Comcast reported higher fourth-quarter as losses from Peacock abated, but the company continued to lose residential broadband and video customers.
Paid subscribers to Peacock rose by 3 million in the fourth quarter to 31 million, Philadelphia-based Comcast said. Subscribers are up 50% from a year ago. The subscriber count does not count the signups that happened before Peacock’s exclusive telecast of an NFL playoff game earlier this month. Comcast has called the game the biggest night on the internet it has experienced., but declined to share how many people signed up.
Peacock losses dipped to $825 from $978 million a year ago as revenue topped $1 billion, up 57%. In the third quarter, Peacock recorded a $565 million loss.
Comcast has said it expects Peacock losses to peak in 2023. Peacock losses were $2.7 billion for the year, better than earlier predictions of $2.8 billion in losses.
Comcast’s cable division lost 34,000 broadband customers and 389,000 video subscribers. Both figures were better than analysts' consensus of predictions.
On the company’s conference call with analysts, Comcast chairman and CEO Brian Roberts downplayed the possibility of a big acquisition. “I love the company that we have," Roberts said.
Overall Comcast’s net income rose 7.8% to $3.3 billion, or 81 cents a share, in the quarter, from $3 billion, or 70 cents a share.
Revenue rose 2.3% to $31.3 billion.
The company announced that it increased its dividend by 8 cents a share to $1.24 a share annually.
NBCUniversal, now called Comcast’s Media division, had adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of $108 million, down 60.2% from a year ago.
Revenue was up 3.1% to $7 billion. Domestic ad revenues fell 6.9% to $2.6 billion. Comcast said that excluding Telemundo’s World Cup revenues a year ago, ad revenue was up 2.7%, with Peacock gaining and linear networks falling off.
Distribution revenue grew 8.9% to $2.7 billion.
NBCU’s studio business had earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of $308 million, up 83.9% from a year ago. Revenue rose 4.3% to $3.1 billion.
Theme-park EBITDA increased 11.8% to $872 million as revenues jumped 12.2% to $2.4 billion.
Cable EBITDA Up, Revenue Down
At Comcast’s cable business — now called Connectivity & Platforms — EBITDA rose 3.1% to $7.6 billion despite revenue falling 0.5% to $20.4 billion. Residential revenues were down 1.3% while business services increased 5.8%.
Comcast lost 31,000 domestic residential broadband customers in the quarter. Domestic broadband revenue rose 3.7% to $6.4 billion.
Cord-cutting cost Comcast 389,000 video customers, leaving it with 14.1 million video subscribers. Video revenues dropped 5.1% to $6.9 million.
Comcast added 310,000 wireless lines and revenue rose 15.4% to $1.02 billion.
Ad revenue fell 13.6% to $1.1 billion.
Programming expenses fell 2.5% to $4.4 billion
“We capped off 2023 and the fourth quarter with excellent operational and financial performance,“ Roberts said in a statement. ”At the same time, we invested in future growth, returned $16 billion to shareholders and maintained a healthy balance sheet.
“We also reported the highest adjusted EBITDA on record at Theme Parks; were the No. 1 studio in worldwide box office for the first time since 2015; and maintained Peacock's position as the fastest growing streamer in the U.S.,” Roberts continued. “2024 is already off to a great start — I couldn't be more proud of how our company came together to deliver a record-breaking NFL wild-card game on Peacock and the nation’s biggest night on the internet ever. Our unique and complementary capabilities will enable us to capitalize on the many opportunities ahead, and the board’s confidence in our future is reflected in today's announcement that we are increasing our dividend for the 16th consecutive year."
