Common Stock (Notes)

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2021

The following represents the Company's purchase of Charter Class A common stock and the effect on the consolidated statements of cash flows during the three months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020.


	Three Months Ended March 31,
		2021	2020
			Shares	$		Shares	$
Share buybacks			5,556,318	$	3,474	4,452,549	$	2,176
Income tax withholding			284,563	178		335,654	176
Exercise cost			309,815			241,752
			6,150,696	$	3,652	5,029,955	$	2,352

Share buybacks includes 0.8 million shares of Charter Class A common stock purchased from Liberty Broadband Corporation (“Liberty Broadband”) during the three months ended March 31, 2021 at an average price of $621.16 for approximately $518 million pursuant to the LBB Letter Agreement. In April 2021, the Company purchased from Liberty Broadband an additional 0.7 million shares of Charter Class A common stock for approximately $460 million (see Note 19).

As of March 31, 2021, Charter had remaining board authority to purchase an additional $1.2 billion of Charter’s Class A common stock and/or Charter Holdings common units. The Company also withholds shares of its Class A common stock in payment of income tax withholding owed by employees upon vesting of equity awards as well as exercise costs owed by employees upon exercise of stock options.

In 2020, Charter’s board of directors approved the retirement of the then currently held treasury stock and those shares were retired as of December 31, 2020. The Company accounts for treasury stock using the cost method and includes treasury stock as a component of total shareholders’ equity.

In March 2020, pursuant to the terms of the Amended and Restated Stockholders Agreement with Liberty Broadband, Advance/Newhouse Partnership (“A/N”) and Charter, dated May 23, 2015 (the "Stockholders Agreement"), Charter, Liberty and A/N closed on transactions in which Liberty Broadband and A/N exercised their preemptive right to purchase 35,112 and 20,182 shares, respectively, of Charter Class A common stock for a total purchase price of approximately $23 million.