Stock Performance
- Comcast shares traded 3% lower at $45.22. Despite this decline, the stock is still up 10% from its value 12 months ago.
- Altice USA shares slipped more than 8% to $2.27. Altice stock has experienced a significant drop of nearly 58% over the past year.
- Shares of Charter dropped more than 11%, leading the sector lower.
Charter revealed that it lost 61,000 internet customers in the fourth quarter, primarily from its residential customer base. This decline was far more significant than analysts had anticipated, as they had predicted an addition of 6,000 internet customers.
Chief Financial Officer Jessica Fischer had previously warned in December about the possibility of losing internet customers during the quarter. Speaking at an analyst conference, she acknowledged that the company was facing short-term challenges but expected its results to align with industry standards.
Overall Industry Performance
Charter's competitor, Comcast, also reported a loss of 34,000 U.S. broadband customers in the fourth quarter. These challenges faced by both companies reflect the difficulties experienced by the industry as a whole.
