates the significant non-cash depreciation and amortization expense that results from the capital-intensive nature of the Company's businesses as well as other non-cash or special items, and is unaffected by the Company's capital structure or investment activities. However, this measure is limited in that it does not reflect the periodic costs of certain capitalized tangible and intangible assets used in generating revenues and the cash cost of financing. These costs are evaluated through other financial measures.     

Free cash flow is defined as net cash flows from operating activities, less capital expenditures and changes in accrued expenses related to capital expenditures.   

Management and Charter's board of directors use Adjusted EBITDA and free cash flow to assess Charter's performance and its ability to service its debt, fund operations and make additional investments with internally generated funds. In addition, Adjusted EBITDA generally correlates to the leverage ratio calculation under the Company's credit facilities or outstanding notes to determine compliance with the covenants contained in the facilities and notes (all such documents have been previously filed with the SEC). For the purpose of calculating compliance with leverage covenants, the Company uses Adjusted EBITDA, as presented, excluding certain expenses paid by its operating subsidiaries to other Charter entities. The Company's debt covenants refer to these expenses as management fees, which were $366 million and $371 million for the three months ended March 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively.

About Charter

Charter Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHTR) is a leading broadband connectivity company and cable operator with services available to more than 57 million homes and businesses in 41 states through its Spectrum brand. Over an advanced communications network, supported by a 100% US-based workforce, the Company offers a full range of state-of-the-art residential and business services including Spectrum Internet^®, TV, Mobile and Voice.

More information about Charter can be found at corporate.charter.com.

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This communication includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, regarding, among other things, our plans, strategies and prospects, both business and financial.  Although we believe that our plans, intentions and expectations as reflected in or suggested by these forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot assure you that we will achieve or realize these plans, intentions or expectations.  Forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions including, without limitation, the factors described under "Risk Factors" from time to time in our filings with the SEC.  Many of the forward-looking statements contained in this communication may be identified by the use of forward-looking words such as "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "should," "planned," "will," "may," "intend," "estimated," "aim," "on track," "target," "opportunity," "tentative," "positioning," "designed," "create," "predict," "project," "initiatives," "seek," "would," "could," "continue," "ongoing," "upside," "increases," "grow," "focused on" and "potential," among others.  Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements we make in this communication are set forth in our annual report on Form 10-K, and in other reports or documents that we file from time to time with the SEC, and include, but are not limited to:

• our ability to sustain and grow revenues and cash flow from operations by offering Internet, video, mobile, voice, advertising and other services to residential and commercial customers, to adequately meet the customer experience demands in our service areas and to maintain and grow our customer base, particularly in the face of increasingly aggressive competition, the need for innovation and the related capital expenditures;
• the impact of competition from other market participants, including but not limited to incumbent telephone companies, direct broadcast satellite ("DBS") operators, wireless broadband and telephone providers, digital subscriber line ("DSL") providers, fiber to the home providers and providers of video content over broadband Internet connections;
• general business conditions, unemployment levels and the level of activity in the housing sector and economic uncertainty or downturn;
• our ability to develop and deploy new products and technologies including consumer services and service platforms;
• any events that disrupt our networks, information systems or properties and impair our operating activities or our reputation;
• the effects of governmental regulation on our business including subsidies to consumers, subsidies and incentives for competitors, costs, disruptions and possible limitations on operating flexibility related to, and our ability to comply with, regulatory conditions applicable to us;
• our ability to procure necessary services and equipment from our vendors in a timely manner and at reasonable costs including in connection with our network evolution and rural construction initiatives;
• our ability to obtain programming at reasonable prices or to raise prices to offset, in whole or in part, the effects of higher programming costs (including retransmission consents and distribution requirements);
• the ability to hire and retain key personnel;
• the availability and access, in general, of funds to meet our debt obligations prior to or when they become due and to fund our operations and necessary capital expenditures, either through (i) cash on hand, (ii) free cash flow, or (iii) access to the capital or credit markets;
• our ability to comply with all covenants in our indentures and credit facilities, any violation of which, if not cured in a timely manner, could trigger a default of our other obligations under cross-default provisions;
• our ability to satisfy the conditions to consummate the Liberty Broadband combination and/or to consummate the Liberty Broadband combination in a timely manner or at all;
• the risks related to us being restricted in the operation of our business while the Liberty Broadband merger agreement is in effect; and
• other risks related to the Liberty Broadband combination as described in the definitive joint proxy statement/prospectus with respect to the combination, filed by Charter on January 22, 2025, including the sections entitled "Risk Factors" and "Where You Can Find More Information" included therein.

All forward-looking statements attributable to us or any person acting on our behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement.  We are under no duty or obligation to update any of the forward-looking statements after the date of this communication.

CHARTER COMMUNICATIONS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES 
FOOTNOTES

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SOURCE Charter Communications, Inc.