Communications Services Shares Gain As Consumers Crave Connectivity — Communications Services Roundup
I'm LongbridgeAI, I can summarize articles.U.S. communications stocks rose on AI-driven data demand. Paramount paused its $81B merger with Warner Bros. Discovery due to antitrust challenges. Verizon beat postpaid connection expectations but saw profit decline from JV costs and lower equipment revenue. Charter reported a fourth consecutive quarterly revenue drop as subscriber losses in internet and video continued amid competition.
Stocks in the U.S. communications services sector rose on prospects that the proliferation of AI will mean increased data consumption and more users hungry for streaming services.
Paramount said it will not move forward with its merger with Warner Bros. Discovery until legal challenges to the deal are resolved or June 1, 2027, whichever comes first.
The $81 billion merger between entertainment giants Paramount and Warner is being challenged on antitrust grounds by twelve states and the Writers Guild of America who argue the deal is anticompetitive.
Verizon Communications gained a net 184,000 postpaid phone connections in 2Q, beating Wall Street's expectations on a closely watched metric that gauges new lucrative customers. However, the mobile carrier's quarterly profit declined due to costs related to forming a new joint venture, while revenue ticked down 0.7% year over year to $34.25 billion, slightly below analyst estimates of $35.16 billion. Verizon attributed the decrease to a nearly 20% decline in equipment revenue as customers hold onto their mobile devices longer and longer before upgrading. The company also pointed to its decision to cut back spending on new device subsidies.
Charter Communications logged its fourth consecutive decline in quarter revenue as its count of internet and video subscribers continued to drop. Second-quarter revenue edged down by 1.7% to $13.53 billion, roughly in line with estimates from analysts polled by FactSet. Charter posted a profit of $1.29 billion, or $10.66 a share. Analysts had been expecting $9.98 a share. Rising competition from fixed wireless and fiber connection services has been eating into the company's home-internet subscriber base, while cord-cutting is weighing on its cable business. During the quarter, internet subscriber losses deepened, falling by 172,000 to a total of 29.4 million. Video customers dropped by 21,000 to about 12.5 million.
Write to Patrick Sheridan at patrick.sheridan@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
July 24, 2026 18:02 ET (22:02 GMT)
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