Cable Stocks Fall After Charter Loses Subscribers
By Will Feuer
Shares of cable companies took a hit Friday after Charter Communications reported soft fourth-quarter earnings and said it lost tens of thousands of internet subscribers.
Comcast shares traded 3% lower at $45.22. That stock is up 10% from 12 months ago.
Altice USA shares slipped more than 8% to $2.27. Altice stock is down nearly 58% over the past 12 months.
Shares of Charter dropped more than 11%, leading the sector lower.
Charter said it lost 61,000 internet customers in the fourth quarter, with nearly all of the decline from residential customers. Analysts had expected the company to add 6,000 internet customers.
Chief Financial Officer Jessica Fischer had warned in December that the company could lose internet customers in the quarter. At the time, speaking at an analyst conference, she said the company was facing short-term challenges and that results would be in line with the rest of the industry.
Last week, Charter rival Comcast reported a loss of 34,000 U.S. broadband customers in the fourth quarter.
Charter on Friday also reported fourth-quarter earnings of $7.69 a share, below the $8.76 a share expected by analysts surveyed by FactSet.
Write to Will Feuer at Will.Feuer@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 02, 2024 10:17 ET (15:17 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2024 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.-
What’s Happening in the Markets This Week
-
Worst-Performing Stock ETFs of the Quarter
-
Q3 in Review and Q4 2024 Market Outlook
-
Top-Performing Stock ETFs of the Quarter
-
September Jobs Report Forecasts Show Moderate Hiring Gains
-
Port Strike a Headache for Shippers but a Potential Tailwind for Certain US Transport Stocks
-
13 Charts on Q3′s Roller-Coaster Rally for Stocks and Bonds
-
5 Stocks to Buy Instead of Overpriced US Equities
-
Consumer Defensives: Despite Angst, Thirsty Investors Have Names to Pursue
-
Industrials: Many Stocks Overvalued After Q3 Outperformance
-
Basic Materials: Despite Index Rise, We See Multiple Long-Term Opportunities
-
What the Election Could Mean for Big Tech Stocks
-
3 Lessons From Recent Stock Market Drama
-
Consumer Cyclicals: Even Amid Moderating Consumer Spending, We See Discounts
-
Healthcare: Valuations Look Fair Overall, With Select Industries Still Undervalued
-
Utilities: Falling Interest Rates, Growth Outlook Boosting Stocks