Comcast reported its fiscal fourth quarter results on Thursday that surpassed both the top and bottom analyst estimates.
Comcast also reported record net customer numbers for high-speed Internet service in the fourth quarter, and an additional 11 million subscribers to its new streaming service, Peacock.
The stock rose more than 3% during long-term trading.
Here are the key figures:
- Profit per share: 56 cent adj. vs 48 cents expected, according to a Refinitiv analyst survey.
- Revenue: $ 27.71 billion versus $ 26.78 billion expected, according to Refinitiv.
- Customers with fast internet: 538,000 vs. 490,000 net additions expected, according to FactSet
The company said Peacock, led by NBCUniversal, now has 33 million registrations in the US, up from 22 million last quarter. The company said the exclusive agreement to stream wrestling matches from the WWE network in the US, announced earlier this week, should also boost signups and engagement, along with the recent launch of “The Office” on the platform.
Comcast also increased its quarterly dividend from 23 cents to 25 cents a share. Brian Roberts, CEO of Comcast, said in the earnings report that the company also expects to buy back shares later in 2021.
The company reported its best-ever fourth-quarter performance for total customer relationships, reaching 455,000 customers to 33.1 million. It has added 538,000 high-speed internet customers.
Comcast said its Europe-based Sky division has continued to add customers, up from 244,000 to 23.9 million in the fourth quarter. That brought customer relationships and overall Sky revenues in Europe back to pre-Covid 2019 levels, the company said.
Comcast’s theme park division, which has been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, has continued to be impacted by ongoing closures and capacity reductions. Amusement park revenues fell nearly 63% to $ 579 million. The company said adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization were a loss of $ 15 million, including costs for the unopened Universal Beijing.
“Without those costs and a better presence in the parks in Orlando and Osaka, even with Hollywood closed, the theme parks reached break even,” the company said in its report.
The filmed entertainment division of the company has also been ravaged by the pandemic, which limited cinema operations and halted some film production. The segment’s revenue fell 8.3% to $ 1.4 billion. The company said this was partially offset by higher content licensing revenues. Adjusted EBITA increased more than 65% to $ 151 million, “as a result of lower sales that were more than offset by lower operating expenses – driven by lower advertising, marketing and promotional costs as a result of a reduced number of releases from the previous year.”
The company said the vaccine rollout gives optimism that the affected business segments will grow again.
Here’s how Comcast’s divisions fared in the quarter:
- Cable communications accounted for $ 15.7 billion in revenue, up 6.3%.
- Cable networks brought in $ 2.7 billion in revenue, down 6.4%.
- Broadcast television accounted for $ 2.8 billion in revenue, down 12%.
- Filmed entertainment brought in $ 1.4 billion in total revenue, down 8.3%.
- Theme parks brought in $ 579 million in revenue, down 63%.
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Disclosure: Comcast is the owner of NBCUniversal, CNBC’s parent company.
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