Comcast posts Q3 results beat, hints at spinning off cable ops; shares rise

Media and cable giant Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) reported a top and bottom line beat in its third quarter earnings report and the company hinted at divesting its cable operations.

Shares of the company rose 6.5% to $45 in premarket trading on the Nasdaq.

During an earnings call with analysts, the company said it is considering spinning off all its cable business, including CNBC, although discussions are in very early stages.

The company said third quarter results were helped by strength in its media and studio business, which offset the marginal growth in legacy broadband and wireless and weakness in theme parks.

“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,” the company said in a statement.

In Q3, the total media segment saw a 36.5% rise to $8.32B, driven by higher domestic advertising and domestic distribution revenue, including an additional $1.9B from the Paris Olympics.

Studio revenue rose 12.3% to $2.83B, helped by higher content licensing and theatrical revenue. The theme park business fell 5% to $2.29B due to lower guest attendance.

Revenue from the total connectivity and platforms segment, which brings the bulk of total revenue, rose marginally to $20.29B. Connectivity and platform customer relationships fell by 29,000 to 51.7M, and domestic broadband customers decreased by 87,000 to 32M, including the impact from the end of ACP.

Net income for the three months ended September 30 was $3.62B or $0.94 per share, compared to $4.05B or $0.98 per share for the same period last year.

On an adjusted per share basis, the company earned $1.12, beating the average analyst estimate by 6 cents.

Revenue rose 6.5% to $32.07B and ahead of expectations by $360M.