New York, Feb 11, 2026, 15:11 EST — Regular session
- Charter Communications shares fell about 2.5% in afternoon trade, giving back part of a three-session rally
- Treasury yields rose after U.S. jobs data, keeping pressure on rate-sensitive, highly leveraged names
- Investors are looking to Friday’s U.S. CPI report as the next big catalyst for rates and risk appetite
Charter Communications shares slid on Wednesday, snapping a three-session run and tracking a choppier tape after a stronger-than-expected U.S. jobs report pushed Treasury yields higher.
The stock was down about 2.5% at $241.88 by mid-afternoon in New York, after touching an intraday high of $250.25. Charter last closed at $248.19 on Tuesday.
Why it matters now: yields moved up after the payrolls report, a backdrop that can weigh on companies with big debt loads as investors reprice the path for Federal Reserve cuts. The 10-year Treasury yield was last up about 4.5 basis points at 4.19% after the data, Reuters reported. Reuters
Charter’s dip comes after a sharp rebound. The stock rose 4.17% on Tuesday, its third straight gain, as investors rotated back into beaten-down cable names. Marketwatch
Peers were mixed. Comcast was modestly higher, while telecom carriers AT&T and Verizon were up more than 2% in afternoon trading.
For Charter, the near-term debate remains familiar: whether the company can offset broadband pressure with wireless growth and tighter bundling. In its latest quarterly update, Charter said fourth-quarter internet customers fell by 119,000, while mobile lines rose by 428,000. CEO Chris Winfrey said the company’s 2026 focus is “to message our product utility, value and high-quality service to customers.” Charter also reported $5.0 billion of full-year free cash flow — cash left after capital spending — and said it bought back about $5.4 billion of stock and units in 2025. Charter
Charter has also been spending to upgrade its network, including plans to bring “symmetrical” speeds — where upload matches download — more broadly across its footprint, a costly push at a time investors are watching capital intensity and returns.
But there is an obvious risk case. If rates keep grinding higher, the market’s tolerance for leverage can thin quickly, and cable operators can find themselves trading like long-duration assets even when their day-to-day business is steady. Subscriber trends are another fault line: steeper broadband losses, or more aggressive competition from fiber and fixed wireless, would test the bullish read-through from mobile additions.
The next hard catalyst for the tape is macro. The U.S. Consumer Price Index report for January is due on Friday at 8:30 a.m. EST, according to the Labor Department schedule. Bls
