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COMCAST CORP (CMCSA)·Q1 2025 Earnings Summary

Executive Summary

  • Q1 2025 delivered a clean beat vs S&P Global consensus: Adjusted EPS of $1.09 vs $0.99* and revenue of $29.9B vs $29.8B*, aided by C&P margin expansion to 41.4% and improved Peacock losses; GAAP EPS was $0.89 . Values with asterisks retrieved from S&P Global.
  • Connectivity momentum was mixed: domestic wireless lines added +323K (best in 2 years) while domestic broadband lost 199K; broadband ARPU grew 3.3% YoY per management .
  • Content & Experiences was bifurcated: Media Adj. EBITDA +21% (Peacock loss improved by $424M) and Studios +22% offset by Theme Parks -32% due to ~$100M Epic Universe pre-opening costs and Hollywood wildfire impacts .
  • Management is executing a multi-quarter convergence/pricing reset (five‑year price guarantee with bundled mobile; Nitel closed Apr 1); expect several quarters for traction; Business Services remains a mid‑single digit grower with ~57% margins .
  • Catalysts: Epic Universe opening May 22; converged pricing and mobile attach; continued Peacock loss improvement and NBA rights later in 2025 .

What Went Well and What Went Wrong

  • What Went Well

    • C&P margin expansion and wireless momentum: C&P Adj. EBITDA margin rose 90 bps to 41.4% and wireless net adds were +323K, the highest in two years; management emphasized a refreshed go‑to‑market to drive mobile attach .
    • Peacock inflection: Media Adj. EBITDA +21% to $1.0B, with Peacock revenue at $1.2B and EBITDA loss improved by $424M YoY; “momentum in streaming continues” (Roberts) .
    • Studios execution: Adj. EBITDA +22% to $298M on strong carryover from Wicked/Nosferatu and digital sales; content licensing timing helped .
  • What Went Wrong

    • Broadband pressure: Domestic broadband customers fell by 199K amid “intensely competitive” market and slight uptick in churn; management cited price transparency/ease-of-business as pain points being addressed .
    • Theme Parks dip: Adj. EBITDA -32% to $429M, reflecting ~$100M Epic pre‑opening costs and Hollywood wildfire headwinds; Hollywood recovery expected to be gradual .
    • Video and advertising declines: Residential video revenue -5.4% and advertising -7.4% YoY weighed on Residential C&P; management called out lower international and domestic political/nonpolitical ad demand .

Financial Results

Consolidated results (oldest → newest)

MetricQ1 2024Q4 2024Q1 2025
Revenue ($B)$30.06 $31.92 $29.89
Adjusted EBITDA ($B)$9.36 $8.81 $9.53
Diluted EPS ($)$0.97 $1.24 $0.89
Adjusted EPS ($)$1.04 $0.96 $1.09
Free Cash Flow ($B)$4.54 $3.26 $5.42

Q1 2025 vs S&P Global Wall Street consensus

MetricConsensusActualBeat/Miss
Revenue ($B)$29.76*$29.89 Beat*
Adjusted/Primary EPS ($)$0.99*$1.09 Beat*
Values with asterisks retrieved from S&P Global.

Connectivity & Platforms (C&P) – summary

MetricQ1 2024Q1 2025
Total C&P Revenue ($B)$20.28 $20.14
Total C&P Adjusted EBITDA ($B)$8.22 $8.34
Total C&P Adj. EBITDA Margin (%)40.5% 41.4%

Residential C&P – revenue mix

Revenue ($B)Q1 2024Q1 2025
Domestic Broadband$6.45 $6.56
Domestic Wireless$0.97 $1.12
International Connectivity$1.03 $1.13
Total Residential Connectivity$8.45 $8.81
Video$7.10 $6.72
Advertising$0.95 $0.88
Other$1.36 $1.23
Total Residential C&P Revenue$17.87 $17.64
Residential C&P Adj. EBITDA ($B)$6.85 $6.92
Residential C&P Adj. EBITDA Margin (%)38.3% 39.2%

Business Services Connectivity

MetricQ1 2024Q1 2025
Revenue ($B)$2.41 $2.50
Adjusted EBITDA ($B)$1.37 $1.42
Adj. EBITDA Margin (%)56.7% 57.0%

Content & Experiences (C&E)

MetricQ1 2024Q1 2025
C&E Revenue ($B)$10.37 $10.46
Media Revenue ($B)$6.37 $6.44
Media Adj. EBITDA ($B)$0.83 $1.00
Studios Revenue ($B)$2.74 $2.83
Studios Adj. EBITDA ($B)$0.24 $0.30
Theme Parks Revenue ($B)$1.98 $1.88
Theme Parks Adj. EBITDA ($B)$0.63 $0.43

KPIs

KPIQ1 2024Q1 2025
Domestic broadband net adds (000s)-65 -199
Total domestic wireless lines (000s)6,877 8,148
Wireless net adds (000s)+289 +323
Total domestic video customers (000s)13,618 12,096
C&P customer relationships (000s)51,971 51,381

Guidance Changes

Metric/TopicPeriodPrevious Guidance (Q4 2024 call)Current Update (Q1 2025)Change
Convergence strategy & pricing2025, multi‑qtrsNew simplified pricing/packaging to launch; lean into wireless; expect investment; broadband ARPU growth to remain healthy .Five‑year price guarantee launched; 1 free mobile line for 12 months; expect several quarters for traction; investment to pressure near‑term EBITDA growth .Implemented; reiterated multi‑quarter ramp
Business Services growth/Nitel2025Industry‑leading mid‑single‑digit growth; Nitel acquisition announced .Nitel closed Apr 1; to add “a few hundred bps” to BS revenue growth in Q2 with minimal near‑term EBITDA impact .Raised near‑term revenue growth via M&A
Theme Parks/Epic Universe1H25~$100M Q1 pre‑opening costs; stable Orlando trends; marketing to ramp .~$100M Q1 pre‑opening costs realized; Hollywood wildfire recovery gradual; Epic opens May 22 .On track; external LA headwind noted
Peacock losses trajectory2025Continued improvement in 2025; NBA to be added late ‘25 .16% revenue growth; losses improved by $424M YoY in Q1; management expects continued improvement over time .Reiterated improvement
Cable capex intensity2025“Just over 10%” target reiterated .No change discussed in Q1; strategy unchanged .Maintained
Dividend2025Raised to $1.32 annualized; $0.33 payable Apr 23, 2025 .Ongoing quarterly dividend declared May 21 ($0.33 payable Jul 23) .Maintained

Earnings Call Themes & Trends

TopicQ-2 (Q3 2024)Q-1 (Q4 2024)Current (Q1 2025)Trend
Convergence & mobile attachWireless +319K lines; C&P margin 40.9% .Plan to “lean into wireless,” simplified bundles, Project Genesis network upgrades .Mobile net adds accelerated to +323K; 13% penetration; free line promo; new premium plan .Acceleration in mobile; multi‑quarter ramp
Pricing transparencyAnnounced move to all‑in, simplified pricing in upgraded markets .Launched five‑year price guarantee with unlimited data and equipment included .Implemented
Broadband competitive dynamicsARPU +3.6% YoY; ACP headwinds .Elevated competition; expect continued fiber overbuild and FWA selling into excess capacity .Slight churn uptick; “intensely competitive;” addressing price transparency/ease of business .Competitive pressure persists
Theme Parks/EpicQ3 softness domestic parks; Epic announced May 2025 .~$100M Q1 pre‑opening costs; stable Orlando; marketing ramp .~$100M realized in Q1; stable Orlando; Hollywood wildfire impact; opening May 22 .Near‑term costs; major opening catalyst
Media/PeacockOlympics drove step‑up; Peacock rev +82% YoY .Peacock rev +46% FY; losses improved by ~$1B; NBA coming .Peacock rev $1.2B; loss improved by $424M; continued improvement expected .Sustained improvement
SpinCo (cable nets)Intent announced Nov 2024 .Timing “end of year”; leadership named .“No change” in timing; spin costs included in adjustments .On track
Business ServicesEBITDA margin ~57.4% .+4.6% Adj. EBITDA; Nitel announced .+4.1% Adj. EBITDA; Nitel closed; Q2 revenue uplift expected .Consistent mid‑single digit growth

Management Commentary

  • “We are focused on shifting our business mix toward growth by investing in six areas… residential broadband, wireless, business services, theme parks, streaming and premium content in our studios.” (Michael Cavanagh) .
  • “We are simplifying our pricing construct… our first‑ever nationwide price guarantee… locked in for 5 years with no annual contract required… option to add a free mobile line for 1 year.” (Cavanagh) .
  • “Wireless net line additions [were] the best quarter… in 2 years… penetration at just 13% of our residential broadband customer base, we have significant runway for growth.” (Jason Armstrong) .
  • “Theme Parks… impacted by the Hollywood wildfires… around $100 million of pre‑opening costs for Epic Universe.” (Armstrong) .
  • “Media results include $1.2 billion of [Peacock] revenue and an Adjusted EBITDA loss of $215 million, compared to… loss of $639 million in the prior year period.” (Press release) .

Q&A Highlights

  • Parks demand/macro: Orlando trends “stable” with ticket/hotel bookings “a little ahead of our expectations”; Hollywood recovery “gradual” post‑wildfires (Cavanagh) .
  • Handset tariffs/subsidy risk: Comcast positions as challenger with BYOD flexibility; focus on value over device subsidy escalation (Watson) .
  • Project Genesis impact: Network upgrades progressing; benefits expected as simplified pricing rolls out; bandwidth consumption +10% per subscriber (Watson) .
  • Broadband ARPU outlook: Expect “healthy” ARPU growth; convergence investments may temper near‑term EBITDA but increase LTV and reduce churn (Watson/Armstrong) .
  • Peacock outlook: Continued loss improvement expected; NBA to drive subs/monetization, with normalization over first season (Cavanagh) .

Estimates Context

  • Q1 2025 actuals vs S&P Global consensus: Revenue $29.89B vs $29.76B*, Adjusted/Primary EPS $1.09 vs $0.99* — both beats. Values with asterisks retrieved from S&P Global.
  • Where estimates may adjust: C&P margin outperformance and wireless net add strength support upward bias to 2025 C&P margin/EBITDA trajectories; Theme Parks near‑term EBITDA likely revised lower on Hollywood/ pre‑opening costs, with medium‑term lift tied to Epic ramp .

Key Takeaways for Investors

  • Convergence pivot is underway: the five‑year price guarantee and bundled free mobile should improve churn/LTV, but management flagged a multi‑quarter transition and modest near‑term EBITDA headwinds .
  • Wireless is becoming a material growth driver: +323K lines, only 13% penetration of broadband base, and a product/footprint advantage via WiFi offload; sustained net add acceleration is a potential re‑rating catalyst .
  • Peacock’s path to breakeven is clearer: revenue growth and materially lower losses in Q1, with NBA rights as a 2H catalyst to acquire/monetize high‑value audiences .
  • Parks near‑term dip sets up a powerful 2H/2026 recovery: ~$100M Q1 pre‑opening costs and LA wildfires mask stable Orlando; Epic Universe opening should drive multi‑year EBITDA growth .
  • Business Services compounding: mid‑single‑digit revenue and ~57% margins continue; Nitel adds a few hundred bps to Q2 revenue growth with minimal EBITDA drag, strengthening enterprise capabilities .
  • Capital returns remain robust alongside a strong balance sheet: $3.2B returned in Q1 and quarterly dividend maintained at $0.33 per share .
  • Narrative to watch: execution on simplified pricing/migration, sustained mobile attach momentum, and early Epic Universe attendance/spend metrics — likely the near‑term stock movers .

Notes: All company results and commentary are sourced from Comcast’s Q1 2025 8‑K/press release and earnings call transcript, plus relevant press releases as cited. Consensus/estimates marked with asterisks are retrieved from S&P Global.