LBRDK vs CHTR Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
CHTR (Charter Communications) is a direct investment in the second-largest U.S. cable company providing broadband internet (Spectrum), while LBRDK (Liberty Broadband) is a holding company owning a large stake in Charter that has historically traded at a discount to Charter's NAV. Both provide Charter exposure, but Liberty Broadband is the indirect, potentially discounted path with additional structural complexity.
LBRDK vs CHTR is indirect cable exposure through a holding company discount (Liberty Broadband's potentially cheaper path to Charter ownership) versus direct Charter ownership (simpler, no structural discount or premium question) — same underlying asset with different wrapper and valuation dynamics.
CHTR holds the edge across 3 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. LBRDK has delivered stronger 1-year price return (-64.88% vs -66.21%), though CHTR trades at the lower forward P/E (3.26x vs 4.45x). Analyst consensus implies similar upside for both: +63.74% for LBRDK and +64.02% for CHTR.
- →Want Charter Communications exposure potentially at a discount to Charter's market price through Liberty Broadband's historically discounted NAV relationship
- →Value John Malone's track record of cable industry capital allocation and corporate structure optimization over decades in the cable industry
- →Are comfortable with holding company complexity and willing to track the LBRDK-to-CHTR NAV discount as a key investment dynamic
- →Want direct exposure to Charter Communications' broadband, mobile, and business services business without holding company structure complexity or discount risk
- →Value Charter's near-monopoly broadband positioning in its service territory as a durable infrastructure asset generating growing free cash flow per share
- →See fiber overbuild competition as manageable over time as Charter upgrades its network to multi-gigabit speeds, reducing the speed advantage of fiber competitors
| Metric | LBRDK | CHTR |
|---|---|---|
| AI score | 22.6 | 27.2 |
| AI rank | #4021 | #2504 |
| Latest close | $29.62 | $126.23 |
| 1M return | -11.08% | -11.42% |
| 6M return | -39.14% | -39.79% |
| 1Y return | -64.88% | -66.21% |
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | LBRDK | CHTR |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $3.51K (-64.9%) started 2025-06-18 | $3.34K (-66.6%) started 2025-06-18 |
| 5Y ago | $1.97K (-80.3%) started 2021-06-18 | $1.82K (-81.8%) started 2021-06-21 |
| 10Y ago | $5.32K (-46.8%) started 2016-06-20 | $5.71K (-42.9%) started 2016-06-20 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
| Metric | LBRDK | CHTR |
|---|---|---|
| Market cap | N/A | $22.85B |
| Trailing P/E | N/A | 3.94 |
| Forward P/E | 4.45 | 3.26 |
| Price/Sales | 4.18 | 0.99 |
| EV/Revenue | N/A | 2.18 |
| Analyst target | $48.50 | $239.18 |
| Target upside | +63.74% | +64.02% |
| Metric | LBRDK | CHTR |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growth | N/A | -1.00% |
| Earnings growth | -24.80% | 8.90% |
| EPS growth | -24.80% | +8.90% |
| FCF margin | N/A | +4.40% |
| Operating margin | N/A | 23.88% |
| Profit margin | 0.00% | 9.03% |
| ROIC proxy | -29.59% | 27.50% |
| Return on equity | -29.59% | 27.50% |
| Dividend yield | 0.00% | N/A |
| Beta | 0.65 | 0.71 |
| Debt/equity | 46.88 | 459.52 |
| Current ratio | 1.09 | 0.40 |
| Quick ratio | 0.05 | 0.33 |
Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.
| Period | Metric | LBRDK | CHTR |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growth | -64.88% | -66.56% |
| CAGR | -64.90% | -66.61% | |
| Sharpe ratio | -1.92 | -2.05 | |
| Max drawdown | 68.62% | 69.82% | |
| Max daily drop | 25.73% | 25.50% | |
| Max wkly drop | 34.72% | 34.57% | |
| 5Y | Growth | -80.33% | -81.83% |
| CAGR | -27.77% | -28.94% | |
| Sharpe ratio | -0.71 | -0.78 | |
| Max drawdown | 83.59% | 84.63% | |
| Max daily drop | 25.73% | 25.50% | |
| Max wkly drop | 34.72% | 34.57% | |
| 10Y | Growth | -46.75% | -42.91% |
| CAGR | -6.11% | -5.45% | |
| Sharpe ratio | -0.13 | -0.12 | |
| Max drawdown | 83.59% | 84.63% | |
| Max daily drop | 25.73% | 25.50% | |
| Max wkly drop | 34.72% | 34.57% |
| Category | LBRDK | CHTR |
|---|---|---|
| Company | Liberty Broadband Corporation | Charter Communications, Inc. |
| Sector | Communication Services - Cable Holdings | Communication Services |
| Industry | N/A | Telecom Services |
| Core business | Liberty Broadband is a holding company controlled by John Malone that owns a large equity stake in Charter Communications — providing investors with indirect exposure to Charter's broadband and cable business at a structure that has historically traded at a discount to Charter's own NAV. | Charter Communications (Spectrum brand) is the second-largest U.S. cable company, providing broadband internet, video, mobile (MVNO using Verizon network), and business services to approximately 32 million customers across 41 states. |
| Investor focus | Investors track Liberty Broadband's discount or premium to NAV (net asset value based on its Charter stake), the timeline for Liberty Broadband and Charter to merge or simplify their corporate structure, and Charter's underlying financial performance as the primary value driver. | Investors track Charter's broadband subscriber net adds (the primary growth metric), ARPU (average revenue per user) for broadband and mobile, capital intensity from network upgrade investments, free cash flow per share, and the trajectory of broadband competition from fiber overbuilders (AT&T, T-Mobile home internet). |
- →Historical NAV discount — Liberty Broadband has often traded at a discount to the market value of its Charter stake, potentially offering investors Charter exposure at a lower effective price per share
- →John Malone's track record of value creation through tax-efficient cable industry capital allocation has historically benefited Liberty Broadband holders
- →Simpler corporate structure movement — Liberty Broadband and Charter have discussed collapsing the holding company structure, which could unlock the NAV discount
- →Near-monopoly local cable infrastructure in most service areas makes Charter the default high-speed broadband provider for households seeking 500+ Mbps speeds
- →Broadband penetration of the cable network continues growing — Charter serves roughly 30-35% of the homes and businesses that pass its network, with significant headroom to add subscribers
- →Spectrum Mobile growth has been strong — using Verizon's MVNO agreement to offer wireless service to existing broadband customers at competitive pricing
- →The investment thesis depends significantly on the discount to NAV converging — if Liberty Broadband and Charter don't merge or if the market assigns a permanent discount, the thesis may not materialize
- →Liberty Broadband has its own leverage (debt borrowed against the Charter stake) that amplifies both gains and losses from Charter performance
- →Complex corporate structure — understanding Liberty Broadband requires tracking Charter's performance plus the holding company discount, making it more complex than simply buying Charter directly
- →Fiber overbuilding — AT&T, Frontier, and other telecoms are aggressively building fiber internet networks in Charter's cable footprint, providing competition for the first time in many markets
- →T-Mobile and Verizon home internet (using 5G fixed wireless access) compete for broadband subscribers in markets where cellular network capacity allows it
- →Video (TV) subscriber losses continue accelerating as cord-cutting shifts customers from cable TV bundles to streaming — Charter must replace video revenue with broadband growth
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