Institutional ticker directory tracking stock mentions, long/short ideas, and high-conviction pitches extracted from quarterly hedge fund letters.
| Ticker | Company | Sector | Industry | Pitches | Stance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fund / Manager | Thesis Excerpt | Stance | Period / Date | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|
FPA Source Capital Source Capital Portfolio Managers | “We have discussed our exposure to cable broadband providers, through holdings in Comcast and Charter/Liberty Broadband in the past. Still, the stocks continue to see pressure as fiber and fixed wireless operators take share. Heading into 2020, both stocks had a strong run as residential broadband demand increased when people were forced to work from home. Since that time, shares have sold off and now trade at historically depressed valuations against a backdrop of strong FCF generation and share repurchases. While we aspire to own growing businesses at reasonable valuations, there will periodically also be room in a diversified portfolio for small positions that trade at cheap multiples and reasonable business prospects, which both Comcast and Charter fit at present. Charter Communications contributed -0.40% to performance over the trailing twelve months and represented 0.2% of the portfolio on average.” | NEUTRAL | Q2 2026 Aug 19, 2026 | View Pitch |
Alluvium Global Fund Stuart Pearce, Alexis Delloye | “Charter Communications and its tracking stock Liberty Broadband fell 34.1% and 33.7% following the release of Charter's results in April. It seems the market is understandably concerned with the average revenue per user (ARPU) being flat, and the continual loss of internet customers. Competition is intense from both fixed wireless providers and low earth orbit satellite (Starlink). Compared to Charter's cables, these are higher cost and more capacity constrained. Charter's flat ARPU is the result of its decision to provide a demonstrably better offering at a low price - so why is it losing so many internet customers? We do not know the answer. We do know though that it is growing its mobile subscribers at a much faster rate than it is losing its internet customers, and more than half of its residential customers subscribe to more than one product. We also see positives stemming from the pending Cox acquisition, and indeed management increased expected synergies by 60%. It seems to us that the broader market has extrapolated current conditions to perpetuity. Then again, the broader market is also subscribing significant value to unprofitable AI companies, many users of which are not paying for these AI features, yet, on the other hand, those same users are paying recurring fees for their internet connections. Ironically, one such AI company (Grok.ai) is housed within SpaceX, whose only profitable business is Starlink - that provides internet services! Charter trades at a price that translates to an earnings yield and a free cash flow yield of more than 20%, and at less than half our valuation. The combined positions account for 4.8% of the Fund. We are torn on this one. Ordinarily we would buy more, and we have been, but the news is not improving and we lack the requisite courage to continue buying.” | NEUTRAL | Q2 2026 Jul 29, 2026 | View Pitch |
Brennan Asset Management, LLC Patrick Brennan | “As we have discussed in prior letters, CHTR was once a fantastic winner for us -- really. We sold roughly half and, with the benefit of hindsight, life would be easier if we had sold the rest. To be clear, we simply misjudged the staying power of fixed wireless and fiber and their threat to CHTR's core broadband business. Satellite competition from SpaceX appears to be the newest concern hitting the entire telecom sector. With nearly unlimited capital, it is certainly possible that the company eventually becomes a bigger competitor in markets other than super-rural areas (thus far, little evidence). We have and continue to like CHTR's management team. We believe that the Cox acquisition (detailed in our Q2 2025 letter) was consummated at an attractive price and hope the deal closes shortly. Undoubtedly, CHTR paid too much for past share repurchases and leverage is too high given anemic growth or possible EBITDA declines. Complaints about CHTR's management team missing warning signs on competitors and paying too much for repurchases are completely justified. To its credit, CHTR has acknowledged that debt levels need to decline and the company is now targeting post-Cox levels at 3.5x (vs. a prior target of ~4x). CHTR's 2026 Q1 print was a small case study in the volatility we are underwriting. The release looked largely unchanged to us – not better, but roughly where we expected – yet because broadband losses came in a touch worse than consensus, a stock we figured might wobble 5-8% instead fell ~25%. We saw nothing in the quarter to justify a move of that size, which is precisely the price-value gap that keeps us in the name. On the quarter itself (reported July 24): it was objectively soft. Broadband losses accelerated to 172,000 (from ~120,000 in the first quarter), driven by weak gross additions and the normalization of aggressive first-quarter retention offers rather than by elevated churn, which was roughly flat. Management also trimmed its full-year standalone EBITDA guide to a decline of ~1%. But the call carried real offsets: The Cox deal is now expected to close in mid-to-late August, with synergies that management expects to grow toward ~$1 billion and an implied Cox purchase price down to ~$27 billion (~5x EBITDA). The company lowered its leverage target to a flat 3.5x and launched a $20 billion debt exchange to accelerate deleveraging. CHTR paused buybacks until the fourth quarter to prioritize that deleveraging. Tellingly, the CFO framed the value gap in the company's own terms – substituting 2028 capital expenditures into current free cash flow, she pegged the stock at roughly 2x free cash flow or a ~50% free cash flow yield. Perhaps said slightly differently, the whole debate collapses to a single tension: CHTR's bonds trade near par – the credit market sees little risk of default – while the equity trades at a forward free-cash-flow yield approaching 50%. Both cannot be right, and we think it is the equity that is mispriced. If consensus numbers are even directionally correct, it is not hard to envision 2-4x upside from current prices (~$130).” | NEUTRAL | Q2 2026 Jul 27, 2026 | View Pitch |
Alluvium Global Fund Stuart Pearce, Alexis Delloye | “Charter Communications (down 24.1%) was again hammered. Competition is fiercer than expected and many investors appear to have thrown in the towel. Whilst competition is intense, we maintain belief that Charter's offering, which is not capacity constrained, will eventually reign supreme. With a massive step down in capital expenditure, the finalisation of the Cox Communications merger pending, and the beneficial changes to federal tax legislation passed by Congress, we are expecting strong free cash flow growth in coming years. Our valuation is little changed, so with the investment becoming more compelling we bought more. BSD Analysis: Charter is a broadband utility masquerading as a media company — and broadband is the only part that matters. Cord-cutting hurts video optics, but high-speed internet demand keeps climbing. The network is already built, which means incremental revenue drops heavily to cash flow. Competition from fiber and wireless exists, but overbuilding economics are brutal. Pricing power is subtle but real through speed tiers and bundling. Leverage amplifies outcomes, making execution critical. Capital intensity is falling as the build cycle matures. This is not a growth stock. It's a cash-flow levered infrastructure play that rewards patience when churn stays controlled.” | BULL | Q4 2025 Jan 23, 2026 | View Pitch |
Weitz Partners III Opportunity Fund Wally Weitz, CFA® & Drew Weitz | “Liberty Broadband's operating entity, Charter Communications, has faced negative headlines, but there are important differences versus other challenged holdings. Connectivity at home and on the go has become a non-discretionary expense for most households, underpinning the durability of Charter's cash flows. Charter's mobile service continues to win in the market, creating a converged bundled product. While the company still has work to do on its network upgrade program, 2025 is expected to mark the peak year of spending. As investment moderates, free cash flow should improve, supporting continued share repurchases. BSD Analysis: Charter Communications is currently navigating a period of valuation dislocation, trading at a significant discount to peers with a P/E ratio of approximately 4.6x. The 2026 narrative is focused on the stabilization of its broadband base through converged "Spectrum One" bundles and the rollout of WiFi 7 infrastructure to defend against fiber and fixed wireless competition. While quarterly revenues have shown slight contractions, the company continues to generate robust net income and has successfully tapped debt markets with a $3 billion notes offering in early 2026 to manage its maturity profile. The investment thesis is increasingly split: value-oriented analysts point to a massive gap between the current share price and long-term price targets near $275, while skeptics focus on the sustained erosion of the core broadband market share. The key catalyst for 2026 remains the January 30th earnings report, which will dictate whether management can align market sentiment with its strong underlying cash flow generation.” | BULL | Q4 2025 Jan 12, 2026 | View Pitch |
Weitz Multi Cap Equity Fund Weitz Investment Management, Inc. | “Charter has faced negative headlines, too, but there are important differences. Importantly, connectivity at home and on the go has become a non discretionary expense for most households, underpinning the durability of Charter's cash flows in a way that selling used cars does not. Charter's mobile service continues to win in the market, creating a converged bundled product that competes well for the limited number of customers available. And while Charter still has work to do on its network upgrade program, 2025 is expected to mark the peak year of spending. As this investment moderates, free cash flow should improve, supporting continued share repurchases at today's depressed prices. With the benefit of hindsight, the early phase of this investment cycle was painful, but we believe the setup is improving and chose to maintain our exposure through Liberty Broadband. BSD Analysis: Charter Communications is currently navigating a period of valuation dislocation, trading at a significant discount to peers with a P/E ratio of approximately 4.7x. The 2026 narrative is focused on the stabilization of its broadband base through converged "Spectrum One" bundles and the rollout of WiFi 7 infrastructure to defend against fiber and fixed wireless competition. While quarterly revenues have shown slight year-over-year contractions, the company continues to generate robust net income and has successfully tapped debt markets with a $3 billion notes offering in early 2026 to manage its maturity profile. The investment thesis is increasingly split: value-oriented analysts point to a massive gap between the current share price and long-term discounted cash flow (DCF) estimates, while skeptics focus on the sustained decline in total shareholder returns over the past five years. The key catalyst for 2026 remains the January 30th earnings report, which will dictate whether management can align market sentiment with its strong underlying cash flow generation.” | BULL | Q4 2025 Jan 12, 2026 | View Pitch |
Alluvium Global Fund Stuart Pearce, Alexis Delloye | “Charter's latest full-year results showed robust underlying subscriber trends, specifically boasting a high customer retention rate after the expiration of subsidy programs. The fund remains highly comfortable holding Charter alongside Liberty Broadband, as both continue to trade at slight discounts to intrinsic value.” | BULL | Q1 2025 Mar 1, 2025 | View Pitch |
Each excerpt above is the manager's commentary on this ticker specifically. The full letter has the rest of their portfolio thinking, risk discussion, and broader institutional context.
