Comcast Edges Wall Street Q1 Estimates; Peacock Reaches 34M Subscribers As Its Losses Continue To Narrow And Revenue Tops $1B

Comcast reported first quarter results that outpaced Wall Street expectations, with Peacock reaching 34 million subscribers but seeing higher programming costs erode profits in the Media unit.

Total revenue inched up 1% to $30.1 billion, with adjusted earnings per share coming in at $1.04, up from 92 cents in the year-ago period.

The Media division, which includes Peacock, reported a nearly 4% gain in revenue, to $6.4 billion. But higher operating expenses, notably higher programming expenses at Peacock, contributed to wider losses. Adjusted EBITDA, a key measure of profitability, fell 6% to $827 million.

Peacock brought in $1.1 billion of revenue, up 54% from a year ago, with losses narrowing to $639 million from $704 million a year ago.

Domestic advertising revenue was flat at $2.025 billion primarily due to lower revenue at the company’s linear networks, offset by Peacock’s increase in revenue.

Revenue in the Studios division fell 7% to $2.7 billion, and profit slumped 12% even though theatrical revenue was strong thanks to Kung Fu Panda 4 and Migration. Content licensing revenue declined in the period, primarily due to the timing of when theatrical titles reached other windows.

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