Key Highlights
- First-quarter adjusted EPS reached $0.79, surpassing analyst estimates of $0.73
- Total revenue climbed to $31.46 billion, exceeding the projected $30.43 billion
- Domestic broadband subscriber losses improved to 65,000 versus the anticipated 173,700
- Mobile segment welcomed 435,000 additional lines, pushing total subscribers to 9.7 million
- NBCUniversal saw revenue climb approximately 61% driven by Super Bowl and Winter Olympics coverage
Comcast delivered first-quarter financial results on Thursday that exceeded analyst projections across key metrics. Shares responded positively, climbing as high as 8.2% during premarket hours to touch $31.77.
The company posted adjusted earnings per share of $0.79, outperforming the analyst consensus of $0.73. Total revenue increased 5.3% compared to the prior year, reaching $31.46 billion against Wall Street’s expectation of $30.43 billion.
Net income declined nearly 36% to $2.17 billion, translating to $0.60 per share. This decrease stems from elevated expenses related to sports broadcasting rights and Olympic production budgets. Adjusted EBITDA decreased roughly 17% to $7.93 billion.
Broadband subscriber trends captured significant investor attention this quarter. The company reported domestic broadband customer losses of just 65,000 during the three-month period. This marks substantial progress from the 183,000 subscribers lost during the corresponding quarter last year, and represents a meaningful beat against Wall Street’s projection of 173,700 losses.
The connectivity and platforms division — encompassing Xfinity broadband, cable television, and wireless services — continues generating the highest profitability for Comcast. Revenue in this segment decreased 2% to $17.32 billion, though the improved subscriber retention metrics provided reassurance to market participants.
Comcast has implemented competitive pricing strategies throughout the past year to counter pressure from wireless carriers including Verizon and T-Mobile.
Cable television subscriber losses also showed improvement. Comcast lost 322,000 TV customers during the quarter, compared with 427,000 departures in the same period twelve months earlier.
The wireless division delivered strong performance. Comcast welcomed 435,000 new mobile subscribers in the quarter, expanding total customer count to 9.7 million.
NBCUniversal’s “Legendary February” Performance
NBCUniversal experienced exceptional quarterly results. The company described this as “Legendary February,” referencing the convergence of major sporting events including the Super Bowl, Winter Olympics, and NBA All-Star Weekend within the same timeframe.
The media division reported revenue growth of 61% to $7.28 billion. Excluding Olympic and Super Bowl contributions, revenue still expanded 13%.
Domestic advertising revenue within the media segment skyrocketed 135% to $3.45 billion. NBC commanded an average of $8 million for each 30-second commercial slot during the Super Bowl broadcast, per CNBC reporting.
Peacock continued subscriber expansion. The streaming platform grew 12% year over year to 46 million users, while revenue nearly doubled to $2.1 billion. The service recorded a quarterly loss of $432 million, expanding from the $215 million loss reported in the prior-year period, primarily due to increased sports programming costs.
Theme Parks and Film Both Showed Strength
Comcast’s remaining business segments also delivered positive results. The film studio division saw revenue increase 21% to $3.43 billion.
Universal theme parks generated revenue growth of 24% to $2.33 billion. The parks segment benefited from Epic Universe, which launched last May.
The company has scheduled its quarterly investor conference call for 8:30 a.m. ET on Thursday.
