Comcast Revenue Slips to $29.8 Billion in Q1 on Continued Broadband, Pay TV Subscriber Losses

Comcast beat Wall Street expectations for its first quarter of 2025 on Thursday. But the media conglomerate’s total revenue fell 0.6% to $29.89 billion as it shed 199,000 broadband subscribers due to heightened competition and 427,000 video customers due to audiences cutting the cord in favor of streaming.

Also contributing to the decline was a 6% drop in domestic advertising revenue in its media business, due to lower revenue at its linear networks; a 13% drop in theatrical revenue, due to lower revenue from its releases in the quarter compared to the prior year period; and a 5.2% decline in theme parks revenue, due to lower attendance and the impacts of the Hollywood wildfires on its domestic theme parks and $100 million in pre-opening costs for Epic Universe.

Meanwhile, its mobile business was a bright spot, adding 323,000 lines. Peacock also continued to make progress during the quarter, growing revenue 16% to $1.2 billion and adding 5 million paid subscribers for a total of 41 million, primarily driven by its bundle with Charter Communications. But the streaming service remains unprofitable, narrowing its loss to $215 million, compared to a loss of $639 million in the prior year period.

Here are the top-line results:

Net income: $3.86 billion, down 12.5% year over year. On an adjusted basis, net income fell 0.9% to $4.17 billion.

Earnings per share: 89 cents per share, down 7.7% year over year. On an adjusted basis, EPS came in at $1.09 cents per share, up 4.5% year over year, compared to 98 cents per share expected by analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research.

Revenue: $29.89 billion, down 0.6% year over year, compared to $29.68 billion expected by Zacks.

The latest quarterly results come as Comcast is preparing to spin off its cable network portfolio into a publicly-traded, standalone company. The move is expected to be completed by the end of the year and will be tax-free to Comcast’s shareholders.

The entity, currently dubbed SpinCo, will house USA Network, CNBC, MSNBC, Oxygen, E!, SYFY and Golf Channel and digital assets Fandango, Rotten Tomatoes, GolfNow and SportsEngine, reaching 70 million U.S. households and generating $7 billion in annual revenue.

Comcast shares fell 5% in pre-market trading on Thursday following the results.

Comcast Continues to Bleed Broadband, Pay TV Subscribers

Comcast ended the quarter with a total of 51.4 million customers in its connectivity & platforms business, including 12.1 million video customers, 8.15 million wireless customers and 31.64 million broadband customers.

Despite the broadband subscriber losses, the segment’s revenue rose 1.7% to $6.56 billion. Wireless revenue climbed 15.6% to $1.12 billion. Video revenue fell 5.4% to $6.72 billion and advertising revenue for the residential connectivity & platforms segment fell 7.4% to $881 million.

Overall, the connectivity & platforms segment’s revenue fell 0.7% to $20.14 billion and profit grew 1.5% to $8.34 billion.

Domestic Advertising Drags Down Media Business

While Peacock saw positive momentum during the quarter, the overall media segment grew revenue just 1.1% to $6.44 billion. The unit’s revenue was dragged down by a 6.8% decrease in domestic advertising revenue to $1.89 billion, primarily due to lower revenue at the company’s linear networks.

But profits for the media segment jumped 21.5% to $1 billion due to lower operating expenses from lower sports programming volume and costs at Peacock compared to the prior year period, offset by higher content costs at its entertainment linear networks and an increase in sports costs for its international networks.

Domestic distribution revenue grew 0.6% to $2.92 billion, reflecting higher revenue at Peacock, offset by the lower revenue at its networks. International networks revenue grew 13.9% to 1.16 billion, primarily due to increased revenue from the distribution of its sports networks.

Studios Revenue Soars on Content Licensing, “Wicked” Digital Sales

The Studios business saw revenue grow 3% to $2.83 billion, driven by a 3.5% increase in content licensing revenue to $2.17 billion and a 17.5% increase in “other” revenue to $366 million, primarily due to digital sales of “Wicked.”

But theatrical revenue dropped 13% to $286 million, primarily due to higher revenue from “Kung Fu Panda 4” and “Migration” in the prior year period, compared to releases in the current quarter, including “Dog Man,” as well as the carryover benefit of “Wicked” and “Nosferatu.”

Overall, the segment saw profits grow 22.3% during the quarter, due to the higher revenue offsetting higher operating expenses. Programming and production expenses increased, mainly driven by higher costs associated with content licensing sales compared to the prior year period. Marketing and promotion
expenses decreased due to the timing of spending on recent and upcoming theatrical film releases.

Epic Universe, Hollywood Wildfires Weigh on Theme Parks Business

Comcast’s theme parks business saw revenue tumble 5.2% to $1.88 billion in the first quarter, due to lower revenue at its domestic theme parks driven by lower attendance and the impact of the Hollywood wildfires.

Profit for the segment fell 32% to $429 million due to the lower revenue and higher operating expenses, including around $100 million of pre-opening costs for Epic Universe, which will open in May.

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