Charter Communications 10-Q 2021-09-30

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-Q

(Mark One)

For the quarterly period ended September 30, 2021

or

For the Transition Period From to

Commission File Number: 001-33664

Charter Communications, Inc.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

(203) 905-7801

(Registrant's telephone number, including area code)

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes x No o

Indicate by check mark whether the registrants have submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrants were required to submit and post such files). Yes x No o

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See definition of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

Large accelerated filer x Accelerated filer o Non-accelerated filer o Smaller reporting company ☐ Emerging growth company ☐

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. o

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act). Yes ☐ No x

Number of shares of Class A common stock outstanding as of September 30, 2021: 179,291,073

Number of shares of Class B common stock outstanding as of September 30, 2021: 1

CHARTER COMMUNICATIONS, INC.

QUARTERLY REPORT ON FORM 10-Q FOR THE PERIOD ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 2021

TABLE OF CONTENTS

This quarterly report on Form 10-Q is for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021. The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) allows us to “incorporate by reference” information that we file with the SEC, which means that we can disclose important information to you by referring you directly to those documents. In this quarterly report, “Charter,” “we,” “us” and “our” refer to Charter Communications, Inc. and its subsidiaries.

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CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This quarterly report includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), regarding, among other things, our plans, strategies and prospects, both business and financial including, without limitation, the forward-looking statements set forth in the “Results of Operations” and “Liquidity and Capital Resources” sections under Part I, Item 2. “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in this quarterly report. Although we believe that our plans, intentions and expectations as reflected in or suggested by these forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot assure you that we will achieve or realize these plans, intentions or expectations. Forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions including, without limitation, the factors described under “Risk Factors” under Part I, Item 1A of our most recent Form 10-K filed with the SEC. Many of the forward-looking statements contained in this quarterly report may be identified by the use of forward-looking words such as “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “should,” “planned,” “will,” “may,” “intend,” “estimated,” “aim,” “on track,” “target,” “opportunity,” “tentative,” “positioning,” “designed,” “create,” “predict,” “project,” “initiatives,” “seek,” “would,” “could,” “continue,” “ongoing,” “upside,” “increases,” “grow,” “focused on” and “potential,” among others. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements we make in this quarterly report are set forth in this quarterly report on Form 10-Q, in our annual report on Form 10-K, and in other reports or documents that we file from time to time with the SEC, and include, but are not limited to:

• our ability to sustain and grow revenues and cash flow from operations by offering Internet, video, voice, mobile, advertising and other services to residential and commercial customers, to adequately meet the customer experience demands in our service areas and to maintain and grow our customer base, particularly in the face of increasingly aggressive competition, the need for innovation and the related capital expenditures;

• the impact of competition from other market participants, including but not limited to incumbent telephone companies, direct broadcast satellite ("DBS") operators, wireless broadband and telephone providers, digital subscriber line (“DSL”) providers, fiber to the home providers and providers of video content over broadband Internet connections;

• general business conditions, unemployment levels and the level of activity in the housing sector and economic uncertainty or downturn, including the impacts of the Novel Coronavirus (“COVID-19”) pandemic to our customers, our vendors and local, state and federal governmental responses to the pandemic;

• our ability to obtain programming at reasonable prices or to raise prices to offset, in whole or in part, the effects of higher programming costs (including retransmission consents and distribution requirements);

• our ability to develop and deploy new products and technologies including mobile products and any other consumer services and service platforms;

• any events that disrupt our networks, information systems or properties and impair our operating activities or our reputation;

• the effects of governmental regulation on our business including subsidies to consumers, subsidies and incentives for competitors, costs, disruptions and possible limitations on operating flexibility related to, and our ability to comply with, regulatory conditions applicable to us;

• the ability to hire and retain key personnel;

• our ability to procure necessary services and equipment from our vendors at reasonable costs;

• the availability and access, in general, of funds to meet our debt obligations prior to or when they become due and to fund our operations and necessary capital expenditures, either through (i) cash on hand, (ii) free cash flow, or (iii) access to the capital or credit markets; and

• our ability to comply with all covenants in our indentures and credit facilities, any violation of which, if not cured in a timely manner, could trigger a default of our other obligations under cross-default provisions.

All forward-looking statements attributable to us or any person acting on our behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. We are under no duty or obligation to update any of the forward-looking statements after the date of this quarterly report.

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PART I. FINANCIAL INFORMATION

CHARTER COMMUNICATIONS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

(dollars in millions, except share data)

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

CHARTER COMMUNICATIONS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

(dollars in millions, except per share data)

Unaudited

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

CHARTER COMMUNICATIONS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY

(dollars in millions)

Unaudited

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General

Charter Communications, Inc. (together with its controlled subsidiaries, “Charter”) is a leading broadband connectivity company and cable operator serving more than 31 million customers in 41 states through our Spectrum brand. Over an advanced high-capacity, two-way telecommunications network, we offer a full range of state-of-the-art residential and business services including Spectrum Internet, TV, Mobile and Voice. For small and medium-sized companies, Spectrum Business delivers the same suite of broadband products and services coupled with special features and applications to enhance productivity, while for larger businesses and government entities, Spectrum Enterprise provides highly customized, fiber-based solutions. Spectrum Reach delivers tailored advertising and production for the modern media landscape. We also distribute award-winning news coverage, sports and high-quality original programming to our customers through Spectrum Networks and Spectrum Originals.

Charter is a holding company whose principal asset is a controlling equity interest in Charter Communications Holdings, LLC (“Charter Holdings”), an indirect owner of Charter Communications Operating, LLC (“Charter Operating”) under which substantially all of the operations reside. All significant intercompany accounts and transactions among consolidated entities have been eliminated.

Overview

In 2021 and 2020, the Novel Coronavirus (“COVID-19”) pandemic significantly impacted how our customers use our products and services, how they interact with us, and how our employees work and provide services to our customers. Customer activity levels remain below normal which contributed to lower operating expense from reduced service transactions and lower bad debt in the first nine months of 2021, however, we expect trends to return to pre-COVID-19 levels as the economy continues to reopen and normal activities resume.

In May 2021, the Federal Communications Commission ("FCC") introduced the Emergency Broadband Benefit ("EBB") program to help households pay for Internet service. The EBB program provides eligible low-income households with up to $50 per month towards Internet service. Although Congress may extend the EBB program funding as currently proposed in an infrastructure bill, we expect the FCC to run out of funding under the current EBB program allocation sometime in early 2022. If funding is not extended by Congress, our customers in the current EBB program will generally roll out of that program, continue to be our customers and be serviced consistent with our business practices regarding collections, disconnect process and bad debt. Many of these customers were serviced prior to the EBB program consistent with our normal business practices. However, we cannot predict how such an expiration of the EBB program would ultimately impact our experience with disconnects and bad debt for our customers currently in the EBB program.

Although the ultimate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic cannot be predicted, we remain focused on driving customer relationship growth by deploying superior products and services packaged with attractive pricing. In October 2021, we announced and implemented new Spectrum Mobile multi-line pricing designed to drive more mobile line sales per customer, and in turn, drive more broadband sales and the associated retention benefits. Further, we expect to continue to drive customer relationship growth through sales of bundled services and improving customer retention despite the expectation for continued losses of video and wireline voice customers.

Our Spectrum Mobile service is offered to customers subscribing to our Internet service and runs on Verizon Communications Inc.'s ("Verizon") mobile network combined with Spectrum WiFi. We continue to explore ways to drive even more mobile traffic to our network. We intend to use Citizens Broadband Radio Service (“CBRS”) Priority Access Licenses (“PALs”) we purchased in 2020, along with unlicensed CBRS spectrum, to build our own 5G mobile network on our existing infrastructure in targeted geographies where there is high outdoor cellular traffic volume. This effort, in combination with our expanding WiFi network and continued 5G enhancements within the Verizon mobile virtual network operator (“MVNO”) partnership agreement, should position our mobile product for continued customer experience and cost structure improvements.

We believe Spectrum-branded mobile services will drive higher sales of our core products, create longer customer lives and increase profitability and cash flow over time. As a result of growth costs associated with our new mobile product line, we cannot be certain that we will be able to grow revenues or maintain our margins at recent historical rates. During the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021, our mobile product line increased revenues by $535 million and $1.5 billion, respectively, reduced Adjusted EBITDA by approximately $72 million and $219 million, respectively, and reduced free cash flow by approximately $145 million and $606 million, respectively. During the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020, our mobile product line increased revenues by $368 million and $936 million, respectively, reduced Adjusted EBITDA by approximately $88 million and $307 million, respectively, and reduced free cash flow by approximately $265 million and

$758 million, respectively. Primarily as a result of growth-related sales and marketing and other customer acquisition costs for mobile services, and depending on the pace of that growth, we expect mobile Adjusted EBITDA will continue to be negative. We also expect to continue to see negative free cash flow from the timing of device-related cash flows when we sell devices to customers pursuant to equipment installment plans and capital expenditures related to retail store and CBRS build-out.

We realized revenue, Adjusted EBITDA and income from operations during the periods presented as follows (in millions; all percentages are calculated using whole numbers. Minor differences may exist due to rounding):

Adjusted EBITDA is defined as net income attributable to Charter shareholders plus net income attributable to noncontrolling interest, net interest expense, income taxes, depreciation and amortization, stock compensation expense, other expenses, net and other operating (income) expenses, net, such as special charges and (gain) loss on sale or retirement of assets. See “—Use of Adjusted EBITDA and Free Cash Flow” for further information on Adjusted EBITDA and free cash flow.

Growth in total revenue was primarily due to growth in our residential Internet, mobile and commercial customers and price adjustments. Adjusted EBITDA and income from operations growth was impacted by growth in revenue

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We use derivative instruments to manage foreign exchange risk on the Sterling Notes, and do not hold or issue derivative instruments for speculative trading purposes.

Cross-currency derivative instruments are used to effectively convert £1.275 billion aggregate principal amount of fixed-rate British pound sterling denominated debt, including annual interest payments and the payment of principal at maturity, to fixed-rate U.S. dollar denominated debt. The cross-currency derivative instruments have maturities of June 2031 and July 2042. We are required to post collateral on the cross-currency derivative instruments when such instruments are in a liability position. In April 2019, we entered into a collateral holiday agreement for 60% of both the 2031 and 2042 cross-currency swaps, which eliminates the requirement to post collateral for three years, as well as a ten year collateral cap on the remaining 40% of the cross-currency swaps which limits the required collateral posting on that 40% of the cross-currency swaps to $150 million. In March 2021, the collateral holiday for 20% of the swaps was extended to November 2022 in consideration for our agreement to post collateral over a threshold amount on that 20% portion of the swaps from March 2021 through October 2021. The fair value of our cross-currency derivatives included in other long-term liabilities on our consolidated balance sheets was $317 million and $184 million as of September 30, 2021 and December 31, 2020, respectively. For more information, see Note 9 to the accompanying consolidated financial statements contained in “Item 1. Financial Statements.”

As of September 30, 2021 and December 31, 2020, the weighted average interest rate on credit facility debt was approximately 1.6% and 1.7%, respectively, and the weighted average interest rate on the senior notes was approximately 5.0% and 5.1%, respectively, resulting in a blended weighted average interest rate of 4.5% and 4.7%, respectively. The interest rate on approximately 86% and 87% of the total principal amount of our debt was effectively fixed as of September 30, 2021 and December 31, 2020, respectively.

The table set forth below summarizes the fair values and contract terms of financial instruments subject to interest rate risk maintained by us as of September 30, 2021 (dollars in millions).

Interest rates on variable-rate debt are estimated using the average implied forward LIBOR for the year of maturity based on the yield curve in effect at September 30, 2021 including applicable bank spread.

As of the end of the period covered by this report, under the supervision and with the participation of our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, we have evaluated the effectiveness of our design and operation of disclosure controls and procedures with respect to the information generated for use in this quarterly report. The evaluation was based upon reports and certifications provided by a number of executives. Based on, and as of the date of that evaluation, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer concluded that the disclosure controls and procedures were effective to provide reasonable assurances that information required to be disclosed in the reports we file or submit under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms.

In designing and evaluating the disclosure controls and procedures, our management recognized that any controls and procedures, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance of achieving the desired control objectives, and management necessarily was required to apply its judgment in evaluating the cost-benefit relationship of possible controls and procedures. Based upon the evaluation, we believe that our controls provide such reasonable assurances.

During the quarter ended September 30, 2021, there was no change in our internal control over financial reporting that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

PART II. OTHER INFORMATION

Item 1. Legal Proceedings.

See Note 20 to the accompanying consolidated financial statements contained in “Item 1. Financial Statements” for Legal Proceedings.

Our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020 includes "Risk Factors" under Item 1A of Part I. There have been no material changes from the updated risk factors described in our Form 10-K.

Item 2. Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds.

Purchases of Equity Securities by the Issuer

The following table presents Charter’s purchases of equity securities completed during the third quarter of 2021 (dollars in millions, except per share amounts):

(1)Includes 15,614, 174,028 and 32,268 shares withheld from employees for the payment of taxes and exercise costs upon the exercise of stock options or vesting of other equity awards for the months of July, August and September 2021, respectively.

(2)During the three months ended September 30, 2021, Charter purchased approximately 4.7 million shares of its Class A common stock for approximately $3.6 billion, which includes 1.2 million Charter class A common shares purchased from Liberty Broadband pursuant to the LBB Letter Agreement at an average price per unit of $733.20, or $0.9 billion. Charter Holdings purchased 0.6 million Charter Holdings common units from A/N at an average price per unit of $724.50, or $410 million, during the three months ended September 30, 2021. As of September 30, 2021, Charter had remaining board authority to purchase an additional $1.5 billion of Charter’s Class A common stock and/or Charter Holdings common units. In addition to open market purchases including pursuant to Rule 10b5-1 plans adopted from time to time, Charter may also buy shares of Charter Class A common stock, from time to time, pursuant to private transactions outside of its Rule 10b5-1 plan and any such repurchases may also trigger the repurchases from A/N pursuant to and to the extent provided in the A/N Letter Agreement or Liberty Broadband pursuant to the LBB Letter Agreement.

See Exhibit Index.

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, Charter Communications, Inc. has duly caused this quarterly report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

S-1

Exhibit Index

E-1