Charter
Public Statements Risk
Charter Communications CEO, Christopher L Winfrey, is not active on social media, but he has been in the news lately regarding the dispute between Spectrum and Disney. Generally, the brand refrains from making public statements regarding politics to the media or through social media. The site links to ESG and DEI sections through its header menu.
Political Contributions Risk
Charter Communications contributes with a mild Republican skew, coming mostly from the company PAC. The company's combined contribution level is very high, among the largest in the Communications Services sector. Sector partisanship tends to skew blue.
Political Dichotomy Risk
Charter Communications leans heavily Republican, whereas the company's consumer base is likely bipartisan, given its size and spread. The largest risk that Charter Communications states on its 10K is competition. Industry competition is very high, meaning that customer dissatisfaction could quickly result in loss of market share to near perfect substitute competitors. Their nature as a quasi-utility, as well as the moderation of partisan bias, mitigates this risk to a degree.
Associational Risk
Multiple news articles have highlighted contributions to DeSantis, representing a polarizing, risky association. Other contributions were to a similarly controversial figure, President Biden, although that isn't uncommon for the sector. Besides this, research revealed no social media posts that posed risk. All of these factors yield a moderate risk level.
Brand Visibility Risk
Charter owns Spectrum but this ownership is not highly publized. As a utility, the company is highly insulated from controversy and often operates in geographic monopolies.
