Starlink Reaches 10.3 Million Subscribers, Doubling in a Year

Wolfe Research downgraded Charter Communications to underperform from neutral and set a $118 price target, 19% below the stock's Sept. 11 close, as Spectrum's internet customer losses continue. Spectrum, operated by Charter, lost more than 400,000 internet customers in 2025, another 120,000 in the first quarter of this year and 172,000 in the second, amid price increases including a $10 hike on multiple internet plans in July. Wolfe Research analyst Peter Supino said satellite internet is becoming a rising problem for traditional broadband providers, noting that a single Starlink launch represents roughly 22 times more downlink capacity and that falling unit costs and ramping capacity portend significant price cuts; Starlink has garnered more than 12 million global high-speed internet customers so far this year. Wolfe Research expects Charter to garner 1.34 million fewer broadband net adds, steeper than its expectations for Comcast, and lowered its estimate of Comcast's 2027 connectivity and platform revenue from $78.29 billion to $77.95 billion while maintaining a Peer Perform rating on Comcast. Supino also took a bleak view of Charter's $34.5 billion acquisition of Cox Communications, which closed in August, saying Charter inherited a degrading subscriber pool facing stronger competitive pressure than management anticipated, and that Charter needs $1 billion in cost savings in 2027 to improve EBITDA. Charter CFO Jessica Fisher said on the July earnings call that Spectrum has not observed meaningful share loss to Starlink, while Comcast CFO Jason Armstrong told the Goldman Sachs Communacopia + Technology Conference on Sept. 9 that satellite looms as a potential threat that is not really being seen yet.