Charter Foresees Cash Flow Surge, Shrugs Off BEAD

WASHINGTON, March 3, 2025 – Charter Communications says its era of heavy investment is over—and now, it's time to cash in.

CEO Chris Winfrey told investors Monday at a Morgan Stanley conference that the company is set for a major surge in free cash flow, with capital expenditures winding down after years of spending on network upgrades, rural broadband expansion, and its mobile business.

“That drop between where we are today in capex and what we’re committed to is worth over $25 per share in free cash flow. It’s significant,” Winfrey said.

Over the past several years, Charter has: Upgraded its hybrid fiber-coaxial network to support multi-gig symmetrical speeds; expanded broadband access in rural areas, participating as a major player in federally subsidized programs like the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund; and, doubled down on mobile by bundling wireless service with its home broadband offerings.

Now that those investments are winding down, Winfrey says Charter doesn’t need to chase the next round of government broadband funding.

Despite the funding for the federal government’s $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program beginning to roll out, Winfrey signaled Charter won’t be a major participant, saying the rules and restrictions make the program less appealing than earlier subsidies.

“Every time we take a look at BEAD, it becomes less attractive and less material,” he said.

Instead, Charter is betting that its existing network investments and bundled pricing will give it an edge over fiber and fixed wireless competitors.

Winfrey dismissed concerns about increased fiber competition, arguing that overbuilding in crowded markets has historically been a losing bet.

“The reality is, history is littered with companies that went bankrupt trying to [overbuild fiber], and even some well-branded companies have really struggled to make that happen and make a return.”

Instead, Charter believes its hybrid fiber-coaxial network, combined with mobile bundling, will keep it competitive without the need for massive new infrastructure spending.

“Inside of our footprint, the only operator that has gigabit wireline and gigabit wireless capabilities is us, and it’s pretty clear,” Winfrey said.