Charter Communications vs Comcast (CHTR vs CMCSA)
Side by side from their SEC filings: revenue, margins, growth, returns and valuation, plus short interest, insider activity and institutional ownership.
Comcast is the larger company by revenue ($123.7B vs $54.8B) and market value ($77.7B vs $14.3B). Charter Communications runs the higher operating margin (23.6% vs 16.7%). Charter Communications trades at the lower trailing P/E (2.9x vs 7.1x).
About Charter Communications
Charter Communications, Inc. operates as a broadband connectivity company under the Spectrum brand, providing Internet, mobile, TV, and voice services to approximately 58 million homes and businesses across 41 states. The company offers high-speed Internet products with speeds up to 1 gigabit per second and multi-gigabit speeds in some areas, along with managed WiFi and mobile plans that include 5G access. Charter serves residential customers, small businesses, and larger enterprises with bundled and individual subscription-based services.
About Comcast
Comcast is a global media and technology company that provides broadband, wireless, video, and voice services primarily under the Xfinity, Comcast Business, Sky, and NOW brands. It serves residential and business customers in the United States, United Kingdom, and Italy with internet, video, and voice services, and also produces and distributes entertainment, sports, and news content through brands like NBC, Telemundo, Universal, Peacock, and Sky. Additionally, Comcast owns and operates Universal theme parks in the United States and Asia.
Head to head (CHTR FY2025 vs CMCSA FY2025)
| Metric | CHTRFY2025 | CMCSAFY2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $54.77B | $123.71B |
| Revenue growth (YoY) | -0.6% | -0.0% |
| Gross margin | — | — |
| Operating margin | 23.6% | 16.7% |
| Net margin | 9.1% | 16.2% |
| Net income | $4.99B | $20.00B |
| Diluted EPS | $36.21 | $5.39 |
| FCF margin | 8.1% | 17.7% |
| ROE | 24.3% | 20.6% |
| Long-term debt / equity | 4.58× | 0.96× |
| Market cap | $14.31B | $77.72B |
| P/E | 2.9× | 7.1× |
Fundamentals are from each company’s SEC filings (CHTR FY2025, CMCSA FY2025). ROE is net income over fiscal-year-end equity; long-term debt / equity counts non-current term debt only. P/E and market cap are derived from stored market prices, last retrieved on a rolling basis and typically within the past week.
Five-year trend (as reported)
| Revenue | FY2021 | FY2022 | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CHTR | $51.68B | $54.02B | $54.61B | $55.09B | $54.77B |
| CMCSA | $116.39B | $121.43B | $121.57B | $123.73B | $123.71B |
Peer standing
Where each company ranks among the 213 Communication Services companies, on the same scale. Each figure is ranked only against peers that report it. Percentiles describe position in the distribution, not a rating.
| Metric | CHTR | CMCSA |
|---|---|---|
| Operating margin | 23.6%94th percentile of 182 | 16.7%85th percentile of 182 |
| Net margin | 9.1%79th percentile of 188 | 16.2%92nd percentile of 188 |
| FCF margin | 8.1%58th percentile of 162 | 17.7%82nd percentile of 162 |
| Revenue growth (YoY) | -0.6%35th percentile of 206 | -0.0%38th percentile of 206 |
| ROE | 24.3%90th percentile of 162 | 20.6%86th percentile of 162 |
| P/E | 2.9×Lowest of 79 | 7.1×8th percentile of 79 |
| Long-term debt / equity | 4.58×88th percentile of 100 | 0.96×59th percentile of 100 |
| Short interest (days to cover) | 5.01d64th percentile of 212 | 1.90d25th percentile of 212 |
Short interest
| FINRA settlement data | CHTR | CMCSA |
|---|---|---|
| Shares sold short | 16.5M | 69.4M |
| Change vs prior settlement | +7.2% | -13.2% |
| Days to cover | 5.01 | 1.90 |
| As of settlement | 2026-09-30 | 2026-09-30 |
Source: FINRA Consolidated Short Interest. FINRA is the owner and source of the FINRA-supplied data; republishing or redistributing it is not permitted. Not presented as a percentage of float. No FINRA endorsement of this product is implied.
Insider activity (last 90 days)
| Form 4 activity (codes P/S) | CHTR | CMCSA |
|---|---|---|
| Buys | 0 | — |
| Sells | 0 | — |
Non-derivative purchases (code P) and sales (code S) reported on SEC Form 4, which may be open-market or private (grants, exercises and tax withholding excluded). For context, about 15% of covered companies saw any reported insider purchase (code P) in a 90-day window.
Held by the same investors
10 tracked 13F managers hold both Charter Communications and Comcast as of their latest quarterly filings: AQR Capital Management, Bridgewater Associates, Citadel Advisors, D. E. Shaw, Dodge & Cox, First Eagle Investment Management, Gotham Asset Management, Harris Associates (Oakmark), Millennium Management, Point72 Asset Management. See which superinvestors hold your own portfolio with the smart money checker.
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Data sourced from SEC EDGAR. Figures are as-reported and may be unaudited or restated; verify against the source filings before relying on them. Comparisons are descriptive (higher or lower on a reported figure), not a rating or a recommendation. Informational only. Not investment advice.