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Comcast The company on Thursday beat first-quarter profit expectations as broadband boosted revenue, even as customer growth slowed for the company and its peers.
Here’s how Comcast performed, compared with estimates from analysts surveyed by LSEG:
- Earnings per share: Adjusted $1.04, expected 99 cents
- income: US$30.06 billion, expected US$29.81 billion
Net profit rose 0.6% to $3.86 billion, or 97 cents a share, in the quarter ended March 31, compared with $3.83 billion, or 91 cents a share, a year earlier. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) fell 0.6% to approximately $9.4 billion.
The company’s revenue increased 1.2% from the same period last year to $30.06 billion. Although Comcast lost 65,000 customers during the quarter, revenue from its domestic broadband customer segment fueled the growth as rates increased.
The number of customers in Comcast’s wireless business increased 21% in the quarter to 6.9 million lines. The company lost 487,000 cable customers during the quarter as consumers continued to opt for streaming services.
The company’s theme park adjusted EBITDA fell 3.9% to $632 million in the quarter due to higher operating expenses such as higher marketing and promotional costs, as well as the negative impact of foreign exchange. Likewise, earnings fell at media businesses and studios including NBCUniversal. The three businesses now belong to the same market segment, with total revenue growing 1.1% to $10.37 billion.
NBCUniversal gets a boost from Peacock. The service added 3 million paying subscribers during the quarter, bringing its total number of customers to 34 million. Compared with the same period last year, the streaming media’s revenue increased by 54% to $1.1 billion. While domestic advertising was flat during the quarter, the company’s domestic distribution revenue grew, driven by growth in Peacock.
Losses from Peacock weighed on the unit and offset higher revenue. The company’s Peacock-related adjusted EBITDA loss for the quarter was $639 million. However, the situation improved compared to the adjusted EBITDA loss of $704 million in the same period last year.
The streamer got a boost after Universal Pictures’ Academy Award winner and blockbuster “Oppenheimer” landed on the platform. Comcast says it’s the most-watched movie in “Peacock’s” history.
Revealed: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal and CNBC.
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