By
Godfrey Benjamin
April 28th, 2023
The company said its Peacock subscribers grew by more than 60% or 22 million compared year-over-year.
American telecommunications and media giant Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ: CMCSA) has shared a better-than-expected first quarter (Q1) performance report. According to the company’s report, it recorded a total revenue of $29.69 billion for the quarter, a figure that is larger than the $29.3 billion expected from Refinitiv’s analysts.
Comcast’s history dates back to the 1960s and the company has evolved to be one of the most dominant providers of mainstream telecom services in the United States of today. As a media giant, Comcast is also the parent company of media house CNBC which is a part of the firm’s content distribution subsidiary NBCUniversal.
Comcast Q1 Report Highlights
The company said its Earnings Per Share (EPS) as adjusted came in at 92 cents, a peg that surpasses the 82 cents that was projected by Refinitiv analysts. That Comcast beat its earnings estimates does not necessarily imply that the company had a comparatively stellar quarter. The firm recorded a significant plunge in its revenue which came in at 4%. The firm reported $31.01 billion in revenue this same period last year.
The company attributed the 4% drop to the comparative hedge it recorded in the first quarter of 2022 when it broadcasted both the Super Bowl and the Beijing Olympics event respectively. In addition to this, Comcast noted that its broadband business saw a 21,000 decline in the number of total subscribers. This loss, however, was compensated for by the growth in its business clients.
The company said its Peacock subscribers grew by more than 60% or 22 million compared year-over-year. Comcast revealed that its revenue for the Peacock unit grew as much as 45% to $685 million. This growth was notably negated by the more than $700 million it printed in losses for the quarter.
“We delivered strong first quarter results as our team executed exceptionally well,” said Brian L. Roberts, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Comcast Corporation. “We grew Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EPS, and generated a significant amount of free cash flow. We accomplished all of this while continuing to invest in future growth initiatives. Also, importantly, we had solid revenue growth in our high-margin connectivity businesses, while increasing our Peacock subscribers more than 60% year-over-year.”
Future Outlook
While Comcast is not oblivious to the realities of the changing climes in some of its business segments, particularly broadband and cable TV, the company is still very optimistic about its prospects for the future.
Roberts noted that the company has great momentum and that it will look to capitalize on the growth of key units like Studios which re-introduced the Super Mario Bros game title.
At the time of writing, Comcast shares are changing hands at a price of $37.93, up by 3.86%.