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CMCSA Q4 Earnings Beat On Theme Parks and Peacock Strength
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Key Takeaways
Comcast delivered a Q4 earnings and revenue beat, fueled by strong Theme Parks and Peacock performance.
CMCSA's Theme Parks revenues jumped around 22%, while Peacock posted record revenue and subscriber growth.
Comcast faced pressure from broadband subscriber losses, weaker Studios performance and margin compression.
Comcast (CMCSA - Free Report) reported fourth-quarter 2025 adjusted EPS of 84cents, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 12% and declined 12.4% year over year.
Revenues of $32.31 billion beat the consensus mark by 0.53% and increased 1.2% year over year. The company generated free cash flow of $4.4 billion in the quarter, up 34% from the prior year quarter.(Read More: Comcast's Q4 Earnings Surpass Estimates, Revenues Increase Y/Y)
The company ended the quarter with 9.3 million domestic wireless lines, up from 7.8 million in the prior-year period. However, total domestic broadband customers declined to 31.3 million from 31.8 million.
Theme Parks delivered a standout performance, with revenues surging 21.9% to $2.89 billion, exceeding the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 2.33%. Adjusted EBITDA crossed the $1 billion milestone, climbing 23.5% year over year. The May 2025 opening of Epic Universe proved transformative for the Orlando resort, driving average daily hotel rates 20% higher while occupancy increased 3%.
At Media, Peacock continued scaling rapidly with revenues rising 23% to a record $7.6 billion, beating the Zacks consensus estimates by 3.9%, as paid subscribers reached 44 million, adding 3 million subscribers during the quarter. The launch of NBA programming on NBC and Peacock attracted 170 new advertisers, while Sunday Night Football delivered its most-watched season in history.
Broadband Losses and Studios Weakness Weigh on Performance
The quarter exposed ongoing headwinds in Comcast's core broadband business, with net losses of 181,000 domestic broadband customers as competitive pressure intensifies through fiber overbuilds and fixed wireless alternatives. The figure beat the Zacks consensus estimates by 0.34%. Domestic broadband revenues slipped 1.1% to $6.32 billion, while broadband ARPU growth decelerated sharply to 1.1%.
Video revenues declined 5.6% to $6.36 billion as the company shed 245,000 video customers during the quarter, beating the Zacks Consensus estimates by 32%. Advertising revenues fell 10.8% to $1.03 billion, primarily reflecting the absence of political advertising that had elevated the prior year's election cycle results.
Within Content & Experiences, Studios revenues contracted 7.4% to $3.03 billion, missing the Zacks Consensus estimates by 9%. Studios Adjusted EBITDA tumbled 38.4% to $351 million. Media Adjusted EBITDA swung to a loss of $122 million from a profit of $298 million in the prior year quarter, largely attributable to first-year NBA rights costs.
Connectivity & Platforms Adjusted EBITDA declined 4.3% to $7.5 billion, with margin compression of 120 basis points to 37.1%. The figure missed the Zacks Consensus estimates by 0.11%.
Image: Bigstock
CMCSA Q4 Earnings Beat On Theme Parks and Peacock Strength
Key Takeaways
Comcast (CMCSA - Free Report) reported fourth-quarter 2025 adjusted EPS of 84cents, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 12% and declined 12.4% year over year.
Revenues of $32.31 billion beat the consensus mark by 0.53% and increased 1.2% year over year. The company generated free cash flow of $4.4 billion in the quarter, up 34% from the prior year quarter.(Read More: Comcast's Q4 Earnings Surpass Estimates, Revenues Increase Y/Y)
The company ended the quarter with 9.3 million domestic wireless lines, up from 7.8 million in the prior-year period. However, total domestic broadband customers declined to 31.3 million from 31.8 million.
Comcast Corporation Revenue (TTM)
Comcast Corporation revenue-ttm | Comcast Corporation Quote
Theme Parks and Peacock Momentum Drive Results
Theme Parks delivered a standout performance, with revenues surging 21.9% to $2.89 billion, exceeding the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 2.33%. Adjusted EBITDA crossed the $1 billion milestone, climbing 23.5% year over year. The May 2025 opening of Epic Universe proved transformative for the Orlando resort, driving average daily hotel rates 20% higher while occupancy increased 3%.
At Media, Peacock continued scaling rapidly with revenues rising 23% to a record $7.6 billion, beating the Zacks consensus estimates by 3.9%, as paid subscribers reached 44 million, adding 3 million subscribers during the quarter. The launch of NBA programming on NBC and Peacock attracted 170 new advertisers, while Sunday Night Football delivered its most-watched season in history.
Broadband Losses and Studios Weakness Weigh on Performance
The quarter exposed ongoing headwinds in Comcast's core broadband business, with net losses of 181,000 domestic broadband customers as competitive pressure intensifies through fiber overbuilds and fixed wireless alternatives. The figure beat the Zacks consensus estimates by 0.34%. Domestic broadband revenues slipped 1.1% to $6.32 billion, while broadband ARPU growth decelerated sharply to 1.1%.
Video revenues declined 5.6% to $6.36 billion as the company shed 245,000 video customers during the quarter, beating the Zacks Consensus estimates by 32%. Advertising revenues fell 10.8% to $1.03 billion, primarily reflecting the absence of political advertising that had elevated the prior year's election cycle results.
Within Content & Experiences, Studios revenues contracted 7.4% to $3.03 billion, missing the Zacks Consensus estimates by 9%. Studios Adjusted EBITDA tumbled 38.4% to $351 million. Media Adjusted EBITDA swung to a loss of $122 million from a profit of $298 million in the prior year quarter, largely attributable to first-year NBA rights costs.
Connectivity & Platforms Adjusted EBITDA declined 4.3% to $7.5 billion, with margin compression of 120 basis points to 37.1%. The figure missed the Zacks Consensus estimates by 0.11%.
Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider
Comcast currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Some better-ranked stocks in the broader Zacks Consumer Discretionary sector are Airbnb (ABNB - Free Report) , LiveOne (LVO - Free Report) and Fox Corporation (FOXA - Free Report) , each carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Shares of Fox Corporation have declined 2.7% year to date. Fox Corporation is set to report second-quarter fiscal 2026 results on Feb. 4.
Shares of Airbnb have declined 2.9% year to date. Airbnb is slated to report fourth-quarter 2025 results on Feb. 12.
Shares of LiveOne have declined 1.5% year to date. LiveOne is slated to report third-quarter fiscal 2026 results on Feb. 12.