Comcast Slides On Flat Q2 Subscriber Growth In Streaming, Broadband

Comcast Corp said on Thursday subscriber growth in its broadband and streaming businesses in the second quarter remained flat, sending the shares of the media company down about 6% in trading before the bell.

The company reported a total of 13 million paid subscribers for its Peacock streaming service, same as the preceding quarter. It had warned in April that subscriber gains would be "more modest" until the back half of this year, when more movies and live sports will become available on the service.

Comcast, the largest U.S. cable operator that owns media business NBCUniversal with theme parks around the world, faces intense competition for its streaming and internet services.

Broadband subscriber growth declined from the prior year in each of the previous three quarters. The company has attributed that slowdown, in part, to fewer people changing homes. Comcast saw record broadband growth during the beginning of the pandemic.

Comcast's total revenue rose 5.1% to $30.02 billion in the quarter, beating analysts' average estimate of $29.68 billion, according to Refinitiv data.

Revenue in the cable business, which includes broadband, was up 3.7% to $16.6 billion, the same as analysts' estimates.

NBCUniversal revenue increased 18.7% in the quarter, to $9.45 billion, beating Wall Street estimates of $9.02 billion. It was helped by strong performance in NBCUniversal's studios business, driven by box office sales of Universal Pictures' "Jurassic World: Dominion," as well as attendance at theme parks.

Revenue at the theme parks division grew 64.8% despite the Universal Beijing Resort being shut for most of the quarter following an outbreak of COVID-19 cases in the Chinese capital.

Net income attributable to Comcast fell to $3.4 billion, or 76 cents per share, from $3.74 billion, or 80 cents per share, a year earlier.