CMCSA changes
Pick any two versions below to diff them.
- Price
- $21.77 → $23.22(+6.7%)
- Next earnings
- Oct 22, 2026 → Jan 22, 2027
- Next earnings is estimate
- No → Yes
- About
- Comcast sells broadband, mobile phone service and pay TV in the US under the Xfinity brand, and services to businesses under Comcast Business. In Europe, it owns Sky. Through NBCUniversal, it also owns the NBC and Telemundo networks, the Peacock streaming service, Universal film and TV studios, and Universal theme parks. It reports five segments: Residential Connectivity & Platforms, Business Services Connectivity, Media, Studios and Theme Parks. removed: In Q2 added: At September 30, 2026, it had removed: 28.5 added: 28.3 million US residential broadband customers and removed: 10.2 added: 10.6 million wireless lines, and Peacock had 48 million paid subscribers. Most of its profit comes from monthly broadband, video and mobile bills. On January 2, 2026, it spun off Versant, its group of cable TV networks, and gave shareholders 1 Versant share for every 25 Comcast shares. In June 2026, it announced a plan to spin off NBCUniversal and removed: Sky added: Sky, which it expects to complete in removed: about one year. added: mid-2027.
- Thesis
- The market prices Comcast at a discount because it believes that the US broadband business, the main source of profit, is in a long decline. Fiber companies and fixed wireless take customers with low prices, and Comcast cut its own prices to keep customers. In removed: Q2 added: Q3 2026, Comcast lost removed: 167,000 added: 144,000 US broadband customers, added: against 91,000 a year earlier, domestic broadband revenue fell removed: 5.5%, added: 4.7%, and Residential Connectivity & Platforms added: adjusted EBITDA fell removed: 8%. In September 2026, the CFO called fiber pricing irrational and said that broadband losses will not improve added: 5.8%. Wireless growth slowed to 368,000 new lines in removed: Q3, and the stock fell 7% that day. added: Q3 2026 from 448,000 in Q2 2026. In October 2026, SpaceX bought spectrum for a satellite mobile service, which adds a new threat to the wireless growth that offsets the broadband losses. added: Comcast now redesigns its organization to cut costs, and press reports of the Q3 call say that it expects a charge of more than $1 billion in Q4 2026. For the gap to close, broadband customer losses must get smaller in 2027, broadband revenue must stop falling, wireless lines must keep growing removed: near added: by about 350,000 or more each quarter, the removed: 448,000 of Q2 2026, added: cost program must protect margins, and the NBCUniversal and Sky spin-off must complete with an investment-grade balance sheet for both companies. The removed: first evidence comes with added: next tests are the removed: Q3 added: Q4 2026 report removed: on October 22, 2026. The added: and the 2027 removed: outlook added: outlook, expected in removed: early 2027 added: late January 2027, and the spin-off, expected removed: about mid-2027, are the next tests. added: in mid-2027. If broadband stabilizes, the gap can close slowly over 2027 and 2028. The main risk is that fiber and wireless rivals keep taking customers, so that cash flow falls each year.
- Risks
- Broadband competition. Fiber companies and fixed wireless offer low prices, and KeyBanc said in September 2026 that only about 55% of Comcast's area faces fiber today, so the pressure can grow. Comcast must choose between more customer losses and lower prices. Domestic broadband revenue fell removed: 5.5% added: 4.7% in removed: Q2 2026. added: Q3 2026, and Comcast lost 144,000 broadband customers in the quarter. Wireless growth offsets part of the broadband decline, but new rivals can slow it. added: Wireless line additions fell to 368,000 in Q3 2026 from 448,000 in Q2 2026. In October 2026, SpaceX bought spectrum to offer mobile service from satellites. The NBCUniversal and Sky spin-off needs board approval, tax opinions, regulatory approvals and new financing. It can be delayed or changed, and it adds cost and management distraction. Buybacks are paused until it is done. Pay TV customers keep leaving: Comcast lost removed: 280,000 added: 274,000 US video customers in removed: Q2 added: Q3 2026. Linear TV ratings fall, and sports rights such as the NBA raise costs. Theme Parks added: adjusted EBITDA fell removed: 5.1% added: 17.1% in removed: Q2 2026. added: Q3 2026 because fewer people paid for park admission. Comcast had removed: about $90 added: $87.4 billion of debt at removed: June added: September 30, 2026. A weaker cash flow lowers the room for dividends and investment after the split.
- Balance sheet
- Cash: removed: $7.7B added: $7.6B Debt: removed: $90.4B added: $87.4B Net debt: removed: $82.7B added: $79.8B Interest cover: removed: 4.3× added: 4.7× Undrawn credit line: $11.8B Debt due within 12 months: removed: $6.1B added: $3.6B Comcast funds itself mainly with unsecured notes, which Comcast, NBCUniversal and Comcast Cable guarantee together. Debt was removed: $90.4 added: $87.4 billion at removed: June added: September 30, 2026, of which removed: $6.1 added: $3.6 billion was due within one year. In the first removed: half added: nine months of 2026, Comcast repaid removed: $7.3 added: $10.4 billion of removed: debt, including added: debt. This included the early purchase of $4.1 billion of notes due from January 2027 to June removed: 2029. It used added: 2029, about $2.7 billion of notes paid with the cash that Versant paid at the spin-off and removed: its own cash. added: cash on hand, and $3.0 billion of notes paid at maturity. Versant's $1.0 billion of notes left the balance sheet with the spin-off. Interest cover is operating income divided by interest expense for the first removed: half added: nine months of 2026. At removed: June added: September 30, 2026, $11.8 billion was free under the revolving credit facility, after commercial paper and letters of credit. The credit facility has a debt-to-EBITDA covenant, which Comcast met. removed: In July 2026, Comcast removed: filed to exchange some existing notes for registered notes. Comcast added: stopped share buybacks from the start of Q3 2026 until the spin-off. It plans an investment-grade balance sheet for both Comcast and NBCUniversal after the spin-off, but it has not said how it will split the debt. Free cash flow was removed: $4.6 added: $4.2 billion in removed: Q2 added: Q3 2026 and $12.7 billion in the first nine months of 2026. As of removed: Jun added: Sep 30, 2026.
- Checkpoints
- Oct 22, 2026: Q3 2026 results: broadband losses and wireless growth. removed: Pending. added: Failed. Watch: US broadband losses below the 140,000 that KeyBanc expects, with wireless additions near 400,000 or more, pass; larger broadband losses or a faster fall in broadband revenue fail. added: Outcome: Comcast lost 144,000 US broadband customers, more than the 140,000 that KeyBanc expected, and added only 368,000 wireless lines. Jan added: 22, 2027 (estimate): Full-year 2026 results and 2027 plan. Pending. Watch: Smaller broadband losses in Q4 2026 and a clear debt plan for the two companies pass; a 2027 plan with lower connectivity EBITDA again fails. Q2 2027 (estimate): NBCUniversal and Sky spin-off. Pending. Watch: A tax-free spin-off on time, with investment-grade ratings for both companies and buybacks that start again, passes; a delay or a downgrade fails.
- Recent events
- Oct added: 22, 2026: Comcast reported Q3 2026 results. Revenue was $29.3 billion, down 6.1%, and up 0.5% pro forma for Versant and the sale of Sky Germany. Adjusted EPS was $1.07, down 4.0%, and free cash flow was $4.2 billion. Comcast lost 144,000 US broadband customers, against 91,000 a year earlier, and added 368,000 wireless lines. Peacock had its second profitable quarter, with $261 million of adjusted EBITDA, and Theme Parks adjusted EBITDA fell 17.1%. According to press reports of the call, the CFO said that Comcast expects a charge of more than $1 billion in Q4 2026, mostly for a redesign of its organization. Oct 8, 2026: SpaceX agreed to buy nationwide 800 MHz spectrum from Grain Management for its Starlink Mobile service. Investors feared more competition for Xfinity Mobile. Comcast stock hit a 13-year low of $20.75 during the day and closed up 1%. Sep 25, 2026: KeyBanc downgraded Comcast to Underweight with an $18 price target. It expects a loss of 140,000 broadband customers in Q3 2026, and losses of 558,000 in 2026 and 665,000 in 2027. It said that rivals' 1-gigabit offers at $30 to $40 a month win customers, and that the spin-off is not a catalyst. Sep 15, 2026: Comcast said that it will report Q3 2026 results on October 22, 2026, before a conference call at 8:30 a.m. ET. Sep 9, 2026: At a Goldman Sachs conference, CFO Jason Armstrong called fiber broadband pricing irrational. He said that broadband customer losses will not improve in Q3 2026, but that the EBITDA trend will improve a little. The stock fell 7% that day. Jul 23, 2026: Comcast reported Q2 2026 results. Revenue was $29.9 billion, down 1.2%, and up 4.7% pro forma for Versant and the sale of Sky Germany. Adjusted EPS was $1.04, down 16.7%, and free cash flow was $4.6 billion. Comcast lost 167,000 US broadband customers, 34,000 fewer than a year earlier, and added 448,000 wireless lines, its best quarter. Peacock had its first profitable quarter, with $189 million of EBITDA. Jun 29, 2026: Comcast announced a plan to spin off NBCUniversal and Sky to shareholders, tax-free, in about one year. Mike Cavanagh will lead NBCUniversal, and former CFO Michael Angelakis will become CEO of Comcast. Comcast may keep up to 19.9% of NBCUniversal for up to one year. It paused share buybacks during the separation. May 31, 2026: Comcast completed the sale of its Sky operations in Germany for net pre-tax cash of $59 million and other variable payments.