Comcast Reports 3rd Quarter 2024 Results

Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA) today reported results for the quarter ended September 30, 2024.

"Our convergence strategy continues to deliver a best-in-class connectivity experience across our expanding network of 63 million homes and businesses, which far exceeds the combined fiber footprint of our three largest competitors," said Brian L. Roberts, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Comcast Corporation. "Third quarter results demonstrate the strength of this platform - broadband ARPU increased 3.6%; revenue in our connectivity businesses grew 5%; and Adjusted EBITDA margins across Connectivity & Platforms grew to 40.9%. At the same time, we delivered an incredibly successful Paris Summer Olympics that helped fuel double-digit percentage growth in Peacock revenue and paid subscribers and contributed to NBC's #1 ranking for the 2023-2024 season. We also released the universally acclaimed Despicable Me 4, which grossed nearly $1.0 billion in worldwide box office, and announced the grand opening of Universal Epic Universe in May 2025, which will be the most ambitious and technologically sophisticated theme park ever created. Overall, it was a very active and successful quarter, and I couldn't be more pleased with how our team is executing and positioning our company for long-term growth."

3rd Quarter 2024 Highlights:

• Adjusted EPS Increased 3.3% to $1.12; Generated Free Cash Flow of $3.4 Billion
• Return of Capital to Shareholders Totaled $3.2 Billion Through a Combination of $1.2 Billion in Dividend Payments and $2.0 Billion in Share Repurchases. Repurchased $10.1 Billion of Shares Over the Trailing Twelve Months, Reducing Shares Outstanding by 6%
• Connectivity & Platforms Adjusted EBITDA of $8.3 Billion Was Consistent With the Prior Year Period and Adjusted EBITDA Margin Increased 30 Basis Points to 40.9%. Excluding the Impact of Foreign Currency, Connectivity & Platforms Adjusted EBITDA Margin Increased 50 Basis Points
• Connectivity & Platforms Customer Relationships Decreased by 29,000 to 51.7 Million and Domestic Broadband Customers Decreased by 87,000 to 32.0 Million, Including the Impact From the End of ACP. Excluding the Negative Impact From ACP, Estimated Total Customer Relationship Net Additions Were 67,000 and Total Domestic Broadband Net Additions Were 9,000
• Domestic Broadband Average Rate Per Customer Increased 3.6%, Driving Domestic Broadband Revenue Growth of 2.7% to $6.5 Billion
• Domestic Wireless Customer Lines Increased 20% Compared to the Prior Year Period to 7.5 Million, Including Net Additions of 319,000 in the Third Quarter
• Business Services Connectivity Adjusted EBITDA Increased 4.2% to $1.4 Billion and Adjusted EBITDA Margin Was 57.4%
• Studios Adjusted EBITDA Increased 9.0% to $468 Million, Driven by the Successful Theatrical Performance of Despicable Me 4 and Twisters; DM4 Debuted in July and Grossed Nearly $1.0 Billion in Worldwide Box Office Year-to-Date, Pushing the Minions Franchise's Cumulative Total Past $5 Billion
• Peacock Paid Subscribers Increased 29% Compared to the Prior Year Period to 36 Million, Including Net Additions of 3 Million in the Third Quarter. Peacock Revenue Increased 82% to $1.5 Billion; Adjusted EBITDA Improved Compared to the Prior Year Period
• Comcast's Exclusive Broadcast of the Paris Olympics in the U.S. Showcased the Combined Capabilities Across Our Company and Captivated the Nation's Attention for 17 Days. Average Daily Viewers of the Games Across Our Linear Networks and Peacock of 31 Million Increased 82% Compared to the Prior Summer Olympics in 2021. Incremental Olympics Revenue in Media Was a Record High $1.9 Billion

3rd Quarter Consolidated Financial Results

Revenue increased 6.5% compared to the prior year period. Net Income Attributable to Comcast decreased 10.3%. Adjusted Net Income decreased 3.3%. Adjusted EBITDA decreased 2.3%.

Earnings per Share (EPS) decreased 4.2% to $0.94. Adjusted EPS increased 3.3% to $1.12.

Capital Expenditures decreased 11.6% to $2.9 billion. Connectivity & Platforms' capital expenditures decreased 6.5% to $1.9 billion, reflecting lower spending on scalable infrastructure and customer premise equipment, partially offset by higher investment in line extensions and support capital. Content & Experiences' capital expenditures were consistent and continue to reflect significant spending due to the construction of Epic Universe theme park in Orlando, which is scheduled to open on May 22, 2025.

Net Cash Provided by Operating Activities was $7.0 billion. Free Cash Flow was $3.4 billion.

Dividends and Share Repurchases. Comcast paid dividends totaling $1.2 billion and repurchased 49.9 million of its shares for $2.0 billion, resulting in a total return of capital to shareholders of $3.2 billion.

Connectivity & Platforms

Revenue and Adjusted EBITDA for Connectivity & Platforms were consistent with the prior year period. Adjusted EBITDA margin increased to 40.9%.

Total Customer Relationships for Connectivity & Platforms decreased by 29,000 to 51.7 million, primarily reflecting a decrease in domestic customer relationships, partially offset by an increase in international customer relationships. Domestic Residential Connectivity & Platforms relationships include a negative impact in the quarter from the end of the FCC's Affordable Connectivity Program ("ACP") in the second quarter of 2024. Excluding the negative impact from ACP, we estimate that total customer relationships increased by 67,000. Total domestic broadband customer net losses were 87,000. Excluding the negative impact from ACP, we estimate that total broadband net additions were 9,000. Total domestic wireless line net additions were 319,000 and total domestic video customer net losses were 365,000.

Residential Connectivity & Platforms

Revenue for Residential Connectivity & Platforms was consistent with the prior year period, driven by increases in domestic broadband, domestic wireless, international connectivity and advertising revenue, offset by decreases in video and other revenue. Domestic broadband revenue increased due to higher average rates. Domestic wireless revenue increased due to an increase in the number of customer lines and device sales. International connectivity revenue increased primarily due to an increase in broadband revenue from higher average rates and the positive impact of foreign currency. Advertising revenue increased due to higher domestic political advertising, partially offset by lower domestic nonpolitical and international advertising. Video revenue decreased due to a decline in the number of video customers, partially offset by an overall increase in average rates. Other revenue decreased primarily due to lower residential wireline voice revenue, driven by a decline in the number of customers.

Adjusted EBITDA for Residential Connectivity & Platforms was consistent with the prior year period reflecting consistent revenue and operating expenses. Programming expenses decreased primarily due to a decline in the number of domestic video customers, partially offset by rate increases under our domestic programming contracts. Non-programming expenses increased primarily due to higher direct product costs, the impact of foreign currency, increased technical and support costs and higher marketing and promotion, including spending associated with the Paris Olympics. Adjusted EBITDA margin increased to 38.6%.

Business Services Connectivity

Revenue for Business Services Connectivity increased due to an increase in revenue from medium-sized and enterprise customers, and an increase in revenue from small business customers driven by higher average rates.

Adjusted EBITDA for Business Services Connectivity increased due to higher revenue, partially offset by higher operating expenses. The increase in operating expenses was primarily due to increases in direct product costs and marketing and promotion expenses. Adjusted EBITDA margin decreased to 57.4%.

Content & Experiences

Revenue for Content & Experiences increased compared to the prior year period, including $1.9 billion of incremental revenue from the Paris Olympics included in the Media segment. Adjusted EBITDA for Content & Experiences decreased due to declines in Theme Parks and Media, partially offset by growth at Studios.

Media

Revenue for Media increased primarily due to higher domestic advertising and domestic distribution revenue. Excluding $1.9 billion of incremental revenue from the Paris Olympics, Media revenue increased 4.9%. Domestic advertising revenue increased primarily reflecting the Paris Olympics and additional Peacock sales, partially offset by lower revenue at our networks. Domestic distribution revenue increased primarily reflecting the broadcast of the Paris Olympics and higher revenue at Peacock, driven by an increase in paid subscribers compared to the prior year period. International networks revenue increased primarily due to the positive impact of foreign currency and an increase in revenue associated with the distribution of sports networks. Other revenue increased primarily due to an increase in revenue from the licensing of our owned content.

Adjusted EBITDA for Media decreased due to higher operating expenses, which more than offset higher revenue. The increase in operating expenses was primarily due to increased sports programming costs associated with the Paris Olympics, higher programming costs at Peacock and an increase in other sports programming costs for our domestic television networks. Media results include $1.5 billion of revenue and an Adjusted EBITDA⁶ loss of $436 million related to Peacock, including amounts attributable to the Paris Olympics, compared to $830 million of revenue and an Adjusted EBITDA⁶ loss of $565 million in the prior year period.

Studios

Revenue for Studios increased primarily due to higher content licensing revenue and theatrical revenue. Content licensing revenue increased primarily due to the timing of when content was made available by our television studios under licensing agreements, including the impact of the work stoppages in the prior year period. Theatrical revenue increased due to the successful performance of recent releases, including Despicable Me 4 and Twisters.

Adjusted EBITDA for Studios increased due to higher revenue, which more than offset higher operating expenses. The increase in operating expenses primarily reflected higher programming and production expenses, mainly due to higher costs associated with content licensing sales, including the impact of the work stoppages in the prior year period.

Theme Parks

Revenue for Theme Parks decreased primarily due to lower revenue at our domestic theme parks, driven by lower guest attendance.

Adjusted EBITDA for Theme Parks decreased, reflecting lower revenue and consistent operating expenses.

Headquarters & Other

Content & Experiences Headquarters & Other includes overhead, personnel costs and costs associated with corporate initiatives. Headquarters & Other Adjusted EBITDA loss in the third quarter was $200 million, compared to a loss of $178 million in the prior year period.

Eliminations

Amounts represent eliminations of transactions between our Content & Experiences segments, the most significant being content licensing between the Studios and Media segments, which are affected by the timing of recognition of content licenses. Revenue eliminations were $758 million, compared to $419 million in the prior year period, and Adjusted EBITDA eliminations were a benefit of $38 million, compared to a benefit of $17 million in the prior year period.

Corporate, Other and Eliminations

Corporate & Other

Corporate & Other primarily includes overhead and personnel costs; our Sky-branded video services and television networks in Germany; Comcast Spectacor, which owns the Philadelphia Flyers and the Wells Fargo Center arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and Xumo. Corporate & Other Adjusted EBITDA decreased primarily due to increased marketing associated with the Paris Olympics.

Eliminations

Amounts represent eliminations of transactions between Connectivity & Platforms, Content & Experiences and other businesses, the most significant being distribution of television network programming between the Media and Residential Connectivity & Platforms segments. Revenue eliminations were $1.5 billion, compared to $1.4 billion in the prior year period, and Adjusted EBITDA eliminations were a loss of $59 million compared to a benefit of $16 million in the prior year period. Current year amounts reflect an increase in eliminations associated with the Paris Olympics.

Numerical information is presented on a rounded basis using actual amounts, unless otherwise noted. The change in Peacock paid subscribers is calculated using rounded paid subscriber amounts. Minor differences in totals and percentage calculations may exist due to rounding.

Conference Call and Other Information

Comcast Corporation will host a conference call with the financial community today, October 31, 2024, at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time (ET). The conference call and related materials will be broadcast live and posted on our Investor Relations website at www.cmcsa.com. A replay of the call will be available today, October 31, 2024, starting at 11:30 a.m. ET on the Investor Relations website.

From time to time, we post information that may be of interest to investors on our website at www.cmcsa.com and on our corporate website, www.comcastcorporation.com. To automatically receive Comcast financial news by email, please visit www.cmcsa.com and subscribe to email alerts.

Caution Concerning Forward-Looking Statements

This press release includes statements that may constitute forward-looking statements. In evaluating these statements, readers should consider various factors, including the risks and uncertainties we describe in the "Risk Factors" sections of our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, our most recent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and other reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements include changes in and/or risks associated with: the competitive environment; consumer behavior; the advertising market; consumer acceptance of our content; programming costs; key distribution and/or licensing agreements; use and protection of our intellectual property; our reliance on third-party hardware, software and operational support; keeping pace with technological developments; cyber attacks, security breaches or technology disruptions; weak economic conditions; acquisitions and strategic initiatives; operating businesses internationally; natural disasters, severe weather-related and other uncontrollable events; loss of key personnel; labor disputes; laws and regulations; adverse decisions in litigation or governmental investigations; and other risks described from time to time in reports and other documents we file with the SEC. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made, and involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events or our actual results to differ materially from those expressed in any such forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether because of new information, future events or otherwise. The amount and timing of any dividends and share repurchases are subject to business, economic and other relevant factors.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

In this discussion, we sometimes refer to financial measures that are not presented according to generally accepted accounting principles in the U.S. (GAAP). Certain of these measures are considered "non-GAAP financial measures" under the SEC regulations; those rules require the supplemental explanations and reconciliations that are in Comcast's Form 8-K (Quarterly Earnings Release) furnished to the SEC.

About Comcast Corporation

Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA) is a global media and technology company. From the connectivity and platforms we provide, to the content and experiences we create, our businesses reach hundreds of millions of customers, viewers, and guests worldwide. We deliver world-class broadband, wireless, and video through Xfinity, Comcast Business, and Sky; produce, distribute, and stream leading entertainment, sports, and news through brands including NBC, Telemundo, Universal, Peacock, and Sky; and bring incredible theme parks and attractions to life through Universal Destinations & Experiences. Visit www.comcastcorporation.com for more information.