CHTR Charter Communications, Inc. /Mo/ - 10-K

Item 1A.       Risk Factors.

Risks Related to Our Business

We operate in a very competitive business environment, which affects our ability to attract and retain customers and can adversely affect our business, operations and financial results.

The industry in which we operate is highly competitive and has become more so in recent years. In some instances, we compete against companies with fewer regulatory burdens, better access to financing and greater and more favorable brand name recognition. Increasing consolidation in the telecommunications and content industries have provided additional benefits to certain of our competitors, either through access to financing, resources, or efficiencies of scale including the ability to launch new products and services.

Our Internet service faces competition from other companies’ FTTH, cell phone home Internet service, Internet delivered via satellite and DSL services. Various operators offer wireless Internet services delivered over networks which they continue to enhance to deliver faster speeds and also continue to expand 5G mobile services as they seek to offer converged connectivity services similar to ours. Our mobile and voice services compete with wireless and wireline phone providers, as well as other forms of communication, such as text, instant messaging, social networking services, video conferencing and email. Competition from these companies, including intensive marketing efforts with aggressive pricing, may have an adverse impact on our ability to attract and retain customers.

Our video service faces competition from a number of sources, including DBS services, and companies that deliver linear network programming, movies and television shows on demand and other video content over broadband Internet connections to televisions, computers, tablets and mobile devices often with password sharing among multiple users and security that makes content susceptible to piracy. Newer products and services, particularly alternative methods for the distribution, sale and viewing of content may continue to be developed, further increasing the competition that we face.

The increasing number of choices available to audiences, including low-cost or free choices, could negatively impact not only consumer demand for our products and services, but also advertisers’ willingness to purchase advertising from us. We compete for the sale of advertising revenue with television networks and stations, as well as other advertising platforms, such as online media, radio and print. Competition related to our service offerings to businesses continues to increase as well, as more companies deploy more fiber to more buildings, which may negatively impact our growth and put pressure on margins.

A failure to effectively anticipate or adapt to new technologies (including those that use artificial intelligence (“AI”)) and changes in customer expectations and behavior could significantly adversely affect our competitive position with respect to the leisure time and discretionary spending of our customers and, as a result, affect our business and results of operations. Competition may also reduce our expected growth of future cash flows which may contribute to future impairments of our franchises and goodwill and our ability to meet cash flow requirements, including debt service requirements. For additional information regarding the competition we face, see “Item 1. Business - Competition” and “Item 1. Business - Regulation and Legislation.”

Various events could disrupt or result in unauthorized access to our networks, information systems or properties and could impair our operating activities and negatively impact our reputation and financial results.

Network and information systems technologies are critical to our operating activities, both for our internal uses, such as network management, and supplying services to our customers, including customer service operations and programming delivery. Network or information system shutdowns or other service disruptions caused by events such as computer hacking, phishing, dissemination of computer viruses, worms and other destructive or disruptive software, malicious cyber activities by nation-state threat actors, “cyber attacks” such as ransomware, process breakdowns, denial of service attacks and other malicious activity pose increasing risks. Both unsuccessful and successful “cyber attacks” on companies have continued to increase in frequency, scope and potential harm in recent years, and the increasing use of AI may intensify these cybersecurity risks. While we develop and maintain systems seeking to prevent systems-related events and security breaches from occurring, the development and maintenance of these systems is costly and requires ongoing monitoring and updating as techniques used in such attacks become more sophisticated and change frequently. We, and the third parties on which we rely, may be unable to anticipate these techniques or implement adequate preventive measures. While from time to time attempts have been made to access our network, these events have not as yet resulted in any material release of information, degradation or disruption to our network and information systems.

Our network and information systems are also vulnerable to damage or interruption from power outages, telecommunications failures, accidents, natural disasters (including extreme weather arising from short-term or long-term changes in weather patterns), terrorist attacks and similar events. Our system redundancy may be ineffective or inadequate, and our disaster recovery planning may not be sufficient for all eventualities.

We have experienced many of these events and may experience additional events in the future. Any of these events, if directed at, or experienced by, us or technologies upon which we depend, have had and could in the future have adverse consequences on our network, our customers and our business, including degradation of service, service disruption, excessive call volume to call centers, and damage to our or our customers’ equipment and data. Large expenditures and substantial resources have been and may in the future be necessary to repair or replace damaged property, networks or information systems or to protect them from similar events in the future. Moreover, the amount and scope of insurance that we maintain against losses resulting from any such events or security breaches has not always been and may not in the future be sufficient to cover our losses or otherwise adequately compensate us for any disruptions to our business that have resulted and may result. Any such significant service disruption could result in damage to our reputation and credibility, customer dissatisfaction and ultimately a loss of customers or revenue. Any significant loss of customers or revenue, or significant increase in costs of serving those customers, could adversely affect our growth, financial condition and results of operations.

Furthermore, our operating activities could be subject to risks caused by misappropriation, misuse, leakage, falsification or accidental release or loss of information maintained in our information technology systems and networks and those of our third-party vendors, including customer, personnel and vendor data. We provide certain confidential, proprietary and personal information to third parties in connection with our business, and there is a risk that this information may be compromised.

We process, store, and transmit large amounts of data, including the personal information of our customers.  Ongoing increases in the potential for misuse of personal information, the public’s awareness of the importance of safeguarding personal information, and the volume of legislation that has been adopted or is being considered regarding the protection, privacy and security of personal information have resulted in increases to our information-related risks. We could be exposed to significant costs if such risks were to materialize, and such events could damage our reputation, credibility and business and have a negative impact on our revenue. We could be subject to regulatory actions and claims made by consumers in private litigations involving privacy issues related to consumer data collection and use practices. We also could be required to expend significant capital and other resources to remedy any security breach.

We depend on third-party service providers, suppliers and licensors; thus, if we are unable to procure the necessary services, equipment, software or licenses on reasonable terms and on a timely basis, our ability to offer services could be impaired, and our growth, operations, business, financial results and financial condition could be materially adversely affected.

We depend on a limited number of third-party service providers, suppliers and licensors to supply some of the services, hardware, software and operational support necessary to provide some of our services and execute our network evolution and rural construction initiatives. Some of our hardware, software and operational support vendors and service providers represent our sole source of supply or have, either through contract or as a result of intellectual property rights, a position of some exclusivity. Our ability to provide some services and complete our network evolution and rural construction initiatives might be materially adversely affected, or the need to procure or develop alternative sources of the affected materials or services might interrupt or delay our ability to serve existing and new customers, if any of these parties experience or engage in the following:

• breach or terminate or elect not to renew their agreements with us or otherwise fail to perform their obligations in a timely manner;

• demand exceeds these vendors’ capacity;

• tariffs or component supply conditions impact vendors’ ability to perform their obligations or significantly increase the amount we pay;

• experience operating or financial difficulties;

• experience network or information system shutdowns or other service disruptions or security breaches;

• significantly increase the amount we are required to pay (including demands for substantial non-monetary compensation) for necessary products or services; or

• cease production or providing necessary software updates of any necessary product due to lack of demand, profitability or a change in ownership or are otherwise unable to provide the equipment or services we need in a timely manner at our specifications and at reasonable prices.

In addition, the existence of only a limited number of vendors of key technologies can lead to less product innovation and higher costs. Any of these events could materially and adversely affect our ability to retain and attract customers and our operations, business, financial results and financial condition.

Any failure to respond to technological developments and meet customer demand for new products and services could adversely affect our ability to compete effectively.

We operate in a highly competitive, consumer-driven and rapidly changing environment. From time to time, we may pursue strategic initiatives to launch products or enhancements to our products. Our success is, to a large extent, dependent on our ability to acquire, develop, adopt, upgrade and exploit new and existing technologies to address consumers’ changing demands and distinguish our services from those of our competitors. We may not be able to accurately predict technological trends or the success of new products and services. If we choose technologies or equipment that are less effective, cost-efficient or attractive to customers than those chosen by our competitors, if technologies or equipment on which we have chosen to rely cease to be available to us on reasonable terms or conditions, if we offer services that fail to appeal to consumers, are not available at competitive prices or that do not function as expected, if we are not able to fund the expenditures necessary to keep pace with technological developments, or if we are no longer able to make our services available to our customers on a third-party device on which a substantial number of customers have relied to access our services, our competitive position could deteriorate, and our business and financial results could suffer.

The ability of some of our competitors to introduce new technologies, products and services more quickly than us may adversely affect our competitive position. Furthermore, advances in technology, decreases in the cost of existing technologies or changes in competitors’ product and service offerings may require us in the future to make additional research and development expenditures or to offer, at no additional charge or at a lower price, certain products and services that we currently offer to customers separately or at a premium. In addition, the uncertainty of our ability, and the costs, to obtain intellectual property rights from third parties could impact our ability to respond to technological advances in a timely and effective manner.

Any failure to maintain and expand our upgraded systems and provide advanced services in a timely manner, or to anticipate the demands of the marketplace, could materially adversely affect our ability to attract and retain customers. In addition, as we continue to grow our mobile services using virtual network operator rights from a third party, we expect continued growth-related sales and marketing and other customer acquisition costs. We also continue to consider and pursue opportunities in the mobile space which may include the acquisition of additional licensed spectrum and may include entering into or expanding joint ventures or partnerships with wireless or cable providers which may require significant investment. For example, we now hold CBRS PALs to support existing and future mobile services. These licenses are subject to revocation and expiration. Although we expect to be able to maintain and renew these licenses, the loss of one or more licenses could significantly impair our ability to offload mobile traffic and achieve cost reductions. If we are unable to continue to grow our mobile business and achieve the outcomes we expect from our investments in the mobile business, our growth, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected.

Our business may be adversely affected if we cannot continue to license or enforce the intellectual property rights on which our business depends.

We rely on patent, copyright, trademark and trade secret laws and licenses and other agreements with our employees, customers, suppliers and other parties to establish and maintain our intellectual property rights in technology and the products and services used in our operations. Also, because of the rapid pace of technological change, we both develop our own technologies, products and services and rely on technologies developed or licensed by third parties. However, any of our intellectual property rights, or the rights of our suppliers, could be challenged or invalidated, or such intellectual property rights may not be sufficient to permit us to take advantage of current industry trends or otherwise to provide competitive advantages, which could result in costly redesign efforts, discontinuance of certain product or service offerings or other competitive harm. We may not be able to obtain or continue to obtain licenses from these third parties on reasonable terms, if at all. In addition, claims of intellectual property infringement could require us to enter into royalty or licensing agreements on unfavorable terms, incur substantial monetary liability or be enjoined preliminarily or permanently from further use of the intellectual property in question, which could require us to change our business practices or offerings and limit our ability to compete effectively. Even unsuccessful claims can be time-consuming and costly to defend and may divert management’s attention and resources away from our business. Infringement claims continue to be brought frequently in the communications and entertainment industries, and we are also often a party to such litigation alleging that certain of our services or technologies infringe the intellectual property rights of others.

We may not have the ability to pass on to our customers all of the increases in programming costs, which could adversely affect our cash flow and operating margins.

Programming costs are one of our largest expense items. While decreases in video customers combined with a change in the mix of customers choosing lower cost packages have offset total programming cost increases, we expect contractual programming rates per service subscriber to continue to increase in excess of customary inflationary and cost-of-living type increases as a result of annual increases pursuant to our programming contracts and contract renewals with programmers. Although we pass along amounts paid for local broadcast station retransmission consent to the majority of our video customers, the inability to fully pass programming cost increases on to our video customers has had, and is expected in the future to have, an adverse impact on our cash flow and operating margins associated with the video product. In order to mitigate impacts to our operating margins due to increasing programming rates, we continue to review our pricing and programming packaging strategies. Further, some programmers have begun to simulcast and/or move popular programming to programmer streaming applications which has created a competitive alternative to our video subscription at lower price points that could, in turn, result in customer losses. We have obtained and will continue to seek to obtain access to many of these programmer streaming applications, where applicable, as we renew agreements, so that we may continue to include these in our customers’ video subscriptions and/or sell to broadband customers for a share of revenue.

Increases in the cost of sports programming and the amounts paid for local broadcast station retransmission-consent have been the largest contributors to the growth in our programming costs over the last several years. Federal law allows commercial television broadcast stations to make an election between “must-carry” rights and an alternative “retransmission-consent” regime. When a station opts for the retransmission-consent regime, we are not allowed to carry the station’s signal without that station’s permission. In retransmission-consent negotiations, broadcasters often condition consent with respect to one station on carriage of one or more other stations or programming services in which they or their affiliates have an interest. Carriage of these other services, as well as increased fees for retransmission rights, may increase our programming expenses which could have an adverse effect on our business and financial results.

Our programming contracts are generally for a fixed period of time, with potentially significant spend subject to negotiated renewal in any particular year. We will seek to renew these agreements on terms that we believe are favorable. There can be no assurance that these agreements will be renewed on favorable or comparable terms. To the extent that we are unable to reach agreement with certain programmers on terms that we believe are reasonable, we have been, and may in the future be, forced to remove such programming channels from our line-up, which may result in a loss of customers. Any failure to carry programming that is attractive to our customers could adversely impact our customer levels, operations and financial results.

Issues related to the development and use of AI could give rise to legal or regulatory action, damage our reputation or otherwise materially harm our business.

We currently incorporate AI technology in certain parts of our business operations. Our research and development of such technology remains ongoing. AI presents risks, challenges and unintended consequences that could affect our and our customers’ adoption and use of this technology. AI algorithms and training methodologies may be flawed. Additionally, AI technologies are complex and rapidly evolving. While we aim to develop and use AI responsibly and attempt to identify and mitigate ethical and legal issues presented by its use, we may be unsuccessful in identifying or resolving issues before they arise. AI-related issues, deficiencies or failures could give rise to legal or regulatory action, including with respect to proposed legislation regulating AI or as a result of new applications of existing data protection, privacy, intellectual property and other laws, and could damage our reputation or otherwise materially harm our business.

Our exposure to the economic conditions of our current and potential customers, vendors and third parties could adversely affect our cash flow, results of operations and financial condition.

We are exposed to risks associated with the economic conditions of our current and potential customers, the potential financial instability of our customers and their financial ability to purchase our products. If there were a prolonged general economic downturn, we may experience increased cancellations or non-payment by our customers or unfavorable changes in the mix of products purchased. This may include an increase in the number of homes that replace their video service with Internet-delivered or over-air content, as well as an increase in the number of Internet and voice customers substituting mobile data and voice products for wireline services, which would negatively impact our ability to attract customers, increase rates and maintain or increase revenue. In addition, our ability to gain new customers is dependent to some extent on growth in occupied housing in our service areas, which is influenced by both national and local economic conditions. Weak economic conditions may also have a negative impact on our advertising revenue. These events have adversely affected us in the past, and may adversely affect our cash flow, results of operations and financial condition in a future downturn.

In addition, we are susceptible to risks associated with the potential financial instability of the vendors and third parties on which we rely to provide products and services or to which we outsource certain functions. The same economic conditions that may affect our customers, as well as volatility and disruption in the capital and credit markets, also could adversely affect vendors and third parties and lead to significant increases in prices, reduction in output or the bankruptcy of our vendors or third parties upon which we rely. Further, inflationary pressures may impact the ability of vendors and other third parties to satisfy their obligations to us. Any interruption in the services provided by our vendors or by third parties could adversely affect our cash flow, results of operation and financial condition.

If we are unable to retain key employees, our ability to manage our business could be adversely affected.

Our operational results have depended, and our future results will depend, upon the retention and continued performance of our management team. Our ability to hire and retain key employees for management positions could be impacted adversely by the competitive environment for management talent in the broadband communications and technology industries. The loss of the services of key members of management and the inability to hire or delay in hiring new key employees could adversely affect our ability to manage our business and our future operational and financial results.

Risks Related to Our Indebtedness

We have a significant amount of debt and expect to incur significant additional debt, including secured debt, in the future, as well as additional debt in connection with the Cox Transactions and Liberty Broadband Combination, which could adversely affect our financial condition and our ability to react to changes in our business.

We have a significant amount of debt, with total principal amount of approximately $94.6 billion and a leverage ratio of 4.15 times Adjusted EBITDA as of December 31, 2025. We expect to (subject to applicable restrictions in our debt instruments) incur additional debt in the future as Charter plans to maintain leverage near the midpoint of its stated 4.0 to 4.5 times Adjusted EBITDA target leverage range (net debt divided by the last twelve months Adjusted EBITDA) in the period leading up to the Closing. As part of the Cox Transactions, Charter will fund the $4.0 billion of cash consideration using debt and will assume Cox Communications' approximately $12.6 billion of net debt and finance leases. Charter plans to adjust its long-term target leverage range after Closing to 3.5 to 3.75 times Adjusted EBITDA but will still have a significant amount of debt.

Our significant amount of debt could have adverse consequences, such as:

• impact our ability to raise additional capital at reasonable rates, or at all;

• make us vulnerable to interest rate increases, in part because approximately 13% of our borrowings as of December 31, 2025 were, and may continue to be, subject to variable rates of interest;

• expose us to increased interest expense to the extent we refinance existing debt with higher cost debt;

• require us to dedicate a significant portion of our cash flow from operating activities to make payments on our debt, reducing our funds available for capital expenditures and other general corporate purposes;

• limit our flexibility in planning for, or reacting to, changes in our business, the cable and telecommunications industries, and the economy at large;

• place us at a disadvantage compared to our competitors that have proportionately less debt; and

• adversely affect our relationship with customers and suppliers.

In addition, we expect to incur additional indebtedness in the future, including to refinance and/or in connection with the assumption of indebtedness of Cox Communications and/or its subsidiaries after the completion of the Cox Transactions as well as Liberty Broadband and/or its subsidiaries after the completion of the Liberty Broadband Combination. To the extent our current debt amounts increase more than expected, our operating results are lower than expected, or credit rating agencies downgrade our debt thereby increasing our costs of borrowing and potentially limiting our access to investment grade markets, or significant market disruptions occur, the related risks that we now face will intensify.

The agreements and instruments governing our debt contain restrictions and limitations that could significantly affect our ability to operate our business, as well as significantly affect our liquidity.

The indentures governing the CCO Holdings, LLC (“CCO Holdings”) notes contain a number of significant covenants that could adversely affect our operations, liquidity and results of operations. These covenants restrict, among other things, CCO Holdings, CCO Holdings Capital Corp. and all of their restricted subsidiaries’ ability to:

• incur additional debt;

• pay dividends on equity or repurchase equity;

• make investments;

• sell all or substantially all of their assets or merge with or into other companies;

• sell assets;

• in the case of restricted subsidiaries, create or permit to exist dividend or payment restrictions with respect to CCO Holdings, guarantee their parent companies’ debt, or issue specified equity interests;

• engage in certain transactions with affiliates; and

• grant liens (with respect to only CCO Holdings).

Additionally, the Charter Communications Operating, LLC (“Charter Operating”) credit facilities require Charter Operating to comply with a maximum total leverage covenant and a maximum first lien leverage covenant. The Charter Operating credit facilities, the Charter Operating notes, the Time Warner Cable, LLC (“TWC, LLC”) senior notes and debentures, and the Time Warner Cable Enterprises, LLC (“TWCE”) debentures include customary negative covenants, including restrictions on the ability to incur liens securing indebtedness for borrowed money and consolidating, merging or conveying or transferring substantially all of the respective obligor’s assets. The breach of any covenants or obligations in our indentures or credit facilities, not otherwise waived or amended, could result in a default under the applicable debt obligations and could trigger acceleration of those obligations, which in turn could trigger cross defaults under other agreements governing our long-term indebtedness. In addition, the secured lenders under our secured notes and the Charter Operating credit facilities could foreclose on their collateral, which includes equity interests in substantially all of our subsidiaries, and exercise other rights of secured creditors.

Risks Related to Ownership Position of Liberty Broadband Corporation and Advance/Newhouse Partnership

Liberty Broadband and A/N have governance rights that give them influence over corporate transactions and other matters.

Liberty Broadband currently owns a significant amount of Charter Class A common stock and is entitled to certain governance rights with respect to Charter. A/N currently owns Charter Class A common stock and a significant amount of membership interests in our subsidiary, Charter Holdings, which are convertible into Charter Class A common stock, and is entitled to certain governance rights with respect to Charter. Members of the Board of Directors of Charter include a director who is an officer of Liberty Broadband, a director who is a director of Liberty Broadband and directors who are current or former officers and directors of A/N. Mr. Marty Patterson is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Liberty Broadband and Mr. J. David Wargo is a director of Liberty Broadband. Mr. Steven Miron is the Chief Executive Officer of A/N and Mr. Michael Newhouse is co-president of the parent of A/N and its affiliates. As of December 31, 2025, Liberty Broadband beneficially held approximately 29.22% of Charter’s voting stock and A/N beneficially held approximately 13.12% of Charter’s voting stock. Pursuant to the Second Amended and Restated Stockholders Agreement among Charter, Liberty Broadband and A/N, dated as of May 23, 2015 (the “Existing Stockholders Agreement”), as amended by Amendment No. 1 to the Second Amended and Restated Stockholders Agreement and the Letter Agreement, dated as of November 12, 2024 (the “Stockholders and Letter Agreement Amendment”), Liberty Broadband currently has the right to designate up to three directors as nominees for the Board of Directors of Charter and A/N currently has the right to designate up to two directors as nominees for the Board of Directors of Charter. Each of A/N and Liberty Broadband is entitled to nominate at least one director to each of the committees of the Board of Directors of Charter, subject to applicable stock exchange listing rules and certain specified voting or equity ownership thresholds for each of A/N and Liberty Broadband, and provided that the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee and the Compensation and Benefits Committee each have at least a majority of directors that were not designated by either A/N or Liberty Broadband (referred to as the “unaffiliated directors” in the Existing Stockholders Agreement).

The Existing Stockholders Agreement and Charter’s amended and restated certificate of incorporation fix the size of the board at 13 directors. Liberty Broadband and A/N are required to vote (subject to the applicable voting cap) their respective shares of Charter Class A common stock and Charter Class B common stock for the director nominees nominated by the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee, including the respective designees of Liberty Broadband and A/N, and against any other nominees, except that, with respect to the unaffiliated directors, Liberty Broadband and A/N must instead vote in the same proportion as the voting securities are voted by stockholders other than A/N and Liberty Broadband or any group which includes any of them are voted, if doing so would cause a different outcome with respect to the unaffiliated directors. As a result of their rights under the Existing Stockholders Agreement and their significant equity and voting stakes in Charter, Liberty Broadband and/or A/N, who may have interests different from those of other stockholders, will be able to exercise substantial influence over certain matters relating to the governance of Charter, including the approval of significant corporate actions, such as mergers and other business combination transactions.

The Existing Stockholders Agreement provides A/N and Liberty Broadband with preemptive rights with respect to issuances of Charter equity in connection with certain transactions, and in the event that A/N or Liberty Broadband exercises these rights, holders of Charter Class A common stock may experience further dilution.

The Existing Stockholders Agreement provides that A/N and Liberty Broadband will have certain contractual preemptive rights over issuances of Charter equity securities in connection with capital raising transactions. Holders of Charter Class A common stock will not be entitled to similar preemptive rights with respect to such transactions. As a result, if Liberty Broadband and/or A/N elect to exercise their preemptive rights, (i) these parties would not experience the dilution experienced by the other holders of Charter Class A common stock, and (ii) such other holders of Charter Class A common stock may experience further dilution of their interest in Charter upon such exercise.

Risks Related to Regulatory and Legislative Matters

Our business is subject to extensive governmental legislation and regulation, which could adversely affect our business.

The services we offer are subject to numerous laws and regulations that can increase operational and administrative expenses and reduce revenues, including, but not limited to, those covering the following:

• the provision of high-speed Internet service, including regulating the price for low-income customers, network management, broadband labeling, broadband availability reporting, digital discrimination and transparency rules;

• the provision of fixed and mobile voice communications, including rules for emergency communications, network and/or 911 outage reporting, CPNI safeguards and reporting, local number portability, efforts to limit unwanted robocalls, and, for mobile devices, hearing aid compatibility, safety and emission requirements;

• the fees that must be included in our advertised prices and bills;

• access by law enforcement;

• cable franchise renewals and transfers;

• the provisioning, marketing and billing of cable, Internet, mobile and voice equipment;

• cybersecurity protection and practices, including customer and employee privacy and data security;

• copyright royalties for retransmitting broadcast signals;

• the circumstances when a cable system must carry a broadcast station and the circumstances when it first must obtain retransmission consent to carry a broadcast station;

• the technical standard that we must use to carry broadcast stations;

• limitations on our ability to enter into exclusive agreements with multiple dwelling unit complexes and control our inside wiring;

• equal employment opportunity;

• the resiliency of our networks to maintain service during and after disasters and power outages;

• emergency alert systems, disability access, pole attachments, commercial leased access and technical standards;

• marketing practices, customer service, and consumer protection; and

• approval for mergers and acquisitions often accompanied by the imposition of restrictions and requirements on an applicant’s business in order to secure approval of the proposed transaction.

Legislators and regulators at all levels of government frequently consider changing, and sometimes do change, existing statutes, rules, regulations, or interpretations thereof, or prescribe new ones. Any future legislative, judicial, regulatory or administrative actions may increase our costs or impose additional restrictions on our businesses.

Changes to the existing legal and regulatory framework under which we operate or the regulatory programs in which we or our competitors participate could adversely affect our business.

There are ongoing efforts to amend or expand the federal, state and local regulation of some of the services offered over our cable systems, particularly our retail broadband Internet access service. Potential legislative and regulatory changes could adversely impact our business by increasing our costs and competition and limiting our ability to offer services in a manner that would maximize our revenue potential. These changes have in the past, and could in the future, include, but are not limited to, for example, the reclassification of Internet services as regulated telecommunications services or other utility-style regulation of Internet services; restrictions on how we manage our Internet access services and networks; the adoption of new customer service or service quality requirements for our Internet access services; the adoption of new privacy restrictions on our collection, use and disclosure of certain customer or employee information; new data security and cybersecurity mandates that could result in additional network and information security and cyber incident reporting requirements for our business; new restraints on our discretion over programming decisions; new rules governing broadcast ownership that would result in higher

rates for broadcast content; new restrictions on the rates we charge to consumers for one or more of the services or equipment options we offer, including our ability to offer promotions; changes to the cable industry’s compulsory copyright to retransmit broadcast signals; new requirements to assure the availability of navigation devices from third-party providers; new Universal Service Fund contribution obligations on our Internet service revenues that would add to the cost of that service; increases in government-administered broadband subsidies to rural areas that could result in subsidized overbuilding of our facilities; changes to the FCC’s administration of spectrum; and changes in the regulatory framework for VoIP telephone service, including the scope of regulatory obligations associated with our VoIP telephone service and our ability to interconnect our VoIP telephone service with incumbent providers of traditional telecommunications service.

As a winning bidder in the FCC’s RDOF auction in 2020, we must comply with numerous FCC and state requirements to continue receiving such funding. To comply with these requirements, in RDOF areas, we have chosen to offer certain of our VoIP telephone services, such as our Lifeline services, subject to certain traditional federal and state common carrier regulations. Additionally, in some areas where we are building pursuant to subsidy programs, we will offer certain of our broadband Internet access services subject to required discounts and other marketing-related terms. If we fail to comply with those requirements, the governing regulatory agency could consider us in default and we could incur substantial penalties or forfeitures. If we fail to attain certain specified infrastructure build-out requirements under the RDOF program, the FCC could also withhold future support payments until those shortcomings are corrected. Any failure to comply with the rules and requirements of a subsidy grant could result in us being suspended or disbarred from future governmental programs or contracts for a significant period of time, which could adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.

In September 2025, following the Supreme Court decision that upheld the FCC’s system for funding and administering its Universal Service programs, a new petition for review was filed in the Fifth Circuit challenging two subsections of the statute governing the Universal Service Fund. We cannot predict the outcome of this case or any related actions of Congress and the FCC, which could adversely affect our receipt of universal service funds, including FCC E-rate funds to serve schools and libraries and FCC Rural Health Care funds to serve eligible health care providers.

Our current and past participation in state and federal programs that subsidize network construction in high-cost areas and service to schools or low-income consumers, and the provision of services to government agencies or entities, creates the risk of claims of our failure to adequately comply with the regulatory requirements of those programs or contracts. The FCC and various state and federal agencies and attorney generals may subject those programs, or other industry practices, to audits and investigations, which could result in enforcement actions, litigation, fines, settlements or reputational harm, and/or operational and financial conditions being placed on us, any of which could adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.

If any laws or regulations are enacted that would expand the regulation of our services, they could affect our operations and require significant expenditures. We cannot predict future developments in these areas, and any changes to the regulatory framework for our Internet, mobile, video or voice services could have a negative impact on our business and results of operations.

It remains uncertain what rule changes, if any, will ultimately be adopted by Congress, the FCC, the FTC and/or state legislatures or state regulatory agencies, and what operating or financial impact any such rules might have on us, including on the operation of our broadband networks, customer privacy and the user experience.

Tax legislation and administrative initiatives or challenges to our tax and fee positions could adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.

We offer services and operate cable systems in locations throughout the United States and, as a result, we are subject to the tax laws and regulations of federal, state and local governments. From time to time, legislative and administrative bodies change laws and regulations that change our effective tax rate or tax payments. Certain states and localities have imposed or are considering imposing new or additional taxes or fees on our services or changing the methodologies or base on which certain fees and taxes are computed. Potential changes include additional taxes or fees on our services which could impact our customers, changes to income tax sourcing rules and other changes to general business taxes, central/unit-level assessment of property taxes and other matters that could increase our income, franchise, sales, use and/or property tax liabilities. In addition, federal, state and local tax laws and regulations are extremely complex and subject to varying interpretations. From time to time authorities challenge our tax positions and there can be no assurance that our tax positions will be successful in any such challenge.

Our cable system franchises are subject to non-renewal or termination and are non-exclusive. The failure to renew a franchise or the grant of additional franchises in one or more service areas could adversely affect our business.

Our cable systems generally operate pursuant to franchises, permits and similar authorizations issued by a state or local governmental authority controlling the public rights-of-way. Many franchises establish comprehensive facilities and service requirements, as well as specific customer service standards and monetary penalties for non-compliance, and from time to time some franchisors have alleged that we have not complied with every aspect of our franchising agreements. In many cases, franchises are terminable if the franchisee fails to comply with significant provisions set forth in the franchise agreement governing system operations. Franchises are usually granted for fixed terms and must be periodically renewed. Franchising authorities may resist granting a renewal if either past performance or the prospective operating proposal is considered inadequate. Franchise authorities often demand concessions or other commitments as a condition to renewal. In some instances, local franchises have not been renewed at expiration, and we have operated and are operating under either temporary operating agreements or without a franchise while negotiating renewal terms with the local franchising authorities.

Additionally, although historically we have renewed our franchises without incurring significant costs, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to renew, or to renew as favorably, our franchises in the future. A termination of or a sustained failure to renew a franchise in one or more service areas could adversely affect our business in the affected geographic area.

Our cable system franchises are non-exclusive. Consequently, local and state franchising authorities can grant additional franchises to competitors in the same geographic area or operate their own cable systems. In some cases, local government entities and municipal utilities may legally compete with us on more favorable terms.

Risks Related to the Cox Transactions

The Cox Transactions are subject to conditions, some or all of which may not be satisfied, or completed on a timely basis, if at all. Failure to complete the Cox Transactions could have a material adverse effect on us.

The completion of the Cox Transactions is subject to a number of conditions, including, among other things, (i) the approval of the certificate amendment proposal by the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the aggregate voting power of the outstanding shares of Charter Class A common stock and Class B common stock, voting together as a single class; (ii) the approval of the share issuance proposal by the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the votes cast by the holders of Charter Class A common stock and Class B common stock, voting together as a single class; (iii) any applicable waiting period (and any extension thereof) under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act, and any commitments by the parties not to close before a certain date under any timing agreement entered into with a government entity, in each case, with respect to the Cox Transactions shall have expired or been terminated (solely with respect to the obligations of the Charter parties to close, without the imposition of a burdensome condition); (iv) the receipt of certain other required regulatory approvals, including approval of the Federal Communications Commission and certain local franchise authority, state franchising and state public utility commission approvals (solely with respect to the obligations of the Charter parties to close, without the imposition of a burdensome condition); (v) the absence of any law, rule, executive order, decree, judgment, injunction or other order (whether temporary, preliminary or permanent) which makes unlawful, prohibits, delays, enjoins or otherwise prevents or restrains the completion of the Cox Transactions; (vi) each party’s representations and warranties being true and correct (subject to certain materiality and material adverse effect qualifications); (vii) the absence of a material adverse effect on each party; and (viii) each party having performed in all material respects its obligations under the Transaction Agreement.

While the parties have agreed in the Transaction Agreement to use reasonable best efforts to satisfy the closing conditions, the parties may not be successful in their efforts to do so. The failure to satisfy all of the required conditions could delay the completion of the Cox Transactions for a significant period of time or prevent completion from occurring at all. Any delay in completing the Cox Transactions could cause us not to realize some or all of the benefits of the Cox Transactions, or realize them on a different timeline than expected. There can be no assurance that the conditions in the Transaction Agreement will be satisfied or (to the extent permitted) waived or that the Cox Transactions will be completed. In addition, subject to limited exceptions, either Charter or Cox Enterprises may terminate the Transaction Agreement if the Cox Transactions have not been consummated by the end date, so long as the terminating party’s failure to comply in all material respects with the Transaction Agreement has not been a primary cause of the failure of the Closing to occur on or before the end date.

If the Cox Transactions are not completed, we may be materially adversely affected, without realizing any of the anticipated benefits of having completed the Cox Transactions, and we will be subject to a number of risks, including the following:

• the market price of Charter common stock could decline;

• we could owe a substantial termination fee to Cox Enterprises under certain circumstances;

• if the Transaction Agreement is terminated and we seek another transaction, we may not find a party willing to enter into a transaction on terms comparable to or more attractive than the terms agreed to in the Transaction Agreement;

• time and resources, financial and other, committed by us and our subsidiaries’ management to matters relating to the Cox Transactions could otherwise have been devoted to pursuing other beneficial opportunities;

• we and our subsidiaries may experience negative reactions from the financial markets or from our customers, suppliers, regulators or employees;

• we will be required to pay certain costs relating to the Cox Transactions, such as legal, accounting, financial advisory, filing, printing and mailing fees, whether or not the Cox Transactions are completed;

• Charter and Cox Communications are subject to restrictions on the conduct of their respective businesses prior to the Closing, as set forth in the Transaction Agreement, which may prevent us or Cox Communications, as applicable, from making certain acquisitions or taking other actions during the pendency of the Cox Transactions; and

• we may experience reputational harm due to the adverse perception of any failure to successfully complete the Cox Transactions.

In addition, if the Cox Transactions are not completed, we could be subject to litigation related to any failure to complete the Cox Transactions or related to any enforcement proceeding commenced against us to perform our obligations under the Transaction Agreement. Any of these risks could materially and adversely impact our financial condition, financial results and stock price.

Our plans for funding the cash consideration and assuming indebtedness of Cox Communications may be adversely affected to the extent there are greater-than-expected increases in our indebtedness, lower-than-expected operating results, credit rating downgrades, or significant financial market disruptions.

We are obligated to fund $4.0 billion of cash consideration under the Transaction Agreement which we expect to fund by incurring indebtedness, and expect to assume approximately $12.6 billion of Cox Communications’ outstanding net debt and finance leases in connection with the Cox Transactions, including Cox Communications’ outstanding unsecured notes as of Closing (the “Cox Notes”). The indentures and supplemental indentures governing the Cox Notes contain certain negative covenants, including restrictions on the incurrence of secured indebtedness and indebtedness of restricted subsidiaries. If our indebtedness increases more than expected, our operating results are lower than expected, or significant financial markets disruptions occur, our cash on hand and available liquidity under our existing credit facilities may be insufficient to fund the cash portion of the consideration. Further, completion of the Cox Transactions may constitute a “change of control repurchase event” under the supplemental indentures governing certain of the Cox Notes if, in connection with the Cox Transactions, each of S&P Global Ratings, Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. and Fitch Ratings, Inc. downgrade the credit rating of certain series of Cox Notes to a rating below “investment grade” (regardless of whether the rating prior to such downgrade was “investment grade” or below “investment grade”) prior to 60 days following consummation of a change of control (which period may be extended in certain circumstances). In such a circumstance, Charter (or one of its subsidiaries that, at the time, is the primary obligor of such series of notes) would be required to offer to repurchase each applicable holder’s Cox Notes of such series at a purchase price in cash equal to 101% of the aggregate principal amount of such series of Cox Notes repurchased, plus accrued and unpaid interest. In the event of such ratings downgrades, we may require additional debt financing to fund such repurchases, which may not be available on terms acceptable to us, or at all. A failure to make the applicable change of control offer or to pay the applicable change of control purchase price when due would result in a default in respect of the applicable series of Cox Notes and could result in a default under the terms of other indebtedness of Charter and its subsidiaries.

Charter and Cox Communications are subject to contractual restrictions while the Cox Transactions are pending, which could adversely affect their respective businesses and operations.

Under the terms of the Transaction Agreement, Charter and Cox Communications are subject to certain restrictions on the conduct of their respective businesses prior to the Closing. Such limitations may affect our or Cox Communications’ ability to execute certain of their business strategies, including the ability in certain cases to amend their organizational documents, repurchase shares or declare dividends in certain circumstances, incur certain indebtedness or complete certain acquisitions and other transactions, which could adversely affect us or Cox Communications prior to the Closing.

The risks described above may be exacerbated by delays or other adverse developments with respect to the completion of the Cox Transactions.

We will incur direct and indirect costs as a result of the Cox Transactions.

We will incur substantial expenses in connection with and as a result of completing the Cox Transactions, including advisory, legal and other transaction costs, and, following the completion of the Cox Transactions, we expect to incur additional expenses in connection with combining the companies. A portion of these costs have already been incurred or will be incurred regardless of whether the Cox Transactions are completed. Factors beyond our control could affect the total amount or timing of these expenses, many of which, by their nature, are difficult to estimate accurately. Our management continues to assess the magnitude of these costs, and additional unanticipated costs may be incurred in connection with the Cox Transactions. Although we expect that the realization of benefits related to the Cox Transactions will offset such costs and expenses over time, no assurances can be made that this net benefit will be achieved in the near term, or at all.

A/N and Liberty Broadband currently have governance rights that give them influence over corporate transactions and other matters. In connection with the Cox Transactions, Liberty Broadband will lose its governance rights (assuming the closing of the Liberty Broadband Combination), A/N’s governance rights will be modified and Cox Enterprises will receive governance rights pursuant to the amended stockholders agreement and amendments to Charter’s governing documents, and Cox Enterprises and A/N will have influence over corporate transactions and other matters.

The Transaction Agreement contemplates that, at the Closing, Charter, A/N and Cox Enterprises will enter into the amended stockholders agreement, which will amend and restate in its entirety the existing stockholders agreement. If the Liberty Broadband Combination is completed, the existing stockholders agreement, which sets forth, among other things, certain of Liberty Broadband’s governance rights with respect to Charter, will terminate with respect to Liberty Broadband. The Liberty Broadband side letter further provides that Liberty Broadband will cause the three Liberty Broadband designees serving on the Board of Directors of Charter to resign effective immediately prior to the effective time of the closing of the Liberty Broadband Combination.

Based on Charter’s share count as of December 31, 2025, Charter expects that Cox Enterprises will own approximately 25.1% of the combined entity’s diluted shares outstanding, on an as-exchanged, as-converted basis and assuming the contemporaneous closing of the Liberty Broadband Combination. Pursuant to the amended stockholders agreement and the amended certificate of incorporation, the size of the Board of Directors of Charter will continue to be fixed at 13 directors, and at the Closing, the directors then serving as A/N’s designees will continue to serve on the Board of Directors of Charter and three designees selected by Cox Enterprises (with the prior approval of Charter (not to be unreasonably withheld)) will become members of the Board of Directors of Charter. Thereafter, each of Cox Enterprises and A/N will be entitled to designate up to three nominees to be elected to the Board of Directors of Charter provided that each maintains certain specified voting or equity ownership thresholds. Cox Enterprises and A/N will be required to vote (subject to the applicable voting cap) their respective shares of Charter common stock for the director nominees nominated by the nominating committee of the Board of Directors of Charter, including the respective designees of Cox Enterprises and A/N, and against any other nominees, except that, with respect to the directors that were not designated by either Cox Enterprises or A/N (the “Unaffiliated Directors”), Cox Enterprises and A/N must instead vote in the same proportion as the voting securities are voted by stockholders other than Cox Enterprises and A/N or any group (as such term is used in Sections 13(d) and 14(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended) which includes any of them are voted, if doing so would cause a different outcome with respect to the Unaffiliated Directors. Cox Enterprises and A/N also will have certain committee designation and other governance rights. Additionally, the amended stockholders agreement will provide that each of Cox Enterprises and A/N will be subject to certain limits on acquisitions of Charter shares (30% in the case of Cox Enterprises; 19% in the case of A/N). In addition, any shares owned by Cox Enterprises or A/N in excess of its applicable voting cap (30% in the case of Cox Enterprises; 15% in the case of A/N) must be voted in proportion to the public stockholders of Charter, other than with respect to certain excluded matters.

The amended stockholders agreement will also provide that at the Closing, Alexander C. Taylor, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Cox Enterprises, will serve as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Charter for an initial three-year term (unless Mr. Taylor ceases to serve as a member of the Board of Directors of Charter prior thereto). The lead independent director of the Board of Directors of Charter at the Closing will be Eric L. Zinterhofer, current Non-executive Chairman of the Board of Directors of Charter. Following Mr. Taylor’s term as Chairman, the Board of Directors of Charter will return to its normal annual process. Additionally, following Mr. Taylor’s term as Chairman, Christopher L. Winfrey, the Chief Executive Officer of Charter, will serve as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Charter; provided that if Mr. Winfrey is no longer a member of the Board of Directors of Charter or is unwilling to serve as Chairman, then Mr. Zinterhofer instead will serve as Chairman (subject to his continued membership on the Board of Directors of Charter and willingness to serve).

At the Closing, Charter will amend its certificate of incorporation and bylaws in order to, among other things, reflect the agreed-upon governance terms to be included in the amended stockholders agreement.

As a result of their rights under the amended stockholders agreement and their significant equity and voting stakes in Charter, Cox Enterprises and/or A/N, who may have interests different from those of other stockholders, will be able to exercise substantial influence over certain matters relating to the governance of Charter, including the approval of significant corporate actions, such as mergers and other business combination transactions.

The amended stockholders agreement will provide A/N and Cox Enterprises with preemptive rights with respect to issuances of Charter equity in connection with certain transactions, and in the event that A/N or Cox Enterprises exercises these rights, holders of Charter Class A common stock may experience further dilution.

The amended stockholders agreement will provide that after the Closing, if Charter proposes to issue any equity securities of Charter in a capital raising transaction, each of Cox Enterprises and A/N (for so long as each party’s equity interest in Charter is equal to or greater than 10%), will have the right to purchase, in whole or in part, for cash a number of such securities that will be determined based on such investor’s pro rata equity interest in Charter. The amended stockholders agreement will define a capital raising transaction as any offering of shares of Charter Class A common stock (or any securities convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for shares of Charter Class A common stock) for cash, whether registered under the Securities Act or otherwise (other than pursuant to a stockholders rights plan).

As a result, if Cox Enterprises and/or A/N elect to exercise their preemptive rights, (i) these parties would not experience the dilution experienced by the other holders of Charter Class A common stock, and (ii) such other holders of Charter Class A common stock may experience further dilution of their interest in Charter upon such exercise.

If we are not able to successfully integrate Cox Communications’ business within the anticipated time frame, or at all, the anticipated cost savings and other benefits of the Cox Transactions may not be realized fully, or at all, or may take longer to realize than expected. In such circumstances, in the event the Cox Transactions are completed, we may not perform as expected and the value of the Charter Class A common stock may be adversely affected.

Charter and Cox Communications have operated and, until completion of the Cox Transactions will continue to operate, independently, and there can be no assurances that their businesses can be integrated successfully. After the consummation of the Cox Transactions the combined company will have significantly more systems, assets, investments, businesses, customers and employees than each company did prior to the Cox Transactions. It is possible that the integration process could result in the loss of key Charter and/or Cox Communications employees, the loss of subscribers and customers, the disruption of the companies’ ongoing businesses or unexpected integration issues, higher than expected integration costs and an overall post-completion integration process that takes longer than originally anticipated. The process of integrating Cox Communications with the businesses Charter operated prior to the Cox Transactions will require significant capital expenditures and the expansion of certain operations and operating and financial systems. Management of each company will be required to devote a significant amount of time and attention to the integration process before the Cox Transactions are completed. There is a significant degree of difficulty and management involvement inherent in that process. These difficulties include:

• integrating the companies’ operations and corporate functions;

• integrating the companies’ technologies, networks and customer service platforms;

• integrating and unifying the product offerings and services available to customers;

• harmonizing the companies’ operating practices, employee development and compensation programs, internal controls and other policies, procedures and processes;

• maintaining existing relationships and agreements with customers, providers, programmers and other vendors and avoiding delays in entering into new agreements with prospective customers, providers and vendors;

• addressing possible differences in business backgrounds, corporate cultures and management philosophies;

• consolidating the companies’ administrative and information technology infrastructure;

• coordinating programming and marketing efforts;

• coordinating geographically dispersed organizations;

• integrating information, purchasing, provisioning, accounting, finance, sales, billing, payroll, reporting and regulatory compliance systems;

• integrating and unifying the product offerings and services available to customers, including customer premise equipment and video user interfaces;

• managing a larger company than before the completion of the Cox Transactions; and

• attracting and retaining the necessary personnel associated with the acquired assets.

Even if the new businesses are successfully integrated, it may not be possible to realize the benefits that are expected to result from the Cox Transactions, or realize these benefits within the time frame that is expected. For example, the elimination of duplicative costs may not be possible or may take longer than anticipated, or the benefits from the Cox Transactions may be offset by costs incurred or delays in integrating the businesses and increased operating costs. If the combined company fails to realize the anticipated benefits from the Cox Transactions, its liquidity, results of operations, financial condition and/or share price may be adversely affected. In addition, at times, the attention of certain members of Charter’s and/or Cox Communications’ management and resources may be focused on the completion of the Cox Transactions and the integration of the businesses and diverted from day-to-day business operations, which may disrupt each company’s business and the business of the combined company.

The market price of Charter Class A common stock may decline as a result of the Cox Transactions.

The market price of Charter Class A common stock may decline as a result of the Cox Transactions if, among other things, the costs of the Cox Transactions are greater than expected, we do not achieve the perceived benefits of the Cox Transactions as rapidly or to the extent anticipated by financial or industry analysts or the effect of the Cox Transactions on our financial position, results of operations or cash flows is not consistent with the expectations of financial or industry analysts. Any of these events may make it more difficult for Charter to sell equity or equity-related securities and have an adverse impact on the price of Charter Class A common stock.

The Cox Transactions raise other risks.

The pending Cox Transactions raise additional risks not described above. For additional information, see the definitive proxy statement with respect to the Cox Transactions, filed by Charter on July 2, 2025, including the sections entitled “Risk Factors” and “Where You Can Find More Information” included therein.

Risks Related to the Liberty Broadband Combination

The Liberty Broadband Combination is subject to conditions, some or all of which may not be satisfied, or completed on a timely basis, if at all. Failure to complete the Liberty Broadband Combination could have material adverse effects on us.

The completion of the Liberty Broadband Combination is subject to a number of conditions, including, among other things, (i) the adoption of the Merger Agreement by the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the aggregate voting power of the outstanding shares of Liberty Broadband Series A common stock, Liberty Broadband Series B common stock and Liberty Broadband preferred stock entitled to vote on the Liberty Broadband merger proposal at the Liberty Broadband special meeting, voting together as a single class; (ii) the adoption of the Merger Agreement by the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the aggregate voting power of the outstanding shares of Liberty Broadband Series A common stock, Liberty Broadband Series B common stock and Liberty Broadband preferred stock entitled to vote on the Liberty Broadband merger proposal at the Liberty Broadband special meeting, beneficially owned, directly or indirectly, by Liberty Broadband stockholders (other than certain affiliated stockholders), voting together as a single class, which condition cannot be waived; (iii) the approval of the share issuance proposal by the affirmative vote of a majority of the votes cast by holders of Charter common stock at the Charter special meeting; (iv) the approval of the Charter merger proposal by the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the aggregate voting power of the outstanding shares of Charter common stock entitled to vote on the proposal at the Charter special meeting, beneficially owned, directly or indirectly, by Charter stockholders (other than certain affiliated stockholders), voting together as a single class, which condition cannot be waived; (v) to the extent applicable, any waiting period (and any extension thereof), and any commitments by the parties not to close before a certain date under a timing agreement entered into with a governmental authority, in each case, in respect of the Liberty Broadband Combination or the conversion of the Liberty Broadband capital stock pursuant to the Merger Agreement under the HSR Act having expired or been granted early termination; (vi) no stop order or proceedings seeking a stop order having been initiated by the SEC and not rescinded with respect to the registration statement on Form S-4, which contains a definitive joint proxy statement/prospectus with respect to the Liberty Broadband Combination, filed by Charter on January 22, 2025; (vii) authorization of listing on the Nasdaq of the shares of Charter Class A common stock and Charter rollover preferred stock to be issued in connection with the Merger; (viii) the absence of any law, order, or other legal restraint or prohibition, entered, enacted, promulgated, enforced or issued by any court or other governmental authority of competent jurisdiction, which prevents, prohibits, renders illegal or enjoins the consummation of the transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement; (ix) the accuracy of each party’s representations and warranties in the Merger Agreement, subject to certain materiality qualifications; (x) each party’s performance, in all material respects, with its covenants required to be performed by it under the Merger Agreement prior to the closing of the Liberty Broadband Combination; (xi) in respect of Charter’s obligation to effect the closing, the completion of the GCI Divestiture; and

(xii) each party’s receipt of a tax opinion, to the effect that, inter alia, the Liberty Broadband Combination will qualify as a “reorganization” within the meaning of Section 368(a) of the Code.

While the parties have agreed in the Merger Agreement to use reasonable best efforts to satisfy the closing conditions, the parties may not be successful in their efforts to do so. The failure to satisfy all of the required conditions could delay the completion of the Liberty Broadband Combination for a significant period of time or prevent completion from occurring at all. Any delay in completing the Liberty Broadband Combination could cause Charter not to realize some or all of the benefits, or realize them on a different timeline than expected, that Charter expects to achieve if the Liberty Broadband Combination is successfully completed within the expected timeframe. There can be no assurance that the conditions in the Merger Agreement will be satisfied or (to the extent permitted) waived or that the Liberty Broadband Combination will be completed. In addition, subject to limited exceptions, either Charter or Liberty Broadband may terminate the Merger Agreement if the Liberty Broadband Combination has not been consummated by August 31, 2027 or such other date as mutually agreed.

If the Liberty Broadband Combination is not completed, we may be materially adversely affected, without realizing any of the benefits of having completed the Liberty Broadband Combination, and we will be subject to a number of risks, including the following:

• the market price of Charter common stock could decline;

• we could owe a substantial termination fee to Liberty Broadband under certain circumstances;

• if the Merger Agreement is terminated and we seek another business combination, we may not find a party willing to enter into a transaction on terms comparable to or more attractive than the terms agreed to in the Merger Agreement;

• time and resources, financial and other, committed by us and our subsidiaries’ management to matters relating to the Liberty Broadband Combination could otherwise have been devoted to pursuing other beneficial opportunities;

• we and our subsidiaries may experience negative reactions from the financial markets or from our customers, suppliers, regulators or employees;

• we will be required to pay our costs relating to the Liberty Broadband Combination, such as legal, accounting, financial advisory, filing, printing and mailing fees, whether or not the Liberty Broadband Combination is completed;

• we are subject to restrictions on the conduct of our business prior to the effective time of the closing of the Liberty Broadband Combination, as set forth in the Merger Agreement, which may prevent us from making certain acquisitions or taking other actions during the pendency of the Liberty Broadband Combination; and

• reputational harm due to the adverse perception of any failure to successfully complete the Liberty Broadband Combination.

In addition, if the Liberty Broadband Combination is not completed, we could be subject to litigation related to any failure to complete the Liberty Broadband Combination or related to any enforcement proceeding commenced against us to perform our obligations under the Merger Agreement. Any of these risks could materially and adversely impact our financial condition, financial results and stock price.

We are subject to contractual restrictions while the Liberty Broadband Combination is pending, which could adversely affect our business and operations.

Under the terms of the Merger Agreement, Charter is subject to a limited set of restrictions on the conduct of its business prior to the effective time of the closing of the Liberty Broadband Combination. Such limitations may affect our ability to execute certain of our business strategies, including the ability in certain cases to amend our organizational documents, issue shares of capital stock or pay extraordinary dividends or distributions, which could adversely affect us prior to the effective time of the closing of the Liberty Broadband Combination. Each of the risks described above may be exacerbated by delays or other adverse developments with respect to the completion of the Liberty Broadband Combination.

The announcement and pendency of the Liberty Broadband Combination could divert the attention of management and cause disruptions in our business, which could have an adverse effect on our business and financial results.

Our management may be required to divert a disproportionate amount of attention away from our day-to-day activities and operations and devote time and effort to consummating the Liberty Broadband Combination. The risks, and adverse effects, of such disruptions and diversions could be exacerbated by a delay in the completion of the Liberty Broadband Combination. These factors could adversely affect our financial position or results of operations, regardless of whether the Liberty Broadband Combination is completed.

We will incur direct and indirect costs as a result of the Liberty Broadband Combination.

We will incur substantial expenses in connection with and as a result of completing the Liberty Broadband Combination, including advisory, legal and other transaction costs, and, following the completion of the Liberty Broadband Combination, we expect to incur additional expenses in connection with combining the companies. A majority of these costs have already been incurred or will be incurred regardless of whether the Liberty Broadband Combination is completed. Factors beyond our control could affect the total amount or timing of these expenses, many of which, by their nature, are difficult to estimate accurately. Our management continues to assess the magnitude of these costs, and additional unanticipated costs may be incurred in connection with the Liberty Broadband Combination. Although we expect that the realization of benefits related to the Liberty Broadband Combination will offset such costs and expenses over time, no assurances can be made that this net benefit will be achieved in the near term, or at all.

If repurchases of Liberty Broadband’s shares of Charter Class A common stock during the pendency of the Liberty Broadband Combination are not consummated on the agreed terms, or otherwise fail to meet the intended objectives, there could be adverse effects on the companies and the Liberty Broadband Combination.

The Stockholders and Letter Agreement Amendment modifies the terms set forth in the existing letter agreement with respect to Liberty Broadband’s participation in Charter’s share repurchase program during the pendency of the Liberty Broadband Combination. The repurchases of Liberty Broadband’s shares of Charter Class A common stock during such period are intended to facilitate the repayment by Liberty Broadband of certain of its outstanding indebtedness and to allow Liberty Broadband to maintain sufficient liquidity to fund its ongoing operations during the pendency of the Liberty Broadband Combination. If the repurchases are not consummated on the agreed terms, or otherwise fail to meet the intended objectives, there could be adverse effects on the financial position of each of Liberty Broadband and Charter and on the Liberty Broadband Combination.

Charter may fail to realize all of the anticipated benefits of the Liberty Broadband Combination or those benefits may take longer to realize than expected.

The full benefits of the Liberty Broadband Combination may not be realized as expected or may not be achieved within the anticipated time frame, or at all. Failure to achieve the anticipated benefits of the Liberty Broadband Combination could cause dilution to our earnings per share, decrease or delay the expected accretive effect of the Liberty Broadband Combination, and negatively impact the price of our common stock. In addition, there may be liabilities that Charter underestimated or did not discover in the course of performing its due diligence investigation of Liberty Broadband.

The Liberty Broadband Combination raises other risks.

The pending Liberty Broadband Combination raises additional risks not described above. For additional information, see the definitive joint proxy statement/prospectus with respect to the Liberty Broadband Combination, filed by Charter on January 22, 2025, including the sections entitled “Risk Factors” and “Where You Can Find More Information” included therein.

Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.

Reference is made to “Part I. Item 1A. Risk Factors” and “Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements,” which describe important factors that could cause actual results to differ from expectations and non-historical information contained herein. In addition, the following discussion should be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes thereto of Charter included in “Part II. Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.”

Overview

We are a leading broadband connectivity company with services available to 58 million homes and small to large businesses across 41 states through our Spectrum brand. Founded in 1993, we have evolved from providing cable TV to streaming, and from high-speed Internet to a converged broadband, WiFi and mobile experience. Over the Spectrum Fiber Broadband Network and supported by our 100% U.S.-based employees, we offer Seamless Connectivity and Entertainment with Spectrum Internet, Mobile, TV and Voice products. See “Part I. Item 1. Business — Products and Services” for further description of these services, including customer statistics for different services.

During the year ended December 31, 2025, we added 1.9 million mobile lines while Internet and video losses improved as compared to the prior year period. Sales were challenged by the competitive environment but were offset by lower customer churn. We remain focused on improving customer results through our brand platform, Life Unlimited which emphasizes the power of our advanced fiber-powered network and cutting-edge connectivity products and services, and our simplified pricing and packaging strategy that better utilizes our seamless connectivity and entertainment products to offer lower promotional and persistent bundled pricing to drive growth. Our Internet and mobile product bundles provide a differentiated connectivity experience by bringing together Spectrum Internet, Advanced WiFi and Unlimited Spectrum Mobile to offer consumers fast, reliable and secure online connections on their favorite devices at home and on the go in high-value packages. We have completed deals with major programmers to deliver better flexibility and greater value to our customers by including seamless entertainment applications with certain of our Spectrum TV packages at no additional cost. In July 2025, we began launching the sale of these seamless entertainment applications to customers on an à la carte basis, and we recently launched the Spectrum App Store, a digital storefront that helps customers activate, upgrade, buy and manage their streaming applications in one place. We also continue to evolve other elements of our video product and are deploying Xumo stream boxes to new video customers.

Our customer commitments focus on reliable connectivity, transparency, exceptional service and always improving. By continually improving our product set and offering consumers the opportunity to save money by switching to our services, we believe we can continue to penetrate our expanding footprint and sell additional products to our existing customers. We see operational benefits from the targeted investments we made in employee wages and benefits to build employee skill sets and tenure, as well as the continued investments in digitization of our customer service platforms, all with the goal of improving the customer experience, reducing transactions and driving customer growth and retention.

We spent $2.2 billion on our subsidized rural construction initiative during the year ended December 31, 2025 and activated approximately 483,000 subsidized rural passings. We currently offer Spectrum Internet products with speeds up to 1 Gbps across our entire footprint and multi-gigabit data speeds in a portion of our footprint. Our network evolution initiative remains on track to deliver symmetrical and multi-gigabit speeds across our entire footprint with convergence everywhere we operate.

We realized revenue, Adjusted EBITDA and income from operations during the periods presented as follows (in millions; all percentages are calculated using whole numbers; minor differences may exist due to rounding).

Years ended December 31,

Growth

Revenues

Adjusted EBITDA

Income from operations

Adjusted EBITDA is defined as net income attributable to Charter shareholders plus net income attributable to noncontrolling interest, net interest expense, income taxes, depreciation and amortization, stock compensation expense, other income (expenses), net and other operating (income) expenses, net, such as special charges, merger and acquisition costs and (gain) loss on sale or retirement of assets. See “—Use of Adjusted EBITDA and Free Cash Flow” for further information on Adjusted EBITDA and free cash flow.

Total revenues decreased slightly primarily due to lower customers, higher seamless entertainment allocation and lower advertising sales, partly offset by mobile line growth and higher average revenue per customer. Adjusted EBITDA grew slightly with mobile revenues growing at a faster rate than mobile direct costs. Income from operations was further negatively impacted by an increase in loss on disposal of assets and merger and acquisition costs.

Approximately 89% of our revenues for each of the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024 are attributable to monthly subscription fees charged to customers for our Internet, mobile, video, voice and commercial services as well as regional sports and news channels. Generally, these customer subscriptions may be discontinued by the customer at any time subject to a fee for certain commercial customers. The remaining 11% of our revenue is derived primarily from advertising revenues, franchise and other regulatory fee revenues (which are collected by us but then paid to local authorities), sales of mobile and video devices, processing fees or reconnection fees charged to customers to commence or reinstate service, installation, VOD and pay-per-view programming, and commissions related to the sale of merchandise by home shopping services.

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

Certain of our accounting policies require our management to make difficult, subjective and/or complex judgments. Management has discussed these policies with the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors of Charter, and the Audit Committee has reviewed the following disclosure. We consider the following policies to be the most critical in understanding the estimates, assumptions and judgments that are involved in preparing our financial statements, and the uncertainties that could affect our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows:

• Capitalization of labor and overhead costs

• Valuation and impairment of franchises and goodwill

• Income taxes

Capitalization of labor and overhead costs

Costs associated with network construction or upgrades, placement of the customer drop to the dwelling and the placement of outlets within a dwelling along with the costs associated with the deployment of new customer premise equipment necessary to provide Internet, video or voice services, are capitalized.  Costs capitalized include materials, direct labor and certain indirect costs.  These indirect costs consist of compensation and overhead costs associated with support functions.  While our capitalization is based on specific activities, once capitalized, we track these costs on a composite basis by fixed asset category at the cable system level, and not on a specific asset basis.  For assets that are sold or retired, we remove the estimated applicable cost and accumulated depreciation.  The costs of disconnecting service and removing customer premise equipment from a dwelling and the costs to reconnect a customer drop or to redeploy previously installed customer premise equipment are charged to operating expense as incurred. Costs for repairs and maintenance are charged to operating expense as incurred, while plant and equipment replacement, including replacement of certain components, betterments, and replacement of cable drops and outlets, are capitalized.

We make judgments regarding the installation and construction activities to be capitalized. We capitalized direct labor and overhead of $2.6 billion and $2.4 billion for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively. We capitalize direct labor and overhead using standards developed from actual costs and applicable operational data. We calculate standards

annually (or more frequently if circumstances dictate) for items such as the labor rates, overhead rates, and the actual amount of time required to perform a capitalizable activity. For example, the standard amounts of time required to perform capitalizable activities are based on studies of the time required to perform such activities. Overhead rates are established based on an analysis of the nature of costs incurred in support of capitalizable activities, and a determination of the portion of costs that is directly attributable to capitalizable activities. The impact of changes that resulted from these studies were not material in the periods presented.

Labor costs directly associated with capital projects are capitalized. Capitalizable activities performed in connection with installations include such activities as:

• dispatching a “truck roll” to the customer’s dwelling or business for service connection or placement of new equipment;

• costs to package and ship new equipment to a customer's home for self-installation;

• verification of serviceability to the customer’s dwelling or business (i.e., determining whether the customer’s dwelling is capable of receiving service by our cable network);

• customer premise activities performed by in-house field technicians and third-party contractors in connection with the installation, replacement and betterment of equipment and materials to enable Internet, video or voice services; and

• verifying the integrity of the customer’s network connection by initiating test signals downstream from the headend to the customer premise equipment, as well as testing signal levels at the utility pole or pedestal.

Judgment is required to determine the extent to which overhead costs incurred result from specific capital activities, and therefore should be capitalized. The primary costs that are included in the determination of the overhead rate are (i) employee benefits and payroll taxes associated with capitalized direct labor, (ii) direct variable costs associated with capitalizable activities, (iii) the cost of support personnel, such as care personnel and dispatchers, who assist with capitalizable installation activities, and (iv) indirect costs directly attributable to capitalizable activities.

While we believe our existing capitalization policies are appropriate, a significant change in the nature or extent of our operating practices could affect management’s judgment about the extent to which we should capitalize direct labor or overhead in the future. We monitor the appropriateness of our capitalization policies and perform updates to our internal studies on an ongoing basis to determine whether facts or circumstances warrant a change to our capitalization policies.

Valuation and impairment of franchises and goodwill

The carrying value of franchise intangibles as of both December 31, 2025 and 2024 was approximately $67.5 billion (representing 44% and 45% of total assets, respectively), and the carrying value of goodwill as of both December 31, 2025 and 2024 was approximately $29.7 billion (representing 19% and 20% of total assets, respectively).

Franchise rights represent the value attributed to agreements or authorizations with local and state authorities that allow access to homes in cable service areas. For valuation purposes, they are defined as the future economic benefits of the right to solicit and service potential customers (customer marketing rights), and the right to deploy and market new services to potential customers (service marketing rights).

Management estimates the fair value of franchise rights at the date of acquisition and determines if the franchise has a finite life or an indefinite life. We have concluded that all of our franchises qualify for indefinite life treatment given that there are no legal, regulatory, contractual, competitive, economic or other factors which limit the period over which these rights will contribute to our cash flows. We reassess this determination periodically or whenever events or substantive changes in circumstances occur.

All franchises are tested for impairment annually or more frequently as warranted by events or changes in circumstances. Franchises are aggregated into essentially inseparable units of accounting to conduct valuations. The franchise units of accounting are geographical clustering of cable systems into groups representing the highest and best use if sold to market participants. We performed a quantitative impairment analysis as of October 31, 2025 utilizing a multi-period excess earnings method, a discounted cash flow income approach which isolates discrete cash flows attributable to the franchise intangibles from the business enterprise cash flows. The income approach incorporated updated projections of the business enterprise cash flows, allocations of cash flows attributable to franchise intangibles, and current market assumptions for growth rates and discount rates. Based on our quantitative analysis, we concluded that the fair value of the franchises in each unit of accounting exceeds the carrying value of such assets by more than 10%.

Goodwill is also tested for impairment annually or more frequently as warranted by events or changes in circumstances. We have determined that we have one reporting unit for purposes of the assessment of goodwill impairment. As with our franchise impairment testing, we elected to perform a quantitative goodwill impairment analysis as of October 31, 2025. We changed the annual goodwill impairment test date to October 31 from the November 30 date used in the prior year’s qualitative assessment to allow for sufficient time to complete the quantitative analysis in conjunction with the year-end financial reporting process. The quantitative analysis considers whether the carrying amount of a reporting unit exceeds its fair value of the reporting unit, in which case an impairment charge is recorded to the extent the reporting unit’s carrying value exceeds its fair value. As a result of that assessment, we concluded that goodwill is not impaired.

For more information, see Note 5 to the accompanying consolidated financial statements contained in “Part II. Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.”

Income taxes

We recognize deferred tax assets and liabilities for temporary differences between the financial reporting basis and the tax basis of our assets and liabilities and expected benefits of utilizing loss carryforwards, including indefinite lived carryovers such as the Section 163(j) interest limitation. Valuation allowances are established when management determines that it is more likely than not that some portion or the entire deferred tax asset will not be realized. In evaluating the need for a valuation allowance, management considers various factors, including the expected level of future taxable income, available tax planning strategies and reversals of existing taxable temporary differences. The impact on deferred taxes of changes in tax rates and tax law, if any, applied to the years during which temporary differences are expected to be settled, are reflected in the consolidated financial statements in the period of enactment. In determining our tax provision for financial reporting purposes, we establish a reserve for uncertain tax positions unless such positions are determined to be “more likely than not” of being sustained upon examination, based on their technical merits. There is considerable judgment involved in making such a determination. We recognize interest and penalties accrued on uncertain income tax positions as part of the income tax provision. See Note 17 to the accompanying consolidated financial statements contained in “Part II. Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” for additional discussion.

Results of Operations

A discussion of changes in our results of operations during the year ended December 31, 2024 compared to the year ended December 31, 2023 has been omitted from this Annual Report on Form 10-K, but may be found in “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024, filed with the SEC on January 31, 2025, which is available free of charge on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov and on Charter's investor relations website at ir.charter.com.

The following table sets forth the consolidated statements of operations for the periods presented (dollars in millions, except per share data):

Year Ended December 31,

Revenues

Costs and Expenses:

Operating costs and expenses (exclusive of items shown separately below)

Depreciation and amortization

Other operating expenses, net

Income from operations

Other Income (Expenses):

Interest expense, net

Other expenses, net

Income before income taxes

Income tax expense

Consolidated net income

Less: Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests

Net income attributable to Charter shareholders

EARNINGS PER COMMON SHARE ATTRIBUTABLE TO CHARTER SHAREHOLDERS:

Basic

Diluted

Weighted average common shares outstanding, basic

Weighted average common shares outstanding, diluted

Revenues. Total revenues decreased $311 million or 0.6% during the year ended December 31, 2025 as compared to 2024 primarily due to lower customers, higher seamless entertainment allocation and lower advertising sales, partly offset by mobile line growth and higher average revenue per customer.

Revenues by service offering were as follows (dollars in millions; all percentages are calculated using whole numbers; minor differences may exist due to rounding):

Years ended December 31,

Growth

Internet

Mobile service

Connectivity

Video

Voice

Residential revenue

Small business

Mid-market & large business

Commercial revenue

Advertising sales

Other

The increase in Internet revenues from our residential customers was attributable to the following (dollars in millions):

2025 compared to 2024

Increase related to rate and product mix changes

Decrease in average residential Internet customers

The increase related to rate and product mix was primarily due to promotional rate step-ups, rate adjustments, and a favorable change in bundled revenue allocation. Residential Internet customers decreased by 393,000 in 2025 compared to 2024.

The increase in mobile service revenues from our residential customers is attributable to the following (dollars in millions):

2025 compared to 2024

Increase in average residential mobile lines

Decrease related to rate

Residential mobile lines increased by 1.8 million in 2025 compared to 2024.

Video revenues consist primarily of revenues from video services provided to our residential customers, as well as franchise fees, equipment service fees and video installation revenue. The decrease in video revenues was attributable to the following (dollars in millions):

2025 compared to 2024

Decrease in average residential video customers

Increase in seamless entertainment allocation

Decrease related to rate and product mix changes

Residential video customers decreased by 255,000 in 2025 compared to 2024. The decrease related to rate and product mix was primarily due to a higher mix of lower priced video packages within our video customer base and more unfavorable bundled revenue allocation, partly offset by promotional rate step-ups and video rate adjustments that pass-through programming rate increases. Seamless entertainment allocation represents costs allocated to programmer streaming applications and netted within video revenue. The growth is due to more seamless entertainment applications and higher activations.

The decrease in voice revenues from our residential customers was attributable to the following (dollars in millions):

2025 compared to 2024

Decrease in average residential voice customers

Increase related to rate adjustments

Residential wireline voice customers decreased by 804,000 in 2025 compared to 2024.

The decrease in small business revenues is attributable to the following (dollars in millions):

2025 compared to 2024

Decrease in average small business customers

Decrease related to rate and product mix changes

Small business customers decreased by 13,000 in 2025 compared to 2024.

Mid-market & large business revenues increased $91 million during the year ended December 31, 2025 as compared to the corresponding period in 2024 primarily due to an increase in Internet PSUs. Mid-market & large business PSUs increased by 17,000 in 2025 compared to 2024.

Advertising sales revenues consist primarily of revenues from commercial advertising customers, programmers and other vendors, as well as local cable and advertising on regional sports and news channels. Advertising sales revenues decreased $312 million during the year ended December 31, 2025 as compared to the corresponding period in 2024 primarily due to a decrease in political revenue.

Other revenues consist of revenue from mobile and video device sales, processing fees, regional sports and news channels (excluding intercompany charges or advertising sales on those channels), subsidy revenue, home shopping, wire maintenance fees and other miscellaneous revenues. Other revenues increased approximately $369 million during the year ended December 31, 2025 as compared to the corresponding period in 2024 primarily due to higher mobile device sales.

Operating costs and expenses . The decrease in our operating costs and expenses, exclusive of items shown separately in the consolidated statements of operations, was attributable to the following (dollars in millions):

2025 compared to 2024

Programming

Other costs of revenue

Field and technology operations

Customer operations

Marketing and residential sales

Transition expenses

Other

Programming costs were approximately $8.8 billion and $9.7 billion for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, representing 27% and 29% of total operating costs and expenses, respectively. Programming costs consist primarily of costs paid to programmers for basic, premium, video on demand, and pay-per-view programming. Programming costs decreased as a result of a higher mix of lower cost video packages within our video customer base and fewer video customers as well as costs allocated to seamless entertainment applications and netted within video revenue, partly offset by contractual rate adjustments, including renewals and increases in amounts paid for retransmission consent.

Other costs of revenue increased $353 million during the year ended December 31, 2025 compared to the corresponding period in 2024 primarily due to higher mobile service direct costs and mobile device sales due to an increase in mobile lines.

Marketing and residential sales increased $192 million during the year ended December 31, 2025 compared to the corresponding period in 2024 primarily due to a change in sales mix to higher cost sales channels.

Transition expenses represent incremental costs incurred to prepare for the integration of the Cox Transactions’ operations and to bring systems and processes into a uniform operating structure. See Note 3 to the accompanying consolidated financial statements contained in “Part II. Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.” for more information.

Other expense decreased $96 million during the year ended December 31, 2025 compared to the corresponding period in 2024 primarily due to one-time favorable adjustments of $75 million.

Depreciation and amortization. Depreciation and amortization expense increased by $38 million during the year ended December 31, 2025 compared to the corresponding period in 2024 primarily due to an increase in depreciation as a result of more recent capital expenditures, partly offset by certain assets becoming fully depreciated.

Other operating expenses, net. Other operating expenses, net increased primarily due to the following (dollars in millions):

2025 compared to 2024

Special charges, net

(Gain) loss on disposal of assets, net

Merger and acquisition costs

For more information, see Note 15 to the accompanying consolidated financial statements contained in “Part II. Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.”

Interest expense, net. Net interest expense decreased by $187 million in 2025 from 2024 primarily due to a decrease in weighted average interest rates and debt.

Other expenses, net. The increase in other expenses, net is attributable to the following (dollars in millions):

2025 compared to 2024

Net periodic pension benefit (costs) (see Note 21)

Loss on equity investments, net (see Note 6)

Gain (loss) on extinguishment of debt, net (see Note 9)

Loss on financial instruments, net (see Note 13)

See Note 15 and the Notes referenced above to the accompanying consolidated financial statements contained in “Item 1. Financial Statements” for more information.

Income tax expense. We recognized income tax expense of $1.7 billion and $1.6 billion for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively . For more information, see Note 17 to the accompanying consolidated financial statements contained in “Part II. Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.”

Net income attributable to noncontrolling interest. Net income attributable to noncontrolling interest for financial reporting purposes represents A/N’s portion of Charter Holdings’ net income based on its effective common unit ownership interest. For more information, see Note 12 to the accompanying consolidated financial statements contained in “Part II. Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.”

Net income attributable to Charter shareholders. Net income attributable to Charter shareholders was $5.0 billion and $5.1 billion for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively, primarily as a result of the factors described above.

Use of Adjusted EBITDA and Free Cash Flow

We use certain measures that are not defined by U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) to evaluate various aspects of our business. Adjusted EBITDA and free cash flow are non-GAAP financial measures and should be considered in addition to, not as a substitute for, net income attributable to Charter shareholders and net cash flows from operating activities reported in accordance with GAAP. These terms, as defined by us, may not be comparable to similarly titled measures used by other companies. Adjusted EBITDA and free cash flow are reconciled to net income attributable to Charter shareholders and net cash flows from operating activities, respectively, below.

Adjusted EBITDA eliminates the significant non-cash depreciation and amortization expense that results from the capital-intensive nature of our businesses as well as other non-cash or special items, and is unaffected by our capital structure or investment activities. However, this measure is limited in that it does not reflect the periodic costs of certain capitalized tangible and intangible assets used in generating revenues and our cash cost of financing. These costs are evaluated through other financial measures.

Free cash flow is defined as net cash flows from operating activities, less capital expenditures and changes in accrued expenses related to capital expenditures.

Management and the Board of Directors of Charter use Adjusted EBITDA and free cash flow to assess our performance and our ability to service our debt, fund operations and make additional investments with internally generated funds. In addition, Adjusted EBITDA generally correlates to the leverage ratio calculation under our credit facilities or outstanding notes to determine compliance with the covenants contained in the facilities and notes (all such documents have been previously filed with the SEC). For the purpose of calculating compliance with leverage covenants, we use Adjusted EBITDA, as presented, excluding certain expenses paid by our operating subsidiaries to other Charter entities. Our debt covenants refer to these expenses as management fees, which fees were in the amount of $1.4 billion and $1.5 billion for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively.

A reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA and free cash flow to net income attributable to Charter shareholders and net cash flows from operating activities, respectively, is as follows (dollars in millions):

Years ended December 31,

Net income attributable to Charter shareholders

Plus: Net income attributable to noncontrolling interest

Interest expense, net

Income tax expense

Depreciation and amortization

Stock compensation expense

Other, net

Adjusted EBITDA

Net cash flows from operating activities

Less: Purchases of property, plant and equipment

Change in accrued expenses related to capital expenditures

Free cash flow

Liquidity and Capital Resources

Overview

We have significant amounts of debt and require significant cash to fund principal and interest payments on our debt. The principal amount of our debt as of December 31, 2025 was $94.6 billion, consisting of $11.9 billion of credit facility debt, $55.4 billion of investment grade senior secured notes and $27.3 billion of high-yield senior unsecured notes. Our split credit rating allows us to access both the investment grade debt and the high yield debt markets.  Additionally, our bankruptcy remote special purpose vehicle is the borrower of a senior secured revolving credit facility to finance the purchase of equipment installment plan receivables with a number of financial institutions (the “EIP Financing Facility”). As of December 31, 2025, the carrying value of the EIP Financing Facility was $1.4 billion. For more information on the EIP Financing Facility, see Note 10 to the accompanying consolidated financial statements contained in “Part II. Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.”

Our projected cash needs and projected sources of liquidity depend upon, among other things, our actual results, and the timing and amount of our expenditures. Free cash flow was $5.0 billion and $4.3 billion for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively. See table below for factors impacting free cash flow during the year ended December 31, 2025 compared to 2024. As of December 31, 2025, the amount available under our credit facilities was approximately $4.4 billion and cash on hand was approximately $477 million. We expect to utilize free cash flow, cash on hand and availability under our credit facilities as well as future refinancing transactions to further extend the maturities of our obligations. The timing and terms of any refinancing transactions will be subject to market conditions among other considerations. Additionally, we may, from time to time, and depending on market conditions and other factors, use cash on hand and the proceeds from securities offerings or other borrowings to retire our debt through open market purchases, privately negotiated purchases, tender offers or redemption provisions. We believe we have sufficient liquidity from cash on hand, free cash flow and Charter Operating’s revolving credit facility as well as access to the capital markets to fund our projected cash needs.

We continue to evaluate the deployment of our cash on hand and anticipated future free cash flow, including investing in our business growth and other strategic opportunities, including expanding the capacity of our network, the expansion of our network through our rural broadband construction initiative, the build-out and deployment of our CBRS spectrum, and mergers and acquisitions as well as stock repurchases and dividends. Charter's leverage ratio of net debt to the last twelve months Adjusted EBITDA was 4.15 times as of December 31, 2025. Charter plans to maintain a leverage ratio, pro forma for the closing of the Liberty Broadband Combination near the midpoint of its stated range of 4.0 to 4.5 times Adjusted EBITDA in the period leading up to the Closing, and up to 3.5 times Adjusted EBITDA at the Charter Operating first lien level. Charter plans to adjust its long-term target leverage range after the Closing to 3.5 to 3.75 times Adjusted EBITDA. As Adjusted EBITDA grows, we expect to increase the total amount of our indebtedness to maintain leverage within Charter's target leverage range.

Excluding purchases from Liberty Broadband discussed below, during the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, Charter purchased in the public market approximately 12.3 million and 2.7 million shares, respectively, of Charter Class A common stock for approximately $3.8 billion and $822 million, respectively. Since the beginning of its buyback program in September 2016 through the year ended December 31, 2025, Charter has purchased in the public market approximately 179.7 million shares of Class A common stock and Charter Holdings common units for approximately $78.8 billion, including purchases from Liberty Broadband and A/N discussed below.

On November 12, 2024, Charter and Liberty Broadband entered into the Stockholders and Letter Agreement Amendment. The Stockholders and Letter Agreement Amendment sets forth, among other things, the terms of Liberty Broadband’s participation in Charter’s share repurchases during the period between the execution of the Merger Agreement and the effective time of the Merger. Pursuant to the Stockholders and Letter Agreement Amendment, each month during the pendency of the proposed transaction, Charter will repurchase shares of Charter Class A common stock from Liberty Broadband in an amount equal to the greater of (i) $100 million and (ii) the Liberty Broadband minimum liquidity threshold as set forth in the Stockholders and Letter Agreement Amendment, provided that if any repurchase would reduce Liberty Broadband’s equity interest in Charter below 25.25% after giving effect to such repurchase or if all or a portion of such repurchase is not permitted under applicable law, then Charter shall instead loan to Liberty Broadband an amount equal to the lesser of (x) the repurchase amount that cannot be repurchased and (y) the Liberty Broadband minimum liquidity threshold as set forth in the Stockholders and Letter Agreement Amendment less the repurchase amount that is repurchased, with such loan on the terms set forth in the Stockholders and Letter Agreement Amendment. From and after the date Liberty Broadband’s exchangeable debentures are no longer outstanding, the amount of monthly repurchases will be the lesser of (i) $100 million and (ii) an amount equal to the sum of (x) the amount needed, in the reasonable judgment of Charter, to maintain an unrestricted cash balance of Liberty Broadband and its subsidiaries (other than GCI Holdings, LLC, GCI Spinco (as defined in the Merger Agreement) and their respective

subsidiaries) of $50 million plus (y) the aggregate outstanding principal amount of the Liberty Broadband margin loan. The purchase price payable by Charter to Liberty Broadband in connection with such monthly repurchases will equal (i) the average price paid by Charter for shares of Charter Class A common stock repurchased during the immediately preceding calendar month (excluding shares repurchased from A/N and certain other excluded repurchases) or (ii) if Charter has not engaged in any repurchases of shares of Charter Class A common stock during the immediately preceding calendar month (other than any repurchases from A/N and certain other excluded repurchases), a purchase price based on a Bloomberg volume-weighted average price methodology proposed by Charter and reasonably acceptable to Liberty Broadband. Liberty Broadband will apply the proceeds from any such repurchases or borrowings from Charter to repay certain of its outstanding indebtedness in accordance with the Stockholders and Letter Agreement Amendment. The Stockholders and Letter Agreement Amendment provides that Liberty Broadband will be exempt from the standstill restrictions and the ownership cap under the Existing Stockholders Agreement to the extent its ownership in Charter exceeds such ownership cap solely as a result of the repurchase provisions in the Stockholders and Letter Agreement Amendment. During the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, Charter purchased from Liberty Broadband 3.8 million and 1.0 million shares of Charter Class A common stock for approximately $1.2 billion and $335 million, respectively.

In December 2016, Charter and A/N entered into a letter agreement, as amended in December 2017 (the “Existing A/N Letter Agreement”), that requires A/N to sell to Charter or to Charter Holdings, on a monthly basis, a number of shares of Charter Class A common stock or Charter Holdings common units that represents a pro rata participation by A/N and its affiliates in any repurchases of shares of Charter Class A common stock from persons other than A/N effected by Charter during the immediately preceding calendar month, at a purchase price equal to the average price paid by Charter for the shares repurchased from persons other than A/N during such immediately preceding calendar month. In connection with the Cox Transactions, Charter, Charter Holdings and A/N entered into an amendment to the Existing A/N Repurchase Letter, dated as of May 16, 2025 (the “A/N Repurchase Letter Amendment”) which sets forth, among other things, the updated terms of A/N’s participation in Charter’s share repurchases going forward. The right to participate pro rata in repurchases on the terms and conditions set forth in the A/N Repurchase Letter Amendment is effective only from the earlier of the Closing and, in the event the Transaction Agreement is terminated in accordance with its terms, the date of such termination (such earlier date, the “Trigger Date”). Prior to the Trigger Date, the Existing A/N Letter Agreement will remain in full force and continue to govern A/N’s participation in Charter’s share repurchases, except for certain specific amendments set forth in the A/N Repurchase Letter Amendment which became effective upon execution of the A/N Repurchase Letter Amendment, including, in certain circumstances, where A/N elects not to participate in redemptions by Charter Holdings because such participation would cause A/N’s equity interest in Charter to be less than 11% prior to the Trigger Date, A/N may, subject to certain conditions, elect to receive a tax loan from Charter Holdings on the terms set forth in the A/N Repurchase Letter Amendment and in definitive documents in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to Charter and A/N. During the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, Charter Holdings purchased from A/N 1.0 million and 0.6 million Charter Holdings common units, respectively, for approximately $373 million and $189 million, respectively.

On August 4, 2025, Charter received a notice from A/N pursuant to the Existing Letter Agreement, whereby A/N notified Charter that A/N was suspending the standing share repurchase agreement between A/N and Charter (the “Suspension”). The Suspension took effect immediately after the first repurchase closing date under the Existing Letter Agreement to occur following the date of the notice. In the notice, A/N informed Charter that it intends for the Suspension to continue through the consummation of the closing of the Cox Transactions or the termination thereof, but reserved the right to end such Suspension before or after such time.

As of December 31, 2025, Charter had remaining board authority to purchase an additional $212 million of Charter’s Class A common stock and/or Charter Holdings common units, excluding purchases from Liberty Broadband. Although Charter expects to continue to buy back its common stock consistent with its leverage target range, Charter is not obligated to acquire any particular amount of common stock, and the timing of any purchases that may occur cannot be predicted and will largely depend on market conditions and other potential uses of capital. Purchases may include open market purchases, tender offers or negotiated transactions.

As possible acquisitions, swaps or dispositions arise, we actively review them against our objectives including, among other considerations, improving the operational efficiency, geographic clustering of assets, product development or technology capabilities of our business and achieving appropriate return targets, and we may participate to the extent we believe these possibilities present attractive opportunities. However, there can be no assurance that we will actually complete any acquisitions, including the Cox Transactions, dispositions or system swaps, or that any such transactions will be material to our operations or results.

New Tax Legislation

On July 4, 2025, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (“OBBBA”) was enacted into law. The OBBBA contains numerous business tax provisions, including business extenders made permanent such as restoration of 100% bonus depreciation, IRC Section 174 expensing for US-based research, and the EBITDA-based business interest expense limitation under IRC Section 163(j). The OBBBA reduced cash paid for taxes during the year ended December 31, 2025.

Free Cash Flow

Free cash flow increased $747 million during the year ended December 31, 2025 compared to the corresponding prior period due to the following (dollars in millions):

2025 compared to 2024

Decrease in cash paid for taxes, net

Changes in working capital, mobile devices

Decrease in cash paid for interest, net

Increase in Adjusted EBITDA

Changes in working capital, excluding mobile devices

Increase in capital expenditures

Other, net

Historical Operating, Investing, and Financing Activities

Cash and Cash Equivalents. We held $477 million and $459 million in cash and cash equivalents as of December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively. In addition, we held $121 million and $47 million in restricted cash included in prepaid and other current assets in our consolidated balance sheets as of December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively.

Operating Activities. Net cash provided by operating activities increased $1.6 billion during the year ended December 31, 2025 compared to the year ended December 31, 2024, primarily due to a decrease in cash paid for taxes and interest, increase in Adjusted EBITDA and the payment of litigation settlements in 2024.

Investing Activities. Net cash used in investing activities was $11.6 billion and $10.7 billion for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively. The increase in cash used was primarily due to an increase in capital expenditures and changes in accrued expenses related to capital expenditures.

Financing Activities. Net cash used in financing activities increased $386 million during the year ended December 31, 2025 compared to the year ended December 31, 2024 primarily due to an increase in the purchase of treasury stock and noncontrolling interest and decrease in borrowings under the EIP Financing Facility, partly offset by an increase in the amount by which borrowings of long-term debt exceeded repayments.

Capital Expenditures

We have significant ongoing capital expenditure requirements.  Capital expenditures were $11.7 billion and $11.3 billion for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively. The increase was primarily driven by an increase in support capital, higher spend on network evolution and an increase in scalable infrastructure spend, partly offset by a decrease in line extensions. See the table below for more details.

We currently expect full year 2026 capital expenditures to total approximately $11.4 billion. The actual amount of capital expenditures in 2026 will depend on a number of factors including, but not limited to, the pace of our network evolution and expansion initiatives, supply chain timing and residential and business growth rates.

Our capital expenditures are funded primarily from cash flows from operating activities and borrowings on our credit facility. In addition, our accrued liabilities related to capital expenditures increased $586 million and $1.1 billion for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively.

The following tables present our major capital expenditures categories in accordance with National Cable and Telecommunications Association (“NCTA”) disclosure guidelines for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024. These disclosure guidelines are not required disclosures under GAAP, nor do they impact our accounting for capital expenditures under GAAP (dollars in millions):

Year Ended December 31,

Customer premise equipment (a)

Scalable infrastructure (b)

Upgrade/rebuild (c)

Support capital (d)

Capital expenditures, excluding line extensions

Subsidized rural construction line extensions

Other line extensions

Total line extensions (e)

Total capital expenditures

Of which:

Commercial services

Subsidized rural construction initiative (f)

Mobile

(a) Customer premise equipment includes equipment and devices located at the customer's premise used to deliver our Internet, video and voice services (e.g., modems, routers and set-top boxes), as well as installation costs.

(b) Scalable infrastructure includes costs, not related to customer premise equipment or our network, to secure growth of new customers or provide service enhancements (e.g., headend equipment).

(c) Upgrade/rebuild includes costs to modify or replace existing fiber/coaxial cable networks, including our network evolution initiative.

(d) Support capital includes costs associated with the replacement or enhancement of non-network assets (e.g., back-office systems, non-network equipment, land and buildings, vehicles, tools and test equipment).

(e) Line extensions include network costs associated with entering new service areas (e.g., fiber/coaxial cable, amplifiers, electronic equipment, make-ready and design engineering).

(f) The subsidized rural construction initiative subcategory includes projects for which we are receiving subsidies from federal, state and local governments, excluding customer premise equipment and installation.

Debt

As of December 31, 2025, the accreted value of our total debt was approximately $94.8 billion, as summarized below (dollars in millions):

December 31, 2025

Principal Amount

Accreted Value (a)

Interest Payment Dates

Maturity Date (b)

CCO Holdings, LLC:

5.500% senior notes due 2026

5.125% senior notes due 2027

5.000% senior notes due 2028

5.375% senior notes due 2029

6.375% senior notes due 2029

4.750% senior notes due 2030

4.500% senior notes due 2030

4.250% senior notes due 2031

7.375% senior notes due 2031

4.750% senior notes due 2032

4.500% senior notes due 2032

4.500% senior notes due 2033

4.250% senior notes due 2034

Charter Communications Operating, LLC:

3.750% senior notes due 2028

4.200% senior notes due 2028

2.250% senior notes due 2029

5.050% senior notes due 2029

6.100% senior notes due 2029

2.800% senior notes due 2031

2.300% senior notes due 2032

4.400% senior notes due 2033

6.650% senior notes due 2034

6.550% senior notes due 2034

6.384% senior notes due 2035

5.850% senior notes due 2035

5.375% senior notes due 2038

3.500% senior notes due 2041

3.500% senior notes due 2042

6.484% senior notes due 2045

5.375% senior notes due 2047

5.750% senior notes due 2048

5.125% senior notes due 2049

4.800% senior notes due 2050

3.700% senior notes due 2051

3.900% senior notes due 2052

5.250% senior notes due 2053

6.834% senior notes due 2055

6.700% senior notes due 2055

3.850% senior notes due 2061

4.400% senior notes due 2061

3.950% senior notes due 2062

5.500% senior notes due 2063

Credit facilities

Varies

Time Warner Cable, LLC:

5.750% sterling senior notes due 2031 (c)

6.550% senior debentures due 2037

7.300% senior debentures due 2038

6.750% senior debentures due 2039

5.875% senior debentures due 2040

5.500% senior debentures due 2041

5.250% sterling senior notes due 2042 (d)

4.500% senior debentures due 2042

Time Warner Cable Enterprises LLC:

8.375% senior debentures due 2033

(a) The accreted values presented in the table above represent the principal amount of the debt adjusted for original issue discount or premium at the time of sale, deferred financing costs, and, in regards to debt assumed in acquisitions, fair value premium adjustments as a result of applying acquisition accounting plus the accretion of those amounts to the balance sheet date. However, the amount that is currently payable if the debt becomes immediately due is equal to the principal amount of the debt. In regards to the Sterling Notes, the principal amount of the debt and any premium or discount is remeasured

into US dollars as of each balance sheet date. We had availability under our credit facilities of approximately $4.4 billion as of December 31, 2025.

(b) In general, the obligors have the right to redeem all of the notes set forth in the above table in whole or in part at their option, beginning at various times prior to their stated maturity dates, subject to certain conditions, upon the payment of the outstanding principal amount (plus a specified redemption premium) and all accrued and unpaid interest.

(c) Principal amount includes £625 million valued at $842 million as of December 31, 2025 using the exchange rate as of December 31, 2025.

(d) Principal amount includes £650 million valued at $876 million as of December 31, 2025 using the exchange rate as of December 31, 2025.

In July 2025, Charter Operating and Charter Communications Operating Capital Corp. paid in full all of their outstanding 4.908% senior secured notes due 2025 at maturity.

In September 2025, Charter Operating and Charter Communications Operating Capital Corp. jointly issued $1.25 billion of 5.850% senior secured notes due December 2035 at a price of 99.932% of the aggregate principal amount and $750 million of 6.700% senior secured notes due December 2055 at a price of 99.832% of the aggregate principal amount. The net proceeds were used for general corporate purposes, including to repay certain indebtedness, including Charter Operating’s 6.150% senior secured notes due 2026, to fund potential buybacks of Charter Class A common stock and Charter Holdings common units, and to pay related fees and expenses.

In January 2026, CCO Holdings and CCO Holdings Capital Corp. jointly issued $1.75 billion aggregate principal amount of 7.000% senior notes due February 2033 at par and $1.25 billion aggregate principal amount of 7.375% senior notes due February 2036 at par. The net proceeds will be used for general corporate purposes, including to repay certain indebtedness, including the call of $750 million of CCO Holdings 5.500% senior notes due 2026 and partial call of $2.25 billion of CCO Holdings 5.125% senior notes due 2027.

See Note 9 to the accompanying consolidated financial statements contained in “Part II. Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” for further details regarding our outstanding debt and other financing arrangements, including certain information about maturities, covenants and restrictions related to such debt and financing arrangements. The agreements and instruments governing our debt and financing arrangements are complicated and you should consult such agreements and instruments which are filed with the SEC for more detailed information. See also “Part I. Item 1A. Risk Factors — The agreements and instruments governing our debt contain restrictions and limitations that could significantly affect our ability to operate our business, as well as significantly affect our liquidity.”

Recently Issued Accounting Standards

See Note 22 to the accompanying consolidated financial statements contained in “Part II. Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” for a discussion of recently issued accounting standards.