Comcast Q2 Boosted by World Cup, Peacock Swings to First Quarterly Profit
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- Comcast posted Q2 net income of $3.5 billion ($0.99/share), down from $11.1 billion ($2.98/share) a year earlier — the prior quarter was inflated by a $9.4 billion gain from selling its Hulu stake to Disney.
- Comcast reported Q2 revenue of $29.9 billion, down 1.2% year-over-year, while adjusted earnings came in at $1.04 per share.
- Peacock turned its first quarterly profit since launching in 2020, reaching 48 million paid subscribers after adding 2 million net additions in the period.
- Telemundo's World Cup broadcasts generated $440 million in extra revenue, powering NBCU's revenue up 22.9% to $10.7 billion and lifting U.S. advertising 55% (23.5% excluding World Cup, aided by the NBA).
- Comcast's cable and broadband revenue fell 3.2% as the company lost 230,000 subscribers — leaving it with 47.7 million — though wireless subscriptions continued to grow.
- Comcast's film studios and theme parks also posted revenue gains in the quarter, providing additional offsets to the connectivity-side declines.
Why it matters: Peacock reaching profitability is a milestone Comcast has chased since launch, but it masks a structural problem: the company shed 230,000 cable and broadband subscribers in a single quarter and revenue still fell 1.2%, meaning the streaming win is currently subsidizing a shrinking core business rather than replacing it.
