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Charter Will Cut $2 Billion in Costs to Revive Growth After Losing 233,000 Internet Customers

Charter Communications will cut $2 billion in annualized operating costs over the next 18 months under a "fundamental redesign" of its business, after losing 233,000 internet customers in the third quarter.

jajoy39

Nov 8, 2026 - 09:55

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Cable modems and routers — Charter is cutting $2 billion in costs to revive growth.

Charter Will Cut $2 Billion in Costs to Revive Growth After Losing 233,000 Internet Customers

Charter Communications said on Friday it will cut $2 billion in annualized operating costs over the next 18 months under a "fundamental redesign" of its operating model, as it tries to revive growth in a fiercely competitive cable and broadband market.

The company, which operates under the Spectrum brand, will revamp how it markets and sells its core internet service and lean more on its mobile and video businesses to add customers and improve retention. Chief Executive Chris Winfrey said Charter has "not generated the customer growth and performance we expect" and that "we are fundamentally rethinking how we operate and compete."

The $2 billion cost program is separate from the more than $1 billion in anticipated synergies from Charter's acquisition of Cox Communications, which closed on August 19. The savings will come from eliminating nonessential activities, simplifying organizational structures and getting better terms from vendor partners.

The urgency is clear from the numbers. Charter lost 233,000 internet customers in the third quarter on a pro forma basis — 156,000 from its legacy business and 77,000 from Cox — and 77,000 video customers. It ended September with 34.3 million internet subscribers.

Revenue of $14.9 billion in the quarter came in below the $15.03 billion analysts had expected, though it rose 9.1% from a year earlier because of the Cox deal. Charter posted a net loss of $2.4 billion, or $20.50 a share, compared with a profit of $1.14 billion a year earlier, driven by a $6.3 billion franchise impairment charge partly offset by a gain on debt extinguishment. Total debt stood at $108.6 billion at the end of September.

Leadership is changing too. Spectrum's chief commercial officer, Adam Ray, and chief marketing officer, Sharon Peters, will leave at the end of the year. The company said the cuts are not aimed at frontline service and sales employees, and that Cox service calls will move from offshore centers to US-based employees without increasing headcount.

The overhaul comes after Nick Jeffrey, the former chief executive of Frontier and Vodafone UK, joined as chief operating officer on September 1. His arrival, and the size of the cost program, signal that Charter's new leadership believes the old playbook — selling broadband alone in a market where fiber and fixed wireless rivals are winning share — no longer works.