Liberty Broadband Srs C

Charter Communications has announced that CFO Jessica Fischer is stepping down, with Kevin Howard appointed as interim CFO, effective October 15, 2026. Howard, who has previously overseen accounting, tax, reporting, and key integrations such as Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks, will lead the finance team during a period of significant board changes tied to Liberty Broadband's merger and new appointments from Cox Enterprises. Investors will watch the first earnings call after October 15, 2026, for updates on capital allocation, leverage, and Cox integration plans. The leadership reshuffle is seen as continuity rather than a reset, given Howard's familiarity with the company's financial playbook.

Charter Communications has completed its $34.5 billion acquisition of Cox Communications, expanding its Spectrum footprint to 45 states and creating a larger broadband, video, and mobile operator. The transaction, announced on Thursday, brings Cox’s operations into Charter’s network and gives the company additional opportunities to expand its product offerings and customer relationships. Spectrum plans to roll out its full suite of products, including its pricing and packaging, across former Cox markets in mid-September, and Cox internet customers who do not already use Cox Mobile will receive a year of free mobile service. On Charter’s second-quarter earnings call, CEO Chris Winfrey said the company continues to expect at least $800 million of annual run-rate transaction expense synergies from the Cox combination, while suggesting the figure could ultimately reach $1 billion. Charter has also set a post-transaction leverage target of 3.5 times, which it expects to reach within three years following the Cox and Liberty Broadband transactions. The transaction leaves about $12 billion of Cox debt and finance leases at Charter subsidiaries, while Cox Enterprises received Charter securities and cash and now holds about 26% of the combined company on a fully diluted, as-converted basis. Charter will continue to operate its services under the Spectrum name, although the parent company plans to adopt the Cox Communications name within a year. Shares were up about 3% in afternoon trade on Friday.

Charter Communications announced a new post-transaction leverage target of a flat 3.5 times, which it expects to achieve within three years following the close of the Cox and Liberty Broadband transactions. President and CEO Christopher Winfrey disclosed the target during the second-quarter earnings call, tightening the prior range of 3.5 to 3.75 times. Chief Financial Officer Jessica Fischer guided that standalone Charter EBITDA, excluding transition costs, is expected to decline around 1 percent year-over-year for full-year 2026, a downgrade from the previous expectation of slight growth. The company added over 400,000 Spectrum Mobile lines in the quarter, reaching more than 12.5 million total mobile lines, while broadband customer losses rose to 172,000, driven by softer gross additions. Charter also announced that Nick Jeffery will join as Chief Operating Officer on September 1, and it now expects the Cox acquisition to close in mid- to late August, with run-rate expense synergies of at least 800 million dollars per year, a figure Winfrey believes could grow to 1 billion dollars.