Comcast tops analysts’ estimates for earnings and revenue in Q2

Comcast Corp (NASDAQ: CMCSA) published its quarterly financial results on Thursday that topped analysts’ estimates for earnings and revenue. The second quarter marked the first for the company after the launch of Peacock (ad-supported streaming service) and the one that reflected the full impact of COVID-19 on Comcast’s business. In April, Comcast had reported a 40% decline in profit in the first quarter.

Shares of the company opened more than 1% up on Thursday but lost the entire gain in the next hour. At £33.55 per share, Comcast is roughly 3% down year to date in the stock market after recovering from an even lower £24.84 per share in March. Learn more about stocks and the stock market.

Comcast’s Q2 financial results versus analysts’ estimates

According to Refinitiv, experts had forecast the company to print £18.06 billion in revenue in the second quarter. Their estimate for earnings per share (EPS) was capped at 42.13 pence. In its report on Thursday, Comcast topped both estimates posting a higher £18.17 billion in revenue and 52.86 pence of adjusted earnings per share in Q2.

The company said that it added 323,000 high-speed internet customers in the second quarter versus 247,000 expected. Comcast also boasted Sky sports to have retained 95% of the customers amidst the health crisis that postponed or cancelled the majority of sports events. Its revenue from Sky came in at £3.14 billion on Thursday that represents a 15.5% decline on a year over year basis on the back of a 43% plunge in advertising revenue.  

Comcast announced a multi-year deal with Marque Sports Network last week.

Other prominent figures in Comcast’s earnings report

Other prominent figures in Comcast’s earnings report on Thursday include a 0.2% decline in revenue from cable communications to £11.03 billion. The company’s Cable networks generated £1.92 billion of revenue in Q2 that marks a 14.7% year over year decline. A £1.84 billion of revenue from Broadcast television was 1.6% lower than last year.

Comcast also highlighted its Filmed entertainment segment to have contributed £920 million to its total quarterly revenue that represents an 18.1% decline on an annualised basis. Its revenue from theme parks tanked an unprecedented 94.1% to £66.65 million in the second quarter.

Comcast performed fairly upbeat in the stock market last year with an annual gain of roughly 30%. At the time of writing, the American telecommunications conglomerate is valued at £153 billion and has a price to earnings ratio of 17.34.