CHTR vs TDS: Which Is the Better Buy in 2026?

Same yardstick, side by side (as of November 2026). Valuation lined up like this is most meaningful for two names in the same corner of the market, which these are. Figures are approximate; verify before investing.

Reading it: CHTR is the cheaper of the two on forward earnings, but cheaper is not the same as better. Pair the valuation with growth (how far the forward P/E sits below the trailing P/E) and risk (beta) before you decide.

The metrics above tell you which is the marginally better business. The bigger risk for most people is not picking the slightly worse stock, it is over-concentrating. CHTR and TDS share themes, so owning both, or adding either to what you already hold, can quietly push a large share of your portfolio into one bet.

This is the part a generic comparison page cannot answer, because it depends on what you own. Connect your brokerage and Walnut shows your real, combined CHTR and TDS exposure, flags overlap with your existing positions, and tells you if adding one would tip you past a concentration you are comfortable with, read-only by default, with your login staying at your broker. Walnut is not an investment adviser.

Charter Communications is a leading US broadband connectivity company that markets Internet, Mobile, TV, and Voice services under the Spectrum brand to roughly 59 million homes and businesses across 41 states. The core business is residential and commercial broadband, which throws off large and steady cash flows, while Spectrum Mobile (an MVNO running on Verizon's network) has become the fastest-growing part of the company, reaching about 12.1 million lines as of Q1 2026 after adding around 370,000 lines in the quarter. Traditional cable video continues to shrink as customers cut the cord, so the investment story now centers on defending broadband and converting the base into bundled mobile customers.

Full CHTR guide

Telephone and Data Systems is a holding company that has spent the last two years dismantling and rebuilding itself. Its wireless business, UScellular, sold its operations and a large slice of spectrum to T-Mobile in a deal worth roughly $4.4 billion that closed in August 2025. What survived the sale is the infrastructure: about 4,400 cell towers, now housed in a separately listed entity called Array Digital Infrastructure, in which TDS holds roughly 81.9% of the equity and about 95.9% of the voting power. Alongside that sits TDS Telecom, the wireline segment, which passed one million marketable fiber service addresses and is building toward a target of about 2.1 million by 2028. Total revenue from continuing operations was roughly $309 million in the second quarter of 2026, with TDS Telecom contributing about $248 million of it.

Full TDS guide

Both fit overlapping themes, but they are not interchangeable. The useful comparison is which set of drivers and risks you want exposure to.

• CHTR drivers: Spectrum Mobile convergence; Cox combination and scale.
• TDS drivers: Fiber penetration, not fiber passings; The T-Mobile anchor lease at Array.

A faster-growing, richer-valued name usually swings harder, so it suits a longer horizon and a higher tolerance for volatility; a steadier, more cash-generative business suits a more conservative or income-minded investor. The honest test is which set of risks you could hold through a drawdown: Broadband subscriber losses are the central risk, as fixed wireless from T-Mobile and Verizon (now over 20 million combined FWA subscribers industrywide) and fiber overbuilders continue to take share in a saturated market; losses widened to about 172,000 in the second quarter of 2026. For TDS, fiber is a capital-intensive business competing directly against cable incumbents and fixed wireless access from the same national carriers TDS now leases towers to, and overbuilt markets can see subscriber economics deteriorate quickly.

Growth-minded investors who believe the theme has years to run tend to accept the richer multiple for more upside; value-minded investors lean toward the cheaper forward earnings and steadier profile. Pick CHTR if you believe its drivers more; TDS if you believe its. Many investors hold both, but since they share themes, that is a concentrated bet, not diversification. Decide deliberately and check overlap. For the full detail, see the CHTR and TDS guides.

CHTR. Charter trades near 3 times trailing earnings, one of the lowest multiples among large US companies, because the market expects broadband declines to continue and because roughly $97 billion of debt sits beneath a $14.6 billion equity value, so small changes in EBITDA swing the stock. Q2 2026 EPS of $10.66 beat estimates even as revenue fell 1.7% and broadband losses widened. Third-quarter results arrive November 6, 2026, with consensus EPS around $9 and revenue near $14.9 billion including Cox.

TDS. As of October 16, 2026 TDS trades near 0.97 times book value and about 13 times EV/EBITDA, and the trailing P/E near 8.6x is a poor gauge because one-time gains drive GAAP earnings. Reported revenue still understates fiber growth because divested territories and declining copper sit in the same line. A sum of the parts remains the usual method: fiber valued per passing or subscriber, plus the consolidated Array stake valued on contracted tower rent, plus excess cash and remaining spectrum, less debt.

Headline figures (approximate, October 2026): CHTR shows revenue (ttm) ~$54.4B; Q2 2026 ~$13.5B, down ~1.7% YoY, net income (ttm) ~$4.9B (~9% net margin), eps (q2 2026) $10.66 vs ~$10.06 consensus, p/e (trailing / forward) ~2.9x / ~2.4x; TDS shows market cap ~$4.0B (shares near $34.35 on Oct 16, 2026), revenue (ttm, continuing ops) ~$1.26B, q2 2026 revenue ~$309M (up ~3.6% from ~$299M a year earlier), net income (ttm) ~$467M, lifted by transaction and spectrum gains; trailing P/E ~8.6x.

CHTR and TDS are related but distinct: same themes, different businesses and risks. Neither wins in the abstract; the right pick is whichever thesis you actually believe, sized so you are not over-concentrated in one theme. Walnut can show your combined CHTR and TDS exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.