People walk by the Comcast building which houses NBC Studios in Manhattan on June 29, 2026 in New York City.
Spencer Platt | Getty Images
Comcast’s second-quarter results on Thursday showcased strength at NBCUniversal — particularly in its TV and film units — as the company prepares to split its media and broadband businesses apart.
NBCUniversal’s streaming service, Peacock, hit profitability during the quarter for the first time, Comcast said, giving the media business a lift. The streaming service also benefited from live sports including the FIFA World Cup and NBA postseason and brought in new subscribers.
Revenue in the company’s content and experiences division, which includes media unit NBCUniversal, rose almost 23% year over year.
Meanwhile, it was a different story with the traditional cable and connectivity business. The company said that its shifted strategy for the broadband business is “gaining traction” following years of significant competition and pressure due to the rise of alternatives like 5G providers.
But Comcast once again reported broadband customer losses for the period, and revenue for the connectivity and platforms segment notched down as its lower pricing plans and promotions took hold.
The diverging storylines for broadband and media come weeks after Comcast said it would divide the two businesses into separate publicly traded companies. In Thursday’s release co-CEOs Brian Roberts and Mike Cavanagh called the split “an important step toward creating two focused companies with the financial strength and flexibility to pursue their respective growth strategies.”
During Thursday’s call with investors, Roberts addressed the separation immediately, noting that there’s been a positive reaction following weeks of discussions with “key constituencies, employees at every level, and most of our key partners.”
“I feel more positive and energized today than I was on the day we announced,” Roberts said Thursday.
Revenue for the connectivity and platforms segment, which includes the Xfinity-branded broadband, mobile and cable TV offerings, was down 3% to $19.8 billion. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization for the unit dropped nearly 6% to $7.96 billion.
Comcast lost 167,000 total broadband residential customers and 280,000 cable TV subscribers during the quarter. Mobile remained a bright spot with additions that once again marked a record quarter and brought its total to 10.2 million lines. Mobile has become a major driver and key part of Comcast’s strategy to boost the broadband business.
The content and experiences segment that houses NBCUniversal’s TV, film and theme parks, saw revenue of $10.73 billion, boosted by the impact of the FIFA World Cup that began in mid-June and was aired in Spanish in the U.S. on the company’s Telemundo network.
Revenue for the TV media unit in particular benefited from Peacock and an increase in advertising, and film studio revenue rose 25%. Theme parks revenue was up nearly 3% as softness at international parks offset higher revenue in Orlando, Florida.
Overall revenue for Comcast was down 1.2% during the second quarter to $29.94 billion. On a pro-forma basis, accounting for the impact of Comcast’s Versant spinoff that was completed at the start of the year, the company said quarterly revenue was 4.7% higher.
Comcast reported adjusted earnings per share of $1.04, topping Wall Street estimates of 97 cents, according to LSEG. Comcast reported net income attributable to the company of $3.53 billion.
Disclosure: Versant Media Group is the parent company of CNBC.
