What’s Up With Comcast and Charter?

The two biggest cable companies in the country have clearly bogged down. In the third quarter of 2023, Comcast lost 18,000 broadband customers while Charter gained 63,000. There are a number of reasons for the sudden slowdown. At the top of the list is probably prices. Both Carter and Comcast charge significantly more than their fiber competitors. The other new competitor is fixed wireless access cellular wireless from T-Mobile and Verizon. We don’t know how much traction these companies have in competing against cable companies, but the two companies have added over 7 million customers in the last two years, while Comcast and Charter have stagnated. Both companies have historically thrived on the combination of customer growth and revenue growth from rate increases. But, both companies face a serious earnings challenge in the next few years as competitors chip away at customers.