Charter Communications, Inc. set an 18-month goal for $2 billion in annualized run-rate operating expense savings after reporting a wider pro forma Internet customer decline in the third quarter of 2026.
The target is separate from more than $1 billion in anticipated savings tied to Charter’s Cox transactions. Charter has not provided a breakdown of the $2 billion goal or said whether pursuing it would affect jobs, customers or vendors.
The company plans to change how it promotes and distributes Internet service. Charter said the new operating model will strengthen its core Internet offerings and use mobile and video products to drive customer growth. CEO Chris Winfrey said, “We will return Charter to Internet customer growth.”
Charter lost 233,000 Internet customers on a pro forma basis in the quarter ended Sept. 30, including 156,000 in legacy Charter operations and 77,000 in the Cox business. That exceeded the 171,000 decline in the third quarter of 2025. On a pro forma basis, mobile lines increased by 508,000 and video customers fell by 77,000, compared with a 121,000 video decline a year earlier; Charter had 13.5 million mobile lines at quarter-end.
Pro forma revenue was $16.5 billion, down 1.5% year over year. Actual revenue increased 9.1% year over year to $14.9 billion, primarily because of the Cox transactions. Pro forma figures treat the transactions as if they closed Jan. 1, 2024, with both businesses included throughout the period. Actual third-quarter results include Cox operations from Aug. 20 through Sept. 30; the transactions closed Aug. 19.
Charter’s actual results included a $2.4 billion net loss attributable to Charter shareholders. The company said the loss was primarily due to a $6.3 billion pre-tax, noncash impairment of franchise assets. Its quarterly filing said the valuation reflected weaker cash-flow projections, including lower growth assumptions for customers and revenue amid market risks, as well as higher estimates for replacing fixed assets. The analysis preceded the Cox closing and excluded the acquired assets.
The Cox transactions added more than 11 million network passings and more than five million customer relationships. Charter began offering Spectrum products, pricing and packages across the legacy Cox footprint on Sept. 16.
