Comcast Corp. (CMCSA,CMCSK) on Wednesday reported an 18 percent increase in profit for the first quarter, reflecting strong performance at its cable business.
The company recorded customer additions in its high-speed internet and voice business in the quarter, helping to offset video customer losses. Earnings per share beat analysts' expectations by a penny, while revenues missed their estimates.
Brian Roberts, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Comcast said, "Cable's results highlight revenue growth in every product, led by Video and High-Speed Internet, and overall customer growth, as we continue to effectively balance financial and customer performance. NBCUniversal's businesses also generated strong first quarter performance, led by Film and Cable Networks."
Cable Communications revenue for the first quarter rose 6 percent to $10.22 billion, driven by growth in high-speed internet, business services and video.
Monthly average total revenue per video customer increased 8 percent to $155.05, reflecting rate adjustments, an increasing number of residential customers taking multiple products, and a higher contribution from business services.
Comcast added 433,000 high-speed internet customers and 211,000 voice customers in the quarter, while video customers declined 60,000.
Combined video, high-speed internet and voice customers increased by 583,000 in the quarter, representing a 3.2 percent increase compared to prior-year quarter net additions.
As of March 31, the company's video, high-speed internet and voice customers totaled 51.9 million, a net increase of 3 percent year-over-year, reflecting increased high-speed internet customer additions and reduced video customer losses.
Revenue for NBCUniversal declined 2 percent to $5.3 billion. Excluding $259 million of revenue generated by the broadcast of the NFL's Super Bowl in the prior-year period, revenue increased 2 percent.
During the quarter, Comcast completed the acquisition of General Electric Co.'s (GE) entire 49 percent equity stake in the NBCUniversal joint venture for about $16.7 billion, taking full control of the media company much earlier than expected.
Comcast's first-quarter net income was $1.44 billion or $0.54 per share, up from $1.22 billion or $0.45 per share in the year-ago period.
Excluding a gain of $0.03 per share related to sale of wireless spectrum licenses, adjusted net income for the quarter was $1.37 billion or $0.51 per share, compared to $1.22 billion or $0.45 per share in the previous-year quarter. On average, 23 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of $0.50 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.
Revenue for the quarter rose 3 percent to $15.31 billion from $14.88 billion in the same period last year. Excluding NFL's Super Bowl revenue in the year-ago period, revenue increased 5 percent to $15.31 billion from $14.62 billion last year. Analysts had a consensus revenue estimate of $15.41 billion.
CMCSA closed Tuesday's trading at $41.30. In Wednesday's pre-market, the stock is adding $0.70 or 1.69 percent to $42.00.
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