LBRDA vs CHTR Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
LBRDA and CHTR are essentially the same underlying investment — Charter Communications cable broadband — with LBRDA providing access at a structural discount through the Liberty holding company structure. For investors who want Charter exposure, LBRDA may offer better value when the discount is wide. The pending Liberty-Charter merger would convert LBRDA shares to CHTR, eliminating the discount. The investment thesis for both is the Charter broadband monopoly business navigating fiber competition.
LBRDA vs CHTR — Liberty Broadband (the John Malone holding company with a 26% Charter stake trading at a structural discount to Charter's market value — potentially cheaper Charter exposure pending the planned merger) versus Charter Communications (the direct Spectrum cable broadband operator serving 32M+ subscribers facing fiber competition while investing in DOCSIS 4.0 network upgrades).
LBRDA and CHTR are closely matched — they split the tracked metrics evenly. LBRDA has delivered stronger 1-year price return (-64.68% vs -66.21% for CHTR).
- →want Charter Communications exposure at a structural discount to directly owning CHTR shares — the holding company discount provides cheaper effective Charter NAV access
- →believe the Liberty-Charter merger will close, converting LBRDA to CHTR shares and realizing the structural discount as a one-time gain vs holding CHTR directly
- →trust John Malone's capital allocation track record and want exposure to his vision for Charter's strategic evolution through the holding company structure
- →are comfortable with merger timeline uncertainty, the possibility the discount widens before the merger closes, and all underlying Charter broadband competitive risks
- →want direct Charter Communications exposure without the holding company layer — CHTR shareholders have straightforward participation in Charter's broadband economics
- →prefer the simplicity of owning the operating company directly rather than a holding company whose value depends on discount/premium dynamics and merger timing
- →are confident in Charter's DOCSIS 4.0 network evolution as a cost-effective competitive response to fiber overbuilders — upgrading existing cable to match fiber speeds without full overbuilding costs
- →are comfortable with fiber competition intensification in Charter's markets, video subscriber decline, high leverage, and the long-term uncertainty of cable vs fiber competitive outcomes
| Metric | LBRDA | CHTR |
|---|---|---|
| AI score | 21.6 | 27.2 |
| AI rank | #4690 | #2504 |
| Latest close | $29.54 | $126.23 |
| 1M return | -11.24% | -11.42% |
| 6M return | -39.02% | -39.79% |
| 1Y return | -64.68% | -66.21% |
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | LBRDA | CHTR |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $3.53K (-64.7%) started 2025-06-18 | $3.34K (-66.6%) started 2025-06-18 |
| 5Y ago | $2.01K (-79.9%) started 2021-06-18 | $1.82K (-81.8%) started 2021-06-21 |
| 10Y ago | $5.34K (-46.6%) started 2016-06-20 | $5.71K (-42.9%) started 2016-06-20 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
| Metric | LBRDA | CHTR |
|---|---|---|
| Market cap | $4.25B | $22.85B |
| Trailing P/E | N/A | 3.94 |
| Forward P/E | N/A | 3.26 |
| Price/Sales | 4.18 | 0.99 |
| EV/Revenue | N/A | 2.18 |
| Analyst target | N/A | $239.18 |
| Target upside | N/A | +64.02% |
| Metric | LBRDA | 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 | LBRDA | CHTR |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growth | -64.68% | -66.56% |
| CAGR | -64.70% | -66.61% | |
| Sharpe ratio | -1.92 | -2.05 | |
| Max drawdown | 68.57% | 69.82% | |
| Max daily drop | 25.74% | 25.50% | |
| Max wkly drop | 34.47% | 34.57% | |
| 5Y | Growth | -79.87% | -81.83% |
| CAGR | -27.43% | -28.94% | |
| Sharpe ratio | -0.69 | -0.78 | |
| Max drawdown | 83.15% | 84.63% | |
| Max daily drop | 25.74% | 25.50% | |
| Max wkly drop | 34.47% | 34.57% | |
| 10Y | Growth | -46.57% | -42.91% |
| CAGR | -6.08% | -5.45% | |
| Sharpe ratio | -0.13 | -0.12 | |
| Max drawdown | 83.15% | 84.63% | |
| Max daily drop | 25.74% | 25.50% | |
| Max wkly drop | 34.47% | 34.57% |
| Category | LBRDA | CHTR |
|---|---|---|
| Company | Liberty Broadband Corporation | Charter Communications, Inc. |
| Sector | Cable & Telecom | Communication Services |
| Industry | N/A | Telecom Services |
| Core business | Liberty Broadband is a tracking/holding company that primarily owns a significant equity stake in Charter Communications (approximately 26% economic interest). Owning LBRDA is essentially owning Charter indirectly through Liberty's holding company structure. Liberty Broadband has historically traded at a discount to the sum-of-parts value of its Charter stake — meaning LBRDA can be an arbitrage way to access Charter exposure at a discount to owning CHTR directly. Liberty Broadband has announced plans to merge with Charter, which would eliminate the discount if completed. | Charter Communications (Spectrum) is the second-largest US cable operator providing broadband, video, and phone services to 32M+ customers under the Spectrum brand. Charter's broadband business (32M+ subscribers) is its primary value driver as video subscribers decline toward cord-cutting and phone remains stable. Charter is facing increasing competition from AT&T Fiber, T-Mobile Fixed Wireless, and Google Fiber in various markets. Charter is deploying network evolution (DOCSIS 3.1/4.0) and considering rural fiber builds under government subsidies. |
| Investor focus | Investors use LBRDA as a way to access Charter Communications exposure at a potential structural discount — the holding company discount creates an arbitrage opportunity vs directly owning CHTR. | Investors focus on Charter's broadband subscriber net adds (vs fiber competition), ARPU growth, capital expenditures for network upgrades, and free cash flow generation as video subscribers continue declining. |
- →Structural discount to Charter NAV: LBRDA has historically traded at 10-20% discount to the value of its Charter stake — providing cheaper effective Charter exposure than owning CHTR directly
- →Pending merger with Charter eliminates discount: if the Liberty-Charter merger completes, LBRDA holders convert to CHTR shares at NAV — realizing the holding company discount as a gain
- →John Malone's capital allocation expertise: Liberty is controlled by John Malone, one of the most respected capital allocators in cable television history — LBRDA benefits from Malone's strategic vision
- →32M+ broadband subscriber base is the primary value: Charter's broadband monopoly or duopoly in its serving areas provides pricing power and customer density making cable broadband the majority of US household connectivity
- →DOCSIS 4.0 upgrade path to 10Gbps: Charter's network evolution to DOCSIS 4.0 provides multi-gigabit speeds over existing coaxial cable — avoiding the massive capital cost of fiber overbuilds while matching fiber performance
- →Rural fiber subsidies expanding market: government BEAD program subsidies for rural broadband enable Charter to expand into rural markets economically — growing addressable subscribers
- →Discount can widen before merger: LBRDA's discount to Charter NAV has fluctuated — in adverse market conditions the discount may widen further rather than narrow
- →Merger timeline uncertainty: Liberty-Charter merger negotiation and regulatory approval takes time — LBRDA holders must wait for the discount to close, accepting interim uncertainty
- →Underlying Charter risks apply: LBRDA is Charter — all of Charter's fiber competition, broadband subscriber churn, and leverage risks directly apply to LBRDA holders
- →Fiber competition is intensifying: AT&T Fiber, T-Mobile Fixed Wireless, and new fiber overbuilders are entering Charter's markets — broadband subscriber growth has slowed significantly
- →Video subscriber decline accelerating: Charter's video business is in terminal decline as cord-cutting continues — revenue lost from video must be offset by broadband ARPU increases and new customer additions
- →Leverage is high: Charter has taken on significant debt for network investment and share buybacks — high leverage limits financial flexibility in a competitive environment
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