$CHTR Downgraded by Wolfe Research as Spectrum's Internet Customer Losses Mount

Wolfe Research downgraded $CHTR from neutral to underperform with a $118 price target, 19% below its September 11 close, according to Seeking Alpha, as Spectrum's internet business continues losing customers: more than 400,000 in 2025, followed by 120,000 in Q1 and 172,000 in Q2 of this year.
Analyst Peter Supino pointed to rising satellite internet competition, noting that $SPCX's Starlink has topped 12 million global high-speed internet customers this year and that "a single Starlink launch represents ~22x more downlink capacity," with falling costs likely to bring price cuts. Wolfe expects Charter to lose 1.34 million more broadband net adds than previously forecast, citing its rural footprint, higher share of sub-gig customers, and exposure to promotional pricing pressure. Supino was also skeptical on Charter's $34.5 billion Cox Communications acquisition, saying the company inherited a "degrading subscriber pool."
Wolfe also trimmed its 2027 connectivity revenue estimate for $CMCSA to $77.95 billion from $78.29 billion, though it kept a "Peer Perform" rating. Executives at both companies said on recent calls that satellite hasn't caused meaningful share loss yet but that they're monitoring it closely.