Comcast Sees Steep Internet, Video Losses; Eyes Job Cuts

Comcast Corp. logged steep losses in its broadband and cable-TV units in the third quarter, overshadowing a more positive performance from the media business.

Philadelphia-based Comcast lost 144,000 residential broadband customers in the period, the company said in a statement Thursday. That was more than the 133,000 losses that Wall Street predicted and a 58% dip from a year earlier. Domestic video subscribers fell by 274,000, 6.8% more than a year ago and a steeper decline than analysts projected.

Bloomberg reported on Wednesday that Comcast is planning a significant number of job cuts as part of a reorganization of its cable, broadband and wireless businesses.

Adjusted earnings per share were $1.07, ahead of estimates for 98 cents. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization was $9.1 billion, compared with forecasts for $8.9 billion.

The internet downturn was not unexpected. Chief Financial Officer Jason Armstrong said in September that he sees rivals offering low rates for high-speed broadband access at prices that make it hard to compete in an area that was Comcast’s traditional growth engine. Comcast is trying to buttress the declining cable and internet business by bundling the service with its Xfinity mobile offering to fend off increasing competition from wireless carriers that are also offering combined packages.

Comcast made strides in adding new wireless phone subscribers, with 368,000 net line additions, although that was below analysts’ projections of 392,000. The company has lured people in with free mobile lines for a year, and it’s succeeded in converting at least some of those users into paying wireless customers. Of those, 40% take the premium unlimited plans, the company said.

Meanwhile, Comcast’s media operations at NBCUniversal are on the upswing. Recognizing the drastically diverging businesses, Comcast announced earlier this year that it will spin off NBCUniversal into a separate company to house theme parks, the Universal film and television studios, the NBC and Telemundo broadcast networks and the Peacock streaming service. Cable-TV networks like CNBC and MS Now were spun off as Versant Media Group in January.

Peacock, Comcast’s flagship streaming service, reported a 17% increase in paid subscribers from a year ago to 48 million. Revenue jumped 34% to $1.8 billion while Ebitda swung to a $261 million profit.

On the film side, Universal saw its highest grossing film of all time in The Odyssey, a summer blockbuster that helped the studio become the first to crack $5 billion in global box office sales this year. Adjusted Ebitda rose 19% to $402 million, above the expected $392 million.

Comcast faced challenges in its theme parks business in the quarter, with revenue down 4.4% and adjusted Ebitda down 17.1% year-over-year. The company has previously said that visitors to Universal theme parks remain discouraged by the higher cost of gas and airline tickets. Many guests may have gone to the opening of the new Epic Universe park in 2025 and not returned this year.

Comcast’s shares are down 21% this year, compared with a 13% gain in the S&P 500.