CMCSA Q2 Earnings Beat Estimates on Wireless and Peacock Strength

The company ended the quarter with 10.2 million domestic wireless lines, up from 8.5 million in the prior year period. However, total domestic broadband customers declined to 28.5 million from 29 million. Adjusted EBITDA declined 13.4% to $8.9 billion, or 5.3% on a pro forma basis.

Wireless and Peacock Strength Drive Segment Beats

Domestic wireless line net additions of 448,000 marked the company's best quarterly result on record and beat the consensus estimate by 11.64%. Domestic broadband customer net losses of 167,000 came in worse than expected, missing the consensus mark by 3.43%, while domestic video customer net losses of 280,000 also missed estimates by 2.28%.

At Media, Peacock achieved quarterly profitability for the first time, generating EBITDA of $189 million compared with a loss of $101 million in the prior year period, on the back of the NBA playoffs, the FIFA World Cup and Love Island USA. Media Adjusted EBITDA of $708 million beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 34.63%.

Studios also outperformed, with Adjusted EBITDA of $202 million beating the consensus mark by 18.07%, supported by strong theatrical performance across the slate.

Connectivity & Platforms Beats While Theme Parks Miss

Total Connectivity & Platforms Adjusted EBITDA of $7.96 billion declined year over year but beat the consensus estimate by 0.69%. Within the segment, Residential Connectivity & Platforms Adjusted EBITDA of $6.45 billion beat estimates by 0.25%, while Business Services Connectivity Adjusted EBITDA of $1.52 billion beat by 2.34%, aided by growth in enterprise solutions offerings.

Theme Parks Adjusted EBITDA of $609 million missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 6.72%, pressured by softening attendance in Orlando amid higher travel costs and weaker consumer sentiment, as well as continued China-related travel restrictions affecting the Osaka park.

Total Content & Experiences Adjusted EBITDA of $1.33 billion beat the consensus mark by 13.48%, as strength in Media and Studios more than offset the Theme Parks shortfall.

Broadband and Advertising Revenue Top Estimates

Domestic broadband revenues declined 5.5% to $6.28 billion, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.45%, as lower average rates and a smaller customer base weighed on the top line despite the beat.

Media domestic advertising revenue rose 55% to $2.16 billion, beating the consensus mark by 12.24%, driven in part by incremental FIFA World Cup advertising along with stronger NBA and Peacock advertising demand.

Within Content & Experiences, Studios content licensing revenues declined slightly to $1.80 billion, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 7.04%, as lower film studio licensing activity offset gains at the television studios. 

Studios’ theatrical revenues, however, surged to $972 million from $284 million a year earlier, beating the consensus mark by 199.46%, powered by The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, Obsession and the international distribution of Michael.

Comcast generated free cash flow of $4.6 billion in the quarter and returned $2.1 billion to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases.

Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider

Comcast currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell). 

Some better-ranked stocks in the broader Zacks Consumer Discretionary sector are Cimpress CMPR, The Marcus MCS and News Corporation NWSA, each currently sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Shares of Cimpress have returned 46.2% in the year-to-date period. Cimpress is slated to report fourth-quarter fiscal 2026 results on July 29.

Shares of The Marcus have returned 53.4% in the year-to-date period. The Marcus is slated to report second-quarter 2026 results on July 30.

Shares of News Corporation have returned 0.8% in the year-to-date period. News Corporation is slated to report its fourth-quarter fiscal 2026 results on Aug. 05.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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