Comcast reported first quarter revenue of $31.46 billion, up 5.3%, following the separation of channels business Versant, but profitability came under pressure as costs linked to major sports events, streaming and wider investment weighed on the quarter.
Net income attributable to Comcast fell 35.6% to $2.17 billion, while adjusted EBITDA declined 16.8% to $7.93 billion.
The group said the quarter was shaped by what it described as a “Legendary February”, built around the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics and the Super Bowl, which boosted media revenues and drove further momentum at Peacock.
Peacock revenue rose 71% year-on-year to $2.1 billion, passing the $2 billion mark for the first time, while paid subscribers increased 12% to 46 million. However, the streamer’s adjusted EBITDA loss widened to $432 million from $215 million a year earlier, reflecting the cost of the Olympics and Super Bowl alongside NBA rights in the current period.
At Connectivity & Platforms, which includes the Sky business, total revenue slipped 1% to $19.96 billion and adjusted EBITDA fell 4.3% to $7.91 billion. Residential connectivity revenue was broadly flat at $8.97 billion, but domestic broadband revenue fell 5.1% to $6.34 billion as customer numbers and average rates declined. Comcast’s domestic broadband customer losses improved significantly, however, with net losses of 65,000 compared with 183,000 a year earlier.
Wireless remained a bright spot. Domestic wireless service revenue increased 15% to $977 million, equipment revenue rose 52.9% to $418 million, and Comcast added 435,000 wireless lines in the quarter, its strongest quarterly performance on record. Total wireless lines reached 9.74 million, equivalent to 16% penetration of domestic residential broadband customers.
Video revenue in residential connectivity fell 5.2% to $6.26 billion as domestic video customer losses continued, with Comcast shedding 322,000 video customers in the quarter, though that was an improvement on the 427,000 lost a year earlier.
