Comcast The company reported mixed results before the close on Tuesday, missing revenue expectations on a strict year-over-year comparison for its movie studios and theme parks.
However, the company's streaming service Peacock continues to be profitable. Comcast shares fell nearly 3% in premarket trading.
this is how comcast showcompared with estimates from analysts polled by LSEG:
- Earnings per share: Adjusted $1.21, expected $1.12
- income: US$29.69 billion, expected US$30.02 billion
Net profit fell 7.5% to about $3.93 billion, or $1 a share, in the quarter ended June 30, compared with $4.25 billion, or $1.02 a share, a year earlier. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) fell about 1% to $10.17 billion.
The company's revenue fell nearly 3% from the same period last year to $29.69 billion. Revenue from the content and experiences segment, which includes NBCUniversal's television business, theme parks and Universal Pictures, fell 7.5% to $10.06 billion.
While Comcast lost customers in some key sectors, the losses were not as severe as feared, according to Wall Street estimates.
Broadband customer growth has declined throughout the wireline broadband industry in recent quarters as fewer Americans are buying and moving and as competition for home broadband from wireless providers intensifies.
The company said it lost 120,000 broadband customers in the quarter, including 110,000 residential customers, while StreetAccount expected to lose about 142,000.
Segment revenue, which includes Xfinity-branded broadband, cable and mobile businesses, fell 1.5% to $17.82 billion due to further reductions in cable television. Comcast lost 419,000 cable customers in the quarter, still below StreetAccount analysts' forecast of 502,000.
Domestic broadband revenue grew 3% to $6.57 billion due to higher prices.
The company's mobile business continues to thrive, with the number of customer lines growing 20% from last year to 7.2 million.
In particular, Universal Studios' revenue fell 27% to $2.25 billion, facing a severe test compared with last year's “Super Mario Bros.” revenue. and “Fast X,” one of Comcast's best theatrical shows ever. Comcast is looking ahead to the rest of the year's slate of movies, including this summer's box office successes “Despicable Me 4” and “Twister,” as well as the upcoming release of “Wicked” in November.
Meanwhile, theme park revenue fell nearly 11% to $1.98 billion compared with record levels in 2023 as attendance normalized.
Last quarter, the theme park sector began to cool down from the popular surge in attendance that followed the pandemic lockdowns in 2023.
However, NBCUniversal's television business offset the impact, with revenue of $6.32 billion, up 2% from last year.
NBCUniversal's streaming solution Peacock remains the company's bright spot. The streamer had its best year-over-year growth, with paid subscribers up 38% to 33 million. The streamer's revenue grew 28% to $1 billion.
Peacock also boosted adjusted EBITDA for its media unit, which grew 9% to $1.36 billion.
Peacock-related losses were $348 million, a significant improvement from the $651 million loss in the same period last year.
Revealed: Comcast owns NBCUniversal, the parent company of CNBC.