Comcast posts fourth-quarter earnings that beat forecasts as growth at its theme parks and studio businesses offsets a lull in new broadband internet customers.
Comcast on Thursday reported fourth-quarter earnings and revenue that beat analysts’ forecasts as growth at its theme parks and within its studio business offset a lull in new broadband internet customers.
Philadelphia-based Comcast reported fourth-quarter adjusted earnings of $3.5 billion, or 77 cents a share, vs. adjusted earnings of $3.3 billion, or 56 cents a share in the comparable year-ago period. Analysts polled by FactSet had been expecting earnings of 73 cents a share.
Revenue came in at $30.34 billion, up from $27.7 billion a year ago and above analysts’ estimates of $29.6 billion. Adjusted earnings before income, taxes, depreciation and amortization increased 17% to $8.4 billion.
Broadband growth helped propel the earnings, even as the net new number of high-speed internet customers slowed. Comcast added a net 212,000 net new broadband customers during the quarter, below the 220,000 estimated by FactSet.
NBC Universal growth also contributed to Comcast’s fourth-quarter bottom line, with studios adding $2.42 billion in revenue during the quarter, an increase of 36.4%.
Revenue at the company’s theme parks including Universal Orlando and the Universal Beijing resort, jumped a not-so-surprising 191.3% to $1.89 billion after being shuttered or operating below capacity through much of 2021.
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However, Comcast said it continued to lose subscribers during the quarter as customers cut the cord on their cable packages. Comcast had 18.5 million video customers as of the end of the third quarter, down from 20.1 million a year ago.
The company also said it hiked its dividend by 8% and plans to add $10 billion to tis stock buyback program.
“Looking ahead, we remain focused on our many exciting organic growth opportunities across all of our businesses,” Chairman and CEO Brain Roberts said. “Our top priority is increasing the capacity of our network in the and further improving our world-class broadband experience.”
At last check, shares of Comcast were up 2.31% at $49.58.
