TV & Radio, Metals & Mining Stocks Laggard in Friday Trading

Television & radio shares declined by 2.4% on Friday, with Charter Communications and Altice USA experiencing losses of 18.1% and 8.6%, respectively. Metals & mining shares also lagged behind, down 1.7% as a group, led by 5E Advanced Materials and American Battery Technology, which fell 15.6% and 5.8%, respectively.

Television and radio shares experienced a significant decline on Friday, with Charter Communications and Altice USA leading the way. Charter Communications, a major player in the cable and internet industry, saw its shares drop by 18.1%, while Altice USA fell by 8.6%. This marked the largest single-day losses for Charter Communications since the beginning of the year.

The decline in Charter Communications' stock price was largely attributed to its weak second-quarter results, which were announced earlier in the week. The company reported earnings of $9.18 per share, missing estimates by $0.48, despite revenue of $13.8 billion that was in line with expectations. Residential revenue fell by 0.4%, while commercial revenue grew by 0.8%. However, expenses grew by 0.6%, leading to a modest compression in EBITDA margin to 41.4%. Adjusted EBITDA was up by just 0.5% from last year [1].

Charter Communications' internet business, which accounts for the majority of its revenue, saw a decline in subscriber count by 117,000 to 29.9 million. This was worse than expected and has raised concerns about the company's ability to maintain its subscriber base. However, despite the decline in internet subscribers, revenue from this segment rose by 2.8%, primarily due to the end of promotional pricing packages and typical bill inflation [1].

The company's video business also faced challenges, with residential video losses of 73,000, marking the best performance in over a year. However, the overall subscriber count for video services declined by 5% to 12.6 million, and video revenue fell by 9.9% to $3.5 billion [1].

Despite these challenges, Charter Communications remains a cash-generative business. It produced $1 billion of free cash flow in the second quarter, down from $1.25 billion in the same period last year. The company also continues to return capital to investors, with $1.7 billion of buybacks during the quarter, representing a 1.4% reduction in the share count [1].

The broader television and radio sector also experienced a decline on Friday, with the group down by 2.4% as a whole. Metals and mining shares also lagged, falling by 1.7% as a group, led by 5E Advanced Materials and American Battery Technology, which fell by 15.6% and 5.8%, respectively [2].

The decline in television and radio shares, particularly Charter Communications and Altice USA, reflects broader concerns about the sector's ability to adapt to changing consumer behavior and increased competition. However, the long-term prospects for these companies remain uncertain, and investors should closely monitor their financial performance and strategic initiatives.

References:
[1] https://seekingalpha.com/article/4804586-charter-communications-fear-reaches-extreme-levels-upgrade
[2] https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/friday-sector-laggards-television-radio-metals-mining-stocks