Charter Communications (NASDAQ:CHTR) shares tumbled Tuesday after the company's Chief Financial Officer Jessica Fischer cautioned that it could see "negative" broadband net adds in the fourth quarter.
Fischer was speaking at the UBS Global Media and Communications Conference. Her comments have resulted in the company's shares declining around 9%. In addition, Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) has also been impacted, with its stock down about 4%.
Fischer warned that Charter may end the quarter with negative internet net adds due to slow November sign-ups.
"We talked about, in our third quarter call that in October, we had seen a little bit of carryover churn related to the combination of Disney and [rate impacts] that occurred inside of Q3. November has been similarly soft," said Fischer. "So I can certainly see that it's likely that we could end up with negative Internet net adds inside of Q4."
The Charter Communications CFO added that they believe that these are short-term challenges and the opportunity in the overall broadband market and its position around how they see the "total broadband opportunity in the long term has not changed."
Over the longer term, Fischer believes the broadband market can continue to grow really well, pointing to the eventual growth in the housing market.
Higher rates have, in part, resulted in cable companies struggling to gain new customers. This is because more consumers are not moving house, staying in their current homes. However, providers aim to win new customers when they move. In addition, rising competition is also hampering the company's growth.