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Comcast It beat revenue and profit estimates in the fourth quarter as it lost fewer broadband subscribers than expected and raised its dividend by 7%, the company said Thursday.
Here's how Comcast performed, compared to estimates from analysts surveyed by LSEG, formerly known as Refinitiv.
- Earnings per share: Adjusted 84 cents vs. expected 79 cents
- Revenue: $31.25 billion vs. $30.51 billion expected
For the quarter ended Dec. 31, net income rose 7.8% to $3.26 billion, or 81 cents per share, compared with $3.02 billion, or 70 cents per share, a year earlier. Revenue increased 2.3% compared to the prior-year period. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) were stable year over year at approximately 8 billion dollars.
“For the third consecutive year, we generated the highest revenue, adjusted EBITDA and adjusted EPS in our company's history,” Comcast CEO Brian Roberts said in a statement. “We also reported the highest adjusted EBITDA on record in theme parks; we were the number one studio at the global box office for the first time since 2015; and we maintained Peacock's position as the fastest-growing streamer in the US.”
Brian L. Roberts, Chairman and CEO of Comcast.
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Comcast increased its dividend by 8 cents, or 7%, to $1.24 per share on an annualized basis through 2024. It is the 16th consecutive year the company has increased its dividend. Comcast also approved a new $15 billion stock repurchase program authorization with no expiration date, effective Friday.
Free cash flow in the fourth quarter was $1.7 billion and $13 billion for the year.
Comcast lost 34,000 domestic broadband subscribers, less than the average analyst estimate of about 62,000 compiled by StreetAccount. Despite the losses, domestic broadband revenue rose 3.7% to $6.4 billion. Average revenue per user increased 3.9% as customers connected more devices and spent more on higher Internet speeds.
Comcast added 310,000 wireless subscribers, below analysts' average forecast of about 342,000 gains. The company lost 389,000 video subscribers, a smaller loss than analysts' average estimate of nearly 458,000.
Theme parks' adjusted EBITDA rose 11.6% to $872 million, missing analyst estimates of about $897 million. The figure still broke a quarterly record for Comcast.
NBCUniversal Results
NBCUniversal's flagship streaming service Peacock added 3 million subscribers as revenue rose more than 50% to $1.03 billion, marking the first time Peacock surpassed $1 billion or more in a quarter. Peacock lost an adjusted $825 million in the quarter, narrowing its loss of $978 million in the same period a year earlier. Peacock ended the quarter with 31 million subscribers.
Total media revenue rose 3.1% to nearly $7 billion, but adjusted EBITDA fell 50% to $108 million due to rising sports programming costs and higher programming costs at Peacock . The increase in sports costs reflected increased media rights for NFL, Premier League and Big 10 programming.
Domestic advertising revenue declined 6.9% year over year to $2.64 billion, although sales would have increased 2.7% in the quarter if advertising from last year's World Cup was excluded.
Theatrical revenue rose 59% in the quarter, based largely on the performance of four films: “Five Nights at Freddy's,” “Trolls Band Together,” “The Exorcist: Believer” and “Migration.” Universal took first place at the global box office in 2023 for the first time since 2015 and produced three of the top five films: “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” “Oppenheimer” and “Fast X.”
Disclosure: Comcast owns NBCUniversal, the parent company of CNBC.
