Comcast beat Wall Street expectations for third-quarter earnings – despite headwinds in its theme park business – thanks to continued strength in its media unit.
The company’s streaming service Peacock reported its second quarterly profit since its launch in 2020, posting $261 million in adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization on a result of $1.8 billion.
Peacock maintains 48 million paying subscribers, flat from last quarter and up 17% year over year. Comcast said its streamers showed strong retention despite a subscription price hike in August.
The platform continues to benefit from the peak viewership of the FIFA World Cup, as the final match was played earlier in the quarter and aired on Telemundo NBCUniversal and Peacock.
Revenue at Comcast’s media division, which includes streaming services, rose 13% compared to last year’s third quarter to $5.4 billion. The overall content and experience unit, which also includes movie studios and theme parks, increased revenue by 6.5%.
Comcast’s connectivity and platform sector, however, continues to face pressure, with revenue down 2.7% year over year.
The company reported a net loss in domestic broadband home customers of 144,000 and a net loss in cable customers of 274,000 during the period. Its mobile business added 368,000 subscribers.
After years of broadband growth and increased competition from wireless providers like Verizon and T-Mobile, Comcast announced in January 2025 that it would refocus on its mobile business and pursue more competitive pricing plans.
“We feel mobile remains a tremendous growth opportunity for us. It’s a capital light model, [which] leveraging our existing broadband customer base,” Steve Croney, CEO of Comcast’s connectivity and platforms division, said on Thursday’s earnings call.
Shares of Comcast closed up over 3% on Friday.
Here’s how Comcast performed for the period ended September 30 compared to what analysts expected, according to LSEG:
- Earnings per share: $1.07 adjusted vs. 98 cents expected
- result: $29.3 billion vs $29.28 billion expected
In June, Comcast announced plans to spin off NBCUniversal and Sky’s European media business from its core cable, wireless and business services units. The split, which Comcast says will take about a year, will create two separate publicly traded companies.
Comcast Co-CEO Mike Cavanagh said the company is “on track” to complete the transaction by mid-2027.
“While significant work remains, we have a clear path to completion and remain focused on creating two companies with the strategic flexibility, financial strength, and leadership to compete and grow independently,” Cavanagh said. “We have tremendous confidence in the future of both companies.”
The split comes after Comcast spun off most of its cable network, along with various digital businesses, into it slope. The split ended in January.
For the third quarter, Comcast’s revenue was 6% lower than the year-ago period. However, adjusting for the impact of the Versant roll, revenue was essentially flat year over year, Comcast said.
Net income for the period was $3.45 billion, or 97 cents per share, compared to $3.33 billion, or 90 cents per share, in the third quarter of 2025. Adjusted for one-time items, including investments and the value of certain intangible assets, Comcast reported adjusted earnings per share of $1.07.
The company’s theme park revenue fell 4.4% during the period to $2.6 billion, which the company attributed to “cyclical headwinds” and lower revenue from admissions, due to promotional activity. Adjusted EBITDA for the division was down 17%.
The weakness in theme parks comes despite continued investment in the sector with the opening of a new coaster at Universal Studios Hollywood this quarter and Universal’s largest theme park property, Epic Universe, last year.
Theme park rival Disney reported quarterly earnings in its parks division in August.
Cavanagh said in the earnings call that in addition to macroeconomic factors, Universal theme parks are struggling because of superior marketing from competitors and technological challenges in Epic Universe. Cavanagh cited new hires, including Luc Bondar, as chief brand and commercial officer for Universal Destinations and Experiences, as steps the company is taking to address these challenges.
“Looking ahead, we expect performance to strengthen as we move into 2027, with growth picking up again in the second half of the year,” Cavanagh said. “We remain confident in the underlying strength of the business.”
Comcast’s studio division reported revenue of $2.97 billion, down 1.1% from last year’s third quarter. Adjusted EBITDA for the segment increased 18.6% to $402 million, due to lower operating costs.
The July theatrical release of “The Odyssey,” which is Universal’s biggest film of all time, boosted the division. Meanwhile, content licensing revenue fell 23.7% from the same quarter, which led to a decline in studio revenue, according to Comcast.
Disclosure: Versant Media Group is the parent company of CNBC.