Can Charter's Expanding Portfolio Help Its Stock Recover in 2026?

Charter Communications CHTR shares have plunged 37.9% in a year, underperforming the Zacks Consumer Discretionary sector’s appreciation of 1.2%.

The company’s expanding portfolio is expected to boost prospects. On March 3, 2026, Spectrum Business, which is a unit of Charter Communications, expanded its technology services for California government agencies through the California Network and Telecommunications ("CALNET") contract. It has added Managed Network Services, which will help government IT teams manage and operate their computer networks more easily. With this service, Spectrum can handle complex network tasks, reducing the workload for government IT departments.

Spectrum Business is offering cloud-based communication tools with RingCentral. These tools allow employees to make calls, hold virtual meetings, send messages and collaborate online, which is useful for remote or distributed teams. In addition, Spectrum will provide fiber internet connections to the California Government Enterprise Network data center. This helps government agencies move and manage data faster and more securely, without needing to maintain their equipment.

In the fourth quarter of 2025, CHTR is launching services to improve customer experience. These include combining Wi-Fi7, 5G backup and battery backup to keep the internet working even during outages. The company is finishing a large rural broadband expansion that reaches 1.7 million new homes. It expects that 50% of its network will support symmetrical multi-gig speeds by 2026.

CHTR’s Earnings Estimate Revision Shows Negative Trend

Charter Communications expects capital expenditure of $11.4 billion for 2026. 

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for first-quarter 2026 net sales is pegged at $13.58 billion, indicating a year-over-year decrease of 1.16%. The consensus mark for the first-quarter earnings is pinned at $10.22 per share, down 1 cent over the past 30 days, indicating a year-over-year jump of 21.38%.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2026 net sales is pegged at $54.76 billion, indicating a year-over-year decrease of 0.03%. The consensus mark for the fiscal 2026 earnings is pinned at $43.77 per share, down 2 cents over the past 30 days, indicating a year-over-year jump of 20.8%.

Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider

Charter Communications currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Some better-ranked stocks in the broader Zacks Consumer Discretionary sector are Carter’s CRI, Expedia Group EXPE and Strategic Education STRA, which currently sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) each. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Long-term earnings growth rates for Carter’s, Expedia Group and Strategic Education are currently pegged at 2.2%, 19.6% and 15%, respectively. Shares of Carter’s and Strategic Education have declined 27.6% and 3%, respectively, while shares of Expedia Group have risen 31.2% over the past 12 months.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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