Comcast notched a small first-quarter profit despite continued erosion in its core cable operations and a lack of new spending from advertisers at its NBCUniversal operations.
The Philadelphia owner of NBC, USA and the Peacock streaming service said profit rose just 0.6% during the period, to $3.86 billion, or 97 cents a share, compared with $3.83 billion, or 91 cents a share in the year-earlier quarter. Revenue rose 1.2% to $30.06 billion.
The company’s performance trumped Wall Street expectations. “Our team is continuing to execute exceptionally well in a dynamic and competitive marketplace,” said Brian L. Roberts, chairman and CEO of Comcast, in a statement.
The company lost 65,000 broadband customers during the quarter, but was able to harness increased rates to win a small gain in revenue in its key video operations. Comcast said it added 289,000 wireless lines, but saw its overall U.S. video customer base decline by 487,000.
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The company’s overall content operations secured a 1.1% gain in revenue, driven largely by U.S. distribution fees and American theme parks. U.S. advertising was flat with year-earlier results, Comcast said, citing lower revenue from its domestic TV operations. “Kung Fu Panda 4” helped drive results at the company’s film unit.
The Peacock service narrowed its losses during the period, to $639 million, compared with $704 million in the year-earlier quarter. The company said paid subscribers to the service rose 55%, to 34 million, with a net addition of 3 million during the first quarter. “Peacock remains one of the fastest growing domestic streamers with impressive acquisition, retention and engagement trends,” Roberts said.
