Charter Communications stock was hit hard Thursday morning, down as much as 8.4% ($28.91 per share) to $316 each after it missed third-quarter earnings per share estimates and video subscriber losses accelerated.
Charter shares were trading at $327.43 each (down 5.1% or $17.48 each) at 10 a.m.
Net income at Charter was $48 million in the period, or 19 cents per share, compared with the $189 million and 70 cents per share reported in Q3 2016.
Video customer losses more than doubled in the third quarter to 104,000 from 47,000 in the previous year, as the company continued to move forward with the integration of its 2016 purchase of Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks.
The company added 249,000 high-speed internet customers, down from 350,000 additions in the prior year. Total customer relationships increased by 172,000 in the period, compared to 241,000 in Q3 2016
Revenue for the company increased 4.2% to $10.5 billion and cash flow was up 5% to $3.8 billion in the period.
“Our integration is going well and remains on schedule. And despite the complexity that comes with changing the way we do business in 75% of our footprint, we continue to generate solid customer, revenue and EBITDA growth," said Charter chairman and CEO Tom Rutledge in a statement. "Through our integration, we are creating one company, with a unified and centralized operating strategy, which will put Charter on a path to be able to grow quickly over a multi-year period.”
