Broadband defections that once dented Comcast’s growth slowed sharply in the quarter — the company lost 65,000 broadband customers versus 183,000 a year earlier. That helped Comcast top Wall Street forecasts, reporting adjusted EPS of $0.79 and revenue of $31.46 billion, while NBCUniversal’s sports-heavy slate and a push into mobile also lifted results. Comcast added 435,000 mobile lines, bringing its mobile base to 9.7 million, and Peacock subscribers grew 12% to 46 million. Why this matters: the quarter underlines how bundling broadband, mobile and live sports is increasingly the cable industry's go-to strategy to slow cord-cutting and monetise streaming audiences.

Quarterly results and headline numbers - Revenue: $31.46 billion (vs. $30.43 billion expected by LSEG) - Adjusted EPS: $0.79 (beats $0.73 expected) - GAAP net income: $2.17 billion, or $0.60 a share (down ~36% year over year) - Adjusted EBITDA: about $7.93 billion, down ~17% year over year - Overall revenue rose ~5%, driven largely by NBCUniversal and event-related advertising Broadband erosion slows Comcast lost 65,000 broadband customers in the quarter, an improvement from 183,000 a year earlier. Cable TV connections fell by 322,000, also better than the 427,000 decline a year earlier. The company cited more competitive pricing and new packaging as factors in reducing defections. The company is leaning into mobile growth as a retention tool, adding 435,000 new lines in the quarter and bringing its mobile base to 9.7 million. Management has positioned mobile as a bundling strategy to keep customers inside the Xfinity ecosystem. NBCUniversal and the power of live sports NBCUniversal’s media revenue rose about 61% to $7.28 billion, driven by a concentrated slate of sports events including the Super Bowl, the Winter Olympics and NBA All-Star Weekend. Domestic ad revenue for the media unit rose to $3.45 billion, up 135% year on year; excluding one-off event impacts, domestic ad revenue still rose about 4.7% to $1.54 billion. Streaming benefited as well: Peacock subscribers grew 12% year over year to 46 million, helping Comcast sell combined ad and subscription packages across linear and direct-to-consumer channels. Profit pressure despite revenue beat Despite the top-line beat, profitability was under pressure. Net income and adjusted EBITDA declined year over year amid higher content and programming costs tied to sports rights and greater marketing and technology investments for streaming and network upgrades. Investors nevertheless responded positively to the moderating broadband losses and strong ad performance, sending Comcast shares higher in premarket trading.

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Adjusted EBITDA fell about 17% to $7.93 billion, underscoring that revenue and subscriber stabilisation have not yet fully offset rising content and investment costs.

This article was created with AI assistance.