Oct 22 (Reuters) – Comcast on Thursday flagged more than $1 billion in charges for the fourth quarter as it changes its organizational structure, ahead of the planned spinoff of its NBCUniversal business in mid-2027.
The company lost more broadband customers than expected in the third quarter as fierce competition chipped away at its core business, while NBCUniversal benefited from gains in theatrical and streaming.
Shares of the company were up 3% in early trading.
Here are more details:
• Broadband users decreased by 144,000 in the third quarter, the company said, compared with the 116,800 losses estimated by analysts polled by FactSet and the 91,000 decrease reported in the year-ago period
• Comcast’s studios, theme parks and Peacock streaming service are set to separate from the company as part of the planned NBCUniversal spinoff
• Comcast is reportedly planning a significant number of layoffs to restructure its connectivity business
• “The Odyssey” was a bright spot for Universal Studios, becoming the highest-grossing film in its history and helping drive pre-tax profit up 18.6% for the unit
• The media division posted a 13% increase in third-quarter revenue to $5.36 billion, driven by soccer World Cup programming and “Love Island USA” on Peacock
• Peacock reported a quarterly pre-tax profit of $261 million, compared with a $217 million loss a year ago
• NBCUniversal’s theme park unit is seeing weaker demand in Orlando, while geopolitical tensions continue to deter Chinese tourists from visiting its parks in Japan, which is a major market
• The segment reported a 4.4% decline in revenue to $2.60 billion, missing analysts’ average estimate of $2.71 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG
• Comcast reported an adjusted profit of $1.07 per share, above analysts’ average estimate of 98 cents
(Reporting by Harshita Mary Varghese in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar, Edmund Lee and Shinjini Ganguli)
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