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Charter Communications, which operates Spectrum, has a new customer challenge on its hands after its acquisition of Cox Communications. 

Charter closed on this $34.5 billion acquisition in August after it was first announced in May 2025. The combined companies have created a cable giant that serves over 37 million customers across 45 states.

Within a year, Charter Communications will change its name to Cox Communications, but will continue to operate as Spectrum across all markets. Charter CEO Chris Winfrey said in an August press release that the acquisition will help Spectrum navigate a market that “has changed considerably over the past decade.”

“With expanded scale, we are better positioned to compete and continue investment in our products and service, tools and platforms, and to further the capability and reach of our Spectrum Fiber Broadband Network,” said Winfrey. 

Spectrum has a new challenge as Cox loses broadband customers

Charter plans to expand its Spectrum pricing and packaging into Cox markets; however, it has to navigate a customer-loss problem that is worse than expected. 

New Street Research revealed in a recent analysis that Cox lost 103,000 broadband customers in the second quarter of 2026, up from a loss of 84,000 in the first quarter and a loss of 76,000 a year ago, according to a Light Reading report. 

While Charter lost 172,000 broadband customers in the second quarter and 120,000 in the first, it is a much larger company than Cox. 

Cox’s broadband base declined 5.8% year over year in the second quarter, compared with a 1.8% decrease for legacy Charter. New Street Research analyst Vikash Harlalka said in the analysis that the amount of Cox’s losses came as a surprise. 

Read more: Starlink’s average bill now undercuts Spectrum’s by about $1

“The subscriber metrics (at Cox) aren’t pretty, but we all knew that,” wrote Harlalka. “Broadband subscriber losses are slightly higher than we expected. The y/y change in Cox’s broadband subscriber base is nearly 3x legacy Charter.”

Harlalka said these losses make sense, as Cox has a higher average broadband revenue per user (ARPU) than Charter. He said that broadband ARPU at Cox has declined to about $86 in recent quarters, while Charter’s ARPU, which has been increasing, was in the $68 to $70 range over the same period.

Harlalka said that “Charter can teach Cox some new tricks.” However, Charter Chief Operating Officer Nick Jeffery, who previously headed a turnaround effort at Frontier Communications, “has his work cut out” for him.

“Given his [Jeffery’s] track record at Frontier, we would be surprised if he doesn’t have at least some impact on these trends” in the former Cox markets, wrote Harlalka.

Shortly after becoming Charter COO on Sept. 1, Jeffery has already been making significant organizational changes, including the upcoming departures of several Spectrum executives. 

In a memo sent to employees on Oct. 12, he announced a “simpler, flatter, operating structure,” which he said will help Spectrum “move faster with fewer layers, and to focus on our two biggest priorities – returning to core Internet growth and improving customer service,” according to a separate Light Reading report. 

Cox Communications is facing steep customer losses, posing a challenge for Spectrum. Jason Armond / Getty Images

Cox and Spectrum face a tougher fight for broadband customers

Cox and Spectrum are struggling to retain internet customers as consumers nationwide become less tolerant of high broadband prices. 

According to a PCMag survey in August, nearly half of Americans (47%) reported that their monthly internet bills have risen over the previous 12 months. 

Their bills have climbed by an average of $16.58 per month, amounting to a nearly $200 year-over-year increase. About 11% of those surveyed saw their internet bills spike by more than $30 per month.

The survey also found that 36% were dissatisfied with their internet service and are considering switching providers. 

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Wireless carriers have become major competitors in the broadband industry as their fixed wireless and fiber internet services are gaining traction among consumers. These companies have also been offering bundled wireless internet and wireless services, which are contributing to this trend. 

In the second quarter of 2026, T-Mobile reportedly added about 520,000 broadband customers, according to data from research and consulting firm Recon Analytics. 

Meanwhile, AT&T revealed in its second-quarter earnings report that it added 646,000 internet customers. Verizon reported that it gained about 348,000 during the quarter.

SpaceX’s Starlink, which offers consumers satellite internet service at prices between $55 and $130 per month, is also becoming a growing threat in the broadband market. In May, New Street Research found that Starlink has about 2.7 million broadband customers in the U.S., according to a report from Broadband Breakfast. 

Jeff Moore, a principal of Wave7 Research, said in a RCR Wireless News report in May that “the U.S. broadband duopoly of cable and telcos is fading as fixed wireless, Starlink, WISPs (wireless internet service providers), and fiber overbuilders expand rapidly.”

“Increased competition from carriers and alternative providers is giving consumers more choices, wider availability, easier setup, and lower prices,” said Moore. 

Related: Spectrum hits a snag as it works to curb internet customer exodus

McDonald’s admits it has made mistakes when it comes to its value offerings.

“In late April, we augmented our McValue program with a new under $3 Every Day Affordable Price or EDAP menu. Similar offerings have been consistently successful across our top international markets,” CFO Ian Borden said during the chain’s second-quarter earnings call. “We also added a $4 Breakfast Meal Deal.”

The company, he noted, made some mistakes with implementing those offers.

“Inconsistent restaurant level execution of the EDAP menu and consumer awareness levels below target resulted in lower incrementality than we expected. At the same time, the business pulled back on digital offers and removed our Buy One, Add One for $1 feature to offset the investment behind McValue,” he added.

Those mistakes helped drag down the company’s results.

“In combination, all of these factors negatively impacted visits from some of our most loyal customers. We estimate that these value execution factors accounted for about 2/3 of the customer traffic underperformance relative to our expectations for the quarter,” Borden shared.

Consumers, however, may not like the changes the company will make to fix those problems.

McDonald’s has a plan to fix its value offerings

Borden said the chain would redirect some of its promotions to make sure its best customers are rewarded.

“We’re launching more national digital flash offers to reenergize our high-frequency customers. In addition, we’re going to target our most loyal users with more personalized digital offerings,” he said.

The company also plans to focus more on its pricier Extra Value Meals.

“We’ll also be reallocating marketing dollars throughout the second half of the year to increase support behind our proven value offerings such as Extra Value Meals. While we’ve been pleased to see our value and affordability scores improve significantly since last year, we remain ready to adjust as needed. We have been consistent. We will not get beaten on value,” he added.

That quiet comment tells customers that McDonald’s is moving away from EDAP to its pricier Extra Value Meals offerings. EDAP was an effort to go cheap, while Extra Value Meals represent a broader take on value.

McDonald’s is changing its value strategy.Shutterstock

McDonald’s joins a growing trend

McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Burger King, and Subway have all pivoted their advertising away from pushing low prices, QSR Magazine reported.

That’s intentional, U.S. Bancorp BTIG Analyst Peter Saleh said in an emailed report.

“Absent in these ads is a price point or deep value offering,” Saleh wrote, “which is a significant pivot in message and tacit admission, in our view, that deep value offerings have failed to drive traffic gains.”

The change, he noted, is because extreme value did not drive profits.

“While we don’t expect any of the quick-service operators to abandon value, we think the deep value war is over, and all have lost.”

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McDonald’s has dropped its $3 EDAP menu.

“Looking ahead, we expect more brands to moderate their deep discounts as this strategy has not resulted in incremental traffic, but rather weaker margins and substantially lower stock prices,” Saleh added.

“We are optimistic that fewer, less frequent deep discounts will result in higher margins as the prior strategy degraded margins with little to no offsetting traffic gains.”

McDonald’s pushes value, not low prices

McDonald’s Extra Value Meals are bundled offerings that include a sandwich, a drink, and a side dish. The breakfast menu includes a small coffee or soft drink, a hash brown, and a sandwich.

Breakfast prices in my South Florida market range from $6.09 for a Sausage McMuffin with no egg to $10.99 for the Steak Egg Cheese Bagel Meal. When it comes to lunch and dinner, meals come with a medium fries and a medium soft drink, along with a sandwich.

Prices range from $9.59 for a special offering that comes with two cheeseburgers to $14.29 for the Double Bacon Quarter Pounder with Cheese. A Big Mac Extra Value Meal rings in at $10.59.

McDonald’s does not set prices for its franchise operators, so your local prices could be different.

As a consumer, although not a regular McDonald’s visitor, these prices seem high. I could eat a better burger at Chili’s for around the same money or get multiple meals from a local pizza chain for about double the price.

McDonald’s is calling this “Extra Value,” but to me, it feels overpriced for what you’re getting.

RTM Nexus CEO Dominick Miserandino said that McDonald’s has to walk a narrow line when it comes to price.

“McDonald’s built its business on being affordable. Somewhere along the way, customers started questioning whether a simple meal was worth the price. They don’t necessarily need everything to be cheap. They need to walk in, order lunch and not feel like they overpaid. If the customer doesn’t feel ripped off, they’re good,” he told TheStreet.

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Apple (AAPL) wants a much bigger role in the home, but it isn’t trying to build every gadget itself.

In collaboration with LG Electronics and Schneider Electric, the business is getting ready to introduce the Apple Home Collection, a collection of cameras, thermostats, sensors, a video doorbell, and a smart lock.

December is when the items start to arrive, with more coming in early 2027.

Because of these factors, the approach is more intriguing than a new piece of Apple hardware.

Instead of producing every camera, lock, and thermostat under its own brand, Apple collaborates with well-known hardware manufacturers while maintaining control over the aspects that consumers engage with, such as setup, software, artificial intelligence (AI), privacy, and the Home app.

Apple says an iPhone can add and manage accessories with one tap without downloading another app or creating a new account.

The focal point is Apple’s $299 HomeView, a seven-inch smart display that uses Siri AI to identify various family members and manage the connected gadgets in their vicinity.

As a consequence, there is a far more extensive effort to expand Apple’s ecosystem into homes rather than just the gadgets users carry.

Apple is building a smart home without making every gadget

Apple’s latest collection includes a large portion of what consumers need to construct a connected home.

The starting price of LG’s wired video doorbell is $249.95. A floodlight camera begins at $399.95, an interior camera at $199.95, and an outdoor camera at $299.95.

Additionally, LG is offering a thermostat for $199.95 and a smart lock for $349.95.

Another thermostat from Schneider Electric costs $199.95, and humidity and room temperature sensors start at $39.95.

Every product, according to Apple, is compatible with Thread, a networking technology intended to maintain dependable communication across smart-home gadgets, and it operates via Apple Home.

Apple has a unique edge, thanks to the strategy.

It does not need to become a camera firm, thermostat manufacturer, or door-lock producer to grow into many hardware categories simultaneously. LG and Schneider handle a large portion of that hardware knowledge.

The connective tissue comes from Apple.

For instance, the LG deadbolt may automatically unlock when a compatible iPhone or Apple Watch approaches. The cameras may identify people, dogs, cars, and deliveries. Depending on whether people are at home, departing, or settling down for the night, thermostats may adjust the temperature.

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Additionally, products like these may cooperate. According to Apple, a user may have the door lock, cameras start watching, and the temperature automatically adjust when the last member of the home departs.

The Home app becomes much more crucial as a result.

Apple isn’t just offering consumers another gadget. It aims to become the software layer that consumers use to operate electronics in their homes.

Apple’s $299 HomeView gives the strategy a center

HomeView is Apple’s own addition to the new hardware portfolio.

The $299 device has a seven-inch Liquid Retina display, a 12-megapixel Center Stage camera, four microphones and speakers that support Spatial Audio.

It may be mounted to a wall or placed on a tabletop.

More significantly, Apple created HomeView with the ability to recognize the faces and voices of up to six household members.

According to Apple, HomeView can then adapt what it displays and access personal information from apps including Messages, Calendar, Reminders, FaceTime, and Find My.

Siri AI offers another distinction.

While keeping such information off the shared device itself, HomeView may leverage data from a nearby iPhone to provide answers, depending on an individual’s own context.

The product goes on sale Nov. 13 in the U.S. and several other markets, putting Apple in direct competition with companies that have established themselves in the smart display market.

At $229, Google’s Nest Hub Max is now $70 less expensive than HomeView.

Amazon has spent years integrating Alexa with smart-home devices and has an even wider selection of Echo devices.

This means Apple is launching a high-end product into a well-established market.

However, HomeView may not be necessary for Apple to dominate the smart-display market on its own.

The greater benefit of HomeView is its vast installed base of iPhones, Apple Watches, and other Apple products that may enhance its usefulness as a component of an existing ecosystem.

Apple’s new gadget strategy has one unusual twist.KARL MONDON / Getty Images

Apple is betting privacy can differentiate its smart home

A clear issue arises when cameras and microphones are installed throughout a home.

Such items could gather some of the most private data that a digital corporation may access.

Apple’s message places a strong emphasis on privacy. The company claims it completely secures personal data and Home Collection camera video, making them inaccessible to Schneider Electric, LG, or Apple.

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Private Cloud Compute or an Apple home hub may process camera footage locally.

Cameras may store 10 days’ worth of encrypted event history for users with a compatible iCloud+ subscription.

Apple Intelligence may also use natural language queries to search video and provide descriptions of recorded clips.

This presents another potentially crucial component of the plan. Although some of the more helpful video functions are dependent on Apple’s current iCloud+ service, the cameras do not need a separate membership from LG.

This implies that selling smart home appliances might be more than just a way to make money. It provides Apple with even another incentive to increase consumer reliance on services and gadgets that they already pay for.

Reuters reported that Apple’s wider home push is designed not only to increase hardware sales, but also to potentially expand high-margin services revenue, including iCloud.

There is still a significant obstacle.

HomeView is pricier than Google’s Nest Hub Max, and Apple comes years after Google and Amazon launched their smart-home systems.

Apple wants Siri AI to be really helpful in an environment where consumers can already use Alexa, Gemini, and other AI helpers.

Tighter integration rather than cheaper costs seems to be Apple’s response.

Customers won’t have to create a whole new system around the accounts and applications of another firm if they already own an iPhone or wear an Apple Watch.

Alternatively, Apple might use the residence as an additional component of the ecosystem that those consumers currently use.

This approach might be the reason Apple isn’t attempting to put its own branding on every camera or thermostat. Controlling the interoperability of all those devices presents a greater opportunity.

Apple doesn’t necessarily need to make the device behind every demand if HomeView, Siri AI, and Apple Home can become the interface users use to lock doors, keep an eye on cameras, and regulate temps.

Customers just need to keep asking Apple to take control of it.

Related: Apple is about to break a rule Steve Jobs defended

The artificial intelligence boom has created shortages of chips, electricity, and data center space.

Billions of dollars are now being spent by Tesla (TSLA) and Nvidia (NVDA) on a project that most investors have probably never heard of.

Tesla and Nvidia will give Samsung Electro-Mechanics 3.7 trillion won, or $2.8 billion, to expand production of advanced semiconductor substrates for artificial intelligence chips, according to Reuters, citing Maeil Business Newspaper.

According to the article, Nvidia would pay around 2.6 trillion won and Tesla would contribute about 1.1 trillion won.

A flip-chip ball grid array, or FC-BGA, is the part at the core of the expenditure. It is not nearly as well-known as the graphics processing units made by Nvidia. However, such chips cannot function without it.

FC-BGA substrates facilitate the reliable operation of larger, increasingly complex chips by connecting sophisticated processors to the larger circuit board and delivering power and electrical signals.

These substrates become increasingly challenging to produce as AI computers grow in size and power. They therefore become yet another possible bottleneck in an AI supply chain that is already having difficulty keeping up.

Nvidia is paying to secure a hidden part of its chips

There is more to Nvidia’s engagement than just a declared investment.

On Oct. 21, Samsung Electro-Mechanics and Nvidia separately announced a strategic alliance to increase South Korea’s capability for producing specialized substrates.

The businesses want to build new manufacturing lines in Sejong and Busan, with Samsung providing substrates for Nvidia’s computer chips and networking hardware that connects data center CPUs.

By 2028, Nvidia may make up a sizable share of Samsung’s whole package-substrate manufacturing capacity. Samsung anticipates that the volume supplied to Nvidia will increase at a double-digit yearly rate.

For something that most customers will never see, this is an impressive commitment.

However, Nvidia clarified why it is important.

“The pace of the AI infrastructure buildout requires us to expand manufacturing capacity on a global scale,” Nvidia Executive VP of Operations Debora Shoquist said.

The supply chain for artificial intelligence is only as quick as its slowest link. Although Nvidia can create faster processors, they still need sophisticated substrates, networking hardware, memory, and packaging before they can function as systems.

According to Samsung, the latest substrates are becoming bigger and more intricate because AI processors need more power and electrical connections. Those production constraints limit the number of businesses that can consistently produce them.

Because of this shortage, Nvidia has an incentive to contribute to the funding of more capacity instead of just hoping vendors would someday provide more.

Nvidia’s $35 billion China signal comes with a catch.JOHN MACDOUGALL / Getty Images

Tesla is chasing the same AI supply chain

The narrative is made more intriguing by Tesla’s reported involvement.

The business is becoming more and more reliant on computation that goes far beyond the processors found in traditional automobiles.

Tesla is developing its Optimus humanoid robot, Robotaxi, Cybercab, and artificial intelligence infrastructure for autonomous driving. As a result, Elon Musk’s business is increasingly vying with the biggest IT firms in the world for some of the same resources used in chip manufacture.

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Under the reported agreement, Tesla will spend more than 1.1 trillion won in the new Sejong manufacturing lines of Samsung Electro-Mechanics, according to Reuters.

The Tesla section of the statement announcing its relationship with Nvidia is now based on the Maeil Business article that Reuters quoted, since Samsung Electro-Mechanics has not officially disclosed the Tesla investment.

That difference is important. However, Samsung’s business already reflects the wider shift in demand.

According to the company, operational profit more than quadrupled to 440.4 billion won, while second-quarter revenues increased 24% from the same period last year to 3.46 trillion won.

Samsung attributed a portion of such gain to higher sales of high-value semiconductor substrates for server CPUs and artificial intelligence accelerators.

Samsung promised an even bigger expansion in September, pledging 2.51 trillion won to boost production in Vietnam and 4.27 trillion won to enhance FC-BGA capacity at its Sejong factory.

Samsung called the Sejong project its largest investment ever in a single product. That’s a lot of money pursuing something that most investors didn’t really care about previously.

AI spending is spreading beyond the famous chipmakers

That could be the most important investing lesson.

Nvidia’s graphics processors became well-known during the early stages of the artificial intelligence boom.

Exposing all of the less obvious infrastructure needed to deploy those processors by the millions is the next stage.

One limitation was high-bandwidth memory. Another was electricity. Additionally, advanced packaging has become a significant bottleneck. Substrates are currently drawing commitments totaling billions of dollars.

Only a few vendors are now able to produce the most advanced versions at the size and quality needed for next-generation CPUs, according to Samsung Electro-Mechanics.

The business said during its second-quarter results report that although clients are increasingly looking for long-term agreements and even offering financial assistance for new factories, bigger AI processors and higher usage of high-bandwidth memory are demanding more substrate capacity.

This situation contributes to the explanation of Nvidia’s apparent willingness to directly fund increased supply.

The business is no longer only purchasing parts. It’s becoming more necessary to ensure that the factories manufacturing these parts really exist.

As its aspirations expand into robots, driverless cars, and artificial intelligence, Tesla seems to be facing a similar issue.

Investors may see both possibilities and threats as a result of the AI surge. If one hidden part that holds a CPU together fails, a $100 billion data center cannot function.

The $2.8 billion amount is significant because of its potential impact.

Tesla and Nvidia are not investing that money on yet another ostentatious consumer product. They are helping secure anything hidden underneath the chips.

And it could be the most obvious indication yet that the next AI barrier might be concealed in areas that investors don’t often check.

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Anyone who has seen their phone lose service on a long drive knows the frustration. One minute, your maps and messaging app works. The next, you’re staring at a screen with no bars.

AT&T (T) has spent decades building towers to continue keep its customers connected to the internet. Elon Musk thinks SpaceX (SPCX) can eventually offer another way.

Starlink, best known for bringing internet to homes beyond the reach of reliable broadband, reported 22 million monthly mobile users in Q3. Its connectivity business generated a massive $5.2 billion in sales, up 69% from a year earlier.

During SpaceX’s Oct. 20 earnings call, Musk outlined plans for a network combining satellites with ground-based equipment, putting traditional carriers more directly in his sights.

AT&T isn’t in imminent danger of losing a nationwide wireless war to Starlink, but the seeds are being planted for SpaceX to eventually put pressure on wireless pricing. For Americans paying monthly phone bills, that’s a rivalry worth watching.

SpaceX’s Starlink growth reveals a much bigger wireless ambition

The earnings numbers for Starlink have in many ways outgrown its original pitch.

SpaceX’s connectivity business brought in a whopping $5.2 billion in Q3, up 69% year over year as reported by CNBC.

Its home broadband service also finished September with 13.6 million consumer subscribers, which includes 1.6 million net additions. That was below analysts’ roughly 14.2 million forecast. Yet the mobile side is getting harder to ignore.

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Starlink Mobile surpassed 22 million monthly users, up 37% from the previous quarter. On those rounded figures, that works out to roughly 5.9 million additional monthly users in just three months.

It’s important to note that these 22 million are users of Starlink’s mobile service, including connections through carrier partnerships, and they underscore how Starlink can reach so many phones without owning their subscriptions.

Still, Musk made clear on Oct. 20 that he sees a much bigger opportunity. During the earnings call, he said he saw a path to “several hundred billion dollars a year in connectivity revenue.” 

SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell offered a nearer milestone. The company plans to deploy its next-generation mobile satellites through 2027 and use its expanded spectrum holdings to launch service in early 2028.

Its proposed network would combine satellites with equipment on the ground, potentially making Starlink more than a backup for dead zones.

For now, AT&T has nationwide towers, established customers, and a business producing substantial cash. But SpaceX is aiming at a market traditional phone companies have largely controlled for decades.

So where might AT&T feel the pressure first?

SpaceX’s Starlink expansion has raised fresh concerns about AT&T’s future wireless pricingWin McNamee / Getty Images

Wall Street sees SpaceX putting pressure on AT&T’s biggest advantage

Wall Street’s response begins what AT&T can charge customers.

Bernstein analyst Laurent Yoon downgraded AT&T to Market Perform from Outperform on Oct. 13, trimming his price target from $25 to $24. Yoon’s concern was what a more capable Starlink network could eventually do to prices across the telecom industry.

SpaceX’s plan goes well beyond beaming a signal to a phone stranded outside cell-tower coverage. Musk and Shotwell described satellites filling coverage gaps, lower-frequency spectrum helping signals reach inside buildings, and small ground-based radios adding capacity where people live and work.

Recently, SpaceX has agreed to acquire roughly $8 billion worth of low-band spectrum, an important step toward that vision, as reported by Reuters. Owning spectrum isn’t the same as operating a reliable nationwide cellular network, though, and the satellites, ground equipment, and regulatory approvals still have to come together.

For AT&T, the first pressure might arrive long before Starlink becomes a full substitute for its phone service.

More satellite broadband capacity could give rural households another option, forcing providers of fixed wireless and lower-cost home internet to compete harder on price. Those discounts could ripple through other plans, making it harder to retain price-sensitive customers.

AT&T isn’t standing still, either. It partners with AST SpaceMobile to connect ordinary phones directly to satellites.

And analysts are already rethinking that market’s economics. Piper Sandler cut its AST SpaceMobile (ASTS) target from $98 to $54, while lowering its assumed monthly service price from $15 to $12, a 20% reduction, as reported by Seeking Alpha.

AT&T’s latest earnings show how much Starlink still has to prove

AT&T also reported earnings on Oct. 21, which shows that Starlink is challenging a company with a ton of fight left.

AT&T added 379,000 postpaid phone subscribers, along with 442,000 fiber customers and 327,000 fixed-wireless customers. It generated $5 billion in free cash flow and raised its full-year adjusted earnings outlook to about $2.40 a share, Yahoo Finance noted.

Another big competitive edge is that customers who get both home internet and wireless service from AT&T have more reasons to stay. Switching phone providers becomes a bigger decision when several household services are bundled together.

SpaceX still has considerable ground to cover, literally.

Its mobile ambitions require more satellites, usable spectrum, ground equipment, and reliable signals inside buildings. It also needs the customer service and distribution network expected of a nationwide carrier.

TD Cowen estimates that building a national ground network could cost more than $80 billion, as reported by Reuters. And AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon aren’t waiting around: They’ve formed a satellite-connectivity venture of their own.

For Americans frustrated by dead zones or limited internet choices, more competition could be welcome. But a cheaper monthly bill isn’t guaranteed.

Starlink has shown it can grow quickly. What it hasn’t yet proved is that it can take on AT&T nationwide.

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