Comcast fails to add broadband subscribers for first time ever as economy slows

NBCUniversal kicks off it’s new Peacock streaming service.

The cable provider didn't add broadband customers in a quarter for the first time ever in the second quarter.

The average analyst estimate was for 84,000 high-speed internet customers. NBCUniversal's theme parks and studios businesses contributed to the revenue rise. The adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization rose.

The shares of the company fell before the market opened.

High-speed broadband is the most profitable product for the company. The cable industry has dominated the home broadband market for more than a decade, but wireless companies are now competing by offering 5G home internet products. T-Mobile added more users in the second quarter than it did in the first.

Key numbers are listed here.

• Earnings per share: $1.01, adjusted vs. estimate of 92 cents, according to Refinitiv
• Revenue: $30.02 billion vs. $29.68 billion estimate, according to Refinitiv
• High-speed internet customers: 0 vs. 84,000 net additions, according to the average estimate among analysts surveyed by FactSet.

Brian Roberts said that the dip was temporary due to higher inflation limiting the number of new connections for the company. Increased rates and a higher number of residential customers helped broadband revenue rise in the third quarter.

Despite a unique and evolving macroeconomic environment that is temporarily putting pressure on the volume of our new customer connects, we achieved our highest adjustedEBITDA margin on record.

More than three million broadband customers have been added by the company.

In the first half of the year, the company lost 1 million video subscribers. Consumers are abandoning their pay-TV subscriptions at an accelerated rate in favor of streaming services.

Brian Roberts, Chairman and CEO of Comcast

The number of voice customers fell in the quarter. The wireless revenue increased by nearly 30%. Business services increased to over $2 billion.

NBCUniversal revenue rose in the quarter. The company's adjusted earnings increased to $1.9 billion.

Studios revenue increased by more than a third due to the success of the movie "Jurassic World: Dominion."

The Universal theme park business recovered from the Covid epidemic. Revenue jumped by more than half a billion dollars. The parks division had the highest ever adjusted earnings in the second quarter.

After a gain of 4 million last quarter, the number of Peacock paid subscribers remained unchanged at 13 million. When Peacock subscribers come to the service after their box office windows are over, they will be helped by the films released in theaters in the third quarter. The World Cup and Sunday Night Football should add to Peacock's subscriber totals later this year.

For the quarter, here is how the divisions did.

• Cable Communications contributed $16.6 billion in revenue, up 3.7% year-over-year
• Media brought in $5.3 billion in revenue, up 3.6%
• Studios contributed $3 billion in revenue, up 33.3%
• Theme parks brought in $1.8 billion in revenue, up 64.8%
• Sky contributed $4.5 billion in revenue, down 13.8%

CNBC is a part of the NBCUniversal group of companies.

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