Comcast earnings show NBCUniversal strength as split nears

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Comcast earnings and NBCUniversal split

Highlights

Comcast's content and experiences division, including NBCUniversal, posts nearly 23% year-over-year Q2 revenue growth to $10.73 billion, driven by Peacock profitability and live sports.
Connectivity and platforms segment revenue drops 3% to $19.8 billion as broadband loses 167,000 residential customers and cable TV sheds 280,000 subscribers, offset by record mobile net additions.
Overall Q2 revenue declines 1.2% to $29.94 billion, but adjusted EPS of $1.04 beats Wall Street estimates, with shares rising about 1.5% in premarket trading Thursday.

NBCUniversal growth supports separation plan

As reported by CNBC, Comcast says its content and experiences division, which includes NBCUniversal, posts revenue growth of nearly 23% year over year in the second quarter as the company prepares for its planned split into two publicly traded businesses.

Peacock reaches profitability for the first time during the quarter, giving the media unit an added lift. The streaming service also benefits from live sports, including the FIFA World Cup and the NBA postseason, and adds new subscribers.

The content and experiences segment records revenue of $10.73 billion, helped by the World Cup, which begins in mid-June and airs in Spanish in the U.S. on Telemundo. TV media revenue benefits from Peacock and higher advertising, film studio revenue rises 25%, and theme parks revenue increases nearly 3%, with weakness at international parks offset by stronger revenue in Orlando.

Comcast says weeks earlier that it plans to divide its media and broadband operations, and co-CEOs Brian Roberts and Mike Cavanagh call the move an important step toward creating two focused companies with the financial strength and flexibility to pursue separate growth strategies.

Broadband pressure tempers overall performance

The connectivity and platforms segment, which includes Xfinity broadband, mobile and cable TV services, reports revenue down 3% to $19.8 billion. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization for the unit fall nearly 6% to $7.96 billion.

Comcast loses 167,000 residential broadband customers and 280,000 cable TV subscribers during the quarter. The company says its revised broadband strategy is gaining traction after years of competition from alternatives such as 5G providers, but lower-priced plans and promotions weigh on segment revenue.

Mobile remains a relative bright spot, with record quarterly net additions bringing the total to 10.2 million lines. Comcast has increasingly positioned mobile as a key part of its effort to strengthen the broader broadband business.

At the group level, Comcast reports overall second-quarter revenue down 1.2% to $29.94 billion. On a pro-forma basis, reflecting the impact of the Versant spinoff completed at the start of the year, quarterly revenue is 4.7% higher, while adjusted earnings per share of $1.04 exceed Wall Street estimates of 97 cents, according to LSEG; Comcast shares are about 1.5% higher in premarket trading Thursday.

Our earlier report on Peacock’s first-ever quarterly profit detailed how the streaming service turned profitable in April–June as live sports and key programming lifted subscriber adds and revenue. The piece also noted that this streaming momentum supported Comcast’s planned separation of its media assets, even as the broader company continued to face pressure from residential broadband subscriber losses.

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