Comcast beats Q1 2026 earnings estimates on Super Bowl, Olympics

Comcast reported first-quarter gross of $31.46 billion, beating expert expectations, arsenic NBC's broadcast of the Super Bowl and Winter Olympics pushed advertizing income to grounds levels. On an adjusted basis, the institution earned $0.79 per share, clearing the $0.73 statement estimate, according to CNBC.

NBCUniversal-driven media conception income reached $7.28 billion, a summation of astir 61% from the prior-year period. Advertising income wrong the conception surged 135% to $3.45 billion; region the 2 marquee February events from the calculation, however, and advertisement gross advances to lone $1.54 cardinal — a 4.7% summation — portion wide conception maturation narrows to astir 13%, according to CNBC.

The institution described February arsenic a standout month. The Milan Cortina Winter Olympics averaged 23.5 cardinal viewers, making it the most-watched Winter Games since 2014, and Super Bowl LX averaged 125 cardinal viewers, the most-watched lawsuit successful NBCUniversal's history, the institution said. NBC received an mean $8 cardinal per 30-second advertisement during the Super Bowl, according to CNBC.

Peacock, Comcast's streaming service, added subscribers and gross connected the backmost of the sports programming. The level ended the 4th with 46 cardinal paying subscribers, up 12% from a twelvemonth ago, and for the archetypal clip crossed the $2 cardinal gross threshold, reaching $2.1 cardinal — astir treble its year-earlier total. Despite that growth, the work posted a $432 cardinal quarterly loss, widening from $215 cardinal 12 months prior. During the greeting expert call, CFO Jason Armstrong signaled that the 2nd 4th should correspond a turning point, with the streamer connected way to adjacent breakeven, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

Outside of media, Comcast's connectivity and platforms portion — which houses its Xfinity broadband, cablegram TV, and mobile businesses — posted connectivity gross of $11.6 billion, up 1.6%. Broadband subscriber losses totaled 65,000 for the quarter, a notably smaller shortage than the 183,000 customers shed successful the comparable agelong of 2025. A grounds 435,000 wireless enactment additions pushed the company's mobile subscriber basal to 9.7 million.

Universal's movie part brought successful $3.43 billion, a 21% increase, portion the taxable parks portion generated $2.33 cardinal — 24% much than a twelvemonth earlier — with the precocious opened Epic Universe analyzable contributing to the gain.

Net nett fell to $2.17 cardinal from $3.38 cardinal a twelvemonth ago, a driblet of astir 36%. Adjusted EBITDA was $7.93 billion, down 17% from past year. Comcast generated $3.9 cardinal successful escaped currency travel and returned $2.5 cardinal to shareholders done dividends and stock buybacks. This was Comcast’s archetypal net study since it spun disconnected astir of its cablegram web portfolio into Versant Media Group, a woody completed connected January 2, 2026.

Comcast banal climbed arsenic overmuch arsenic 8% successful premarket trading.