Brian Roberts, CEO, Comcast
David A. Grogan | CNBC
Comcast on Thursday reported third-quarter earnings that beat analyst estimates on the top and bottom lines.
Comcast also reported better-than-expected net customer additions for high-speed internet service and further growth to its new streaming service, Peacock.
The stock was up 2.4% in the premarket after earnings were released.
Here are the key numbers:
- Earnings per share: 65 cents, adjusted vs. 52 cents expected, according to Refinitiv survey of analysts
- Revenue: $25.53 billion vs. $24.74 billion expected, according to Refinitiv
- High-speed internet customers: 633,000 net adds vs. 534,000 net adds expected, according to FactSet
NBCUniversal’s Peacock now has nearly 22 million sign-ups. The service, which offers free and paid options, had 10 million sign-ups when Comcast last reported earnings in July. Comcast said in its report that Peacock is “proving to be a differentiating factor for customers considering Xfinity broadband and is also improving churn.”
“Peacock has exceeded every internal engagement metric without the benefit of the Olympics or content like The Office (Jan. 2021),” Comcast said.
The company reported its best quarterly customer results in its history, adding more than 633,000 high-speed internet customers. Cable added more broadband customers in the first nine months of the year than in all of 2019, Comcast reported, including nearly 1 million customers in the second and third quarters.
Comcast said its Europe-based Sky division has continued to add higher-priced customers and reduce churn. Its quarter was strengthened in part by the return of sports, including record Premier League viewership on Sky Sports.
Comcast’s theme parks business, which is part of its NBCUniversal division, has suffered the most during the pandemic as closures and capacity restrictions strain revenue.
Theme park revenue fell nearly 81% to $311 million, according to the report. Comcast said that excluding theme parks, NBCUniversal earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization grew by 9% year over year.
California has kept theme parks closed under strict reopening guidelines that allow them to resume operations only after their counties reach a Covid infection rate of less than 1 case per 100,000 residents. Universal’s parks in Florida and Japan have been able to reopen with limited capacity.
Filmed entertainment has also suffered during the pandemic, which interrupted movie production and theater premieres. Revenue for the segment fell 25% to $1.3 billion. The dip in theatrical revenue was partially offset by increased licensing and home entertainment revenue, including from the at-home release of “Trolls World Tour.”
Comcast’s Universal Pictures struck a deal with AMC Studios in July that could help navigate the changed behaviors of consumers during the pandemic. Under the deal, AMC will show Universal films in its theaters but shorten the window of time before Universal can bring movies to consumers on-demand.
Here’s how Comcast’s divisions did for the quarter:
- Cable communications accounted for $15 billion in total revenue, up 2.9% year over year
- Cable networks accounted for $2.7 billion in total revenue, down 1.3%
- Broadcast television brought in $2.4 billion in total revenue, up 8.3%
- Filmed entertainment brought in $1.3 billion in total revenue, down 25%
- Theme parks brought in $311 million in total revenue, down 80.9%
Disclosure: Comcast is the owner of NBCUniversal, parent company of CNBC.
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