Comcast NASDAQ: CMCSA executives told investors the company is operating at an “inflection point” as competitive pressure intensifies across broadband, wireless, and media. On the company’s fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 earnings call, leadership emphasized that 2025 was marked by major operational and structural changes—particularly in broadband go-to-market strategy—while 2026 is expected to be a heavy investment year aimed at stabilizing the base and returning key businesses to growth.
Leadership changes and a “reset” in connectivity
CEO Brian Roberts opened by underscoring the pace of change in the industry and the importance of decisions being made now. He highlighted the addition of Steve Croney, CEO of Connectivity and Platforms, who joined the earnings call for the first time and has led a major reorganization and priority reset. Roberts also noted Mike Cavanagh’s start as co-CEO, describing him as leading the company’s shift toward its “six growth drivers.”
Cavanagh said Comcast has made its “most significant go-to-market shift” by simplifying broadband away from short-term promotions toward nationwide, transparent offers. The company now markets four speed tiers with “all-in” pricing that includes its gateway and unlimited data, plus a five-year price guarantee.
Broadband: simplified pricing and near-term EBITDA pressure
Jason Armstrong, who reviewed results and business performance, said the company is in an investment period driven by broadband pricing and packaging changes, free wireless line promotions, and customer experience initiatives. He said these actions are designed to stabilize the broadband base and ultimately restore category revenue growth, but are pressuring results near term.
Armstrong reported:
- Total company revenue grew 1% in the fourth quarter.
- Adjusted EBITDA declined 10% in the quarter and adjusted EPS declined 12%, which management attributed to the current investment phase and the first-year cost of the NBA contract in content and experiences.
- Connectivity and Platforms EBITDA declined 4.5% in the quarter, reflecting rate reinvestment, free line offers, and higher marketing, product, and customer service costs.
In broadband, Armstrong said subscriber losses were 181,000 in the quarter, as early traction from the new initiatives was “more than offset” by continued competitive intensity. Broadband ARPU grew 1.1%, but Armstrong said the deceleration was expected due to simplified pricing, lower everyday pricing, and free wireless line adoption.
Looking ahead, Armstrong said Comcast expects additional ARPU pressure for the next couple of quarters due to the absence of a rate increase, the impact of free wireless lines, and continued migration to simplified pricing. He also said the company expects incremental EBITDA pressure over the next couple of quarters, with the initial investments beginning to be lapped in the second half of 2026.
Croney said the company is planning assuming the market stays “intensely competitive,” citing continued strength from fiber competition in the fourth quarter and into January. He added that fixed wireless trends were “pretty consistent” and that mobile competition became “significantly more competitive” during the quarter.
Wireless: record year, free-line strategy, and MVNO updates
Management repeatedly described wireless as central to its convergence strategy. Cavanagh said 2025 was Comcast’s strongest wireless year yet, with about 1.5 million net line additions, ending the year with more than 9 million total lines and roughly 15% penetration of the residential broadband base. Armstrong added that wireless line additions were 364,000 in the fourth quarter, and nearly half of residential postpaid connects came from customers taking a free line.
Executives said the free-line offer is meant to increase awareness and attachment and is expected to convert into paid relationships after one year. Armstrong said the company expects to convert the “vast majority” of free lines into paying relationships in the second half of 2026, which it views as a tailwind to convergence revenue growth. Convergence revenue grew 2% in the quarter, driven by 18% growth in wireless.
On network partnerships, Cavanagh said Comcast “modernized” its MVNO partnership with Verizon to support continued profitable growth for Comcast, Charter, and Verizon. He also said T-Mobile will be added as a network partner for business customers later in the year, supporting what he called a “capital-efficient mobile platform.” When asked for more detail on the Verizon changes, Cavanagh said there was “not much to add,” describing it as an amendment that modernizes the agreement and provides a foundation for mutual profitable growth.
Content and experiences: parks strength, Peacock scale, NBA costs
Armstrong said theme parks, Peacock, and domestic wireless—three of the company’s six growth businesses—each grew revenue around 20% in the quarter. Theme parks revenue increased 22% and EBITDA grew 24%, with EBITDA crossing $1 billion in a quarter for the first time, driven by strong results at Universal Orlando. Cavanagh said Epic Universe is acting as a catalyst in Orlando, driving longer stays and higher per-cap spending, and he said the park is not yet at full run rate capacity as ride throughput continues to ramp.
In media, Armstrong said fourth-quarter results still included a full quarter of Versant Media, as the spin-off closed on January 2. He said Comcast will provide pro forma trending schedules excluding Versant ahead of first-quarter earnings to aid comparability.
Peacock performance was a central topic. Armstrong said Peacock revenue grew more than 20% to a record $1.6 billion, supported by distribution revenue growth of over 30%. Paid subscribers increased by 8 million year-over-year and 3 million sequentially to 44 million as of December 31. Peacock advertising revenue grew nearly 20%, helped by sports, including the NBA premiere and the timing of an exclusive NFL game. Armstrong said Peacock losses were $552 million in the quarter, reflecting NBA rights and the exclusive NFL game, while full-year Peacock losses improved by more than $700 million year-over-year. He said Peacock losses are expected to “meaningfully improve again” in 2026.
Armstrong also detailed how the NBA rights are affecting profitability. Media EBITDA declined in the quarter primarily due to the addition of NBA rights, with the company straightlining amortization, which creates upfront EBITDA dilution. He said the first quarter will represent the peak volume period with roughly 50% of NBA games played, resulting in peak EBITDA dilution. Over time, the company expects to offset this through advertising growth and subscriber acquisition and monetization across linear and Peacock.
When asked about narrowing losses and milestones for profitability, Cavanagh pointed to multiple levers, including pricing (citing a $3 price increase taken last summer), advertising growth, and affiliate deal renewals over time. He also said the NBA has seen strong advertiser demand, with “something like 170 advertisers,” about 20% of which are new, and he characterized the NBA season as “basically sold out.”
Cash flow, capital allocation, and 2026 investment outlook
Armstrong said free cash flow was $4.4 billion in the quarter, including about $2 billion of a cash tax benefit tied to an internal corporate reorganization. For the full year, Comcast generated $19.2 billion of free cash flow, which Armstrong said was the highest year on record, helped by lower cash taxes, favorable working capital, and lower capital spending.
He cautioned that one-time cash tax benefits in 2025 will not recur in 2026, and that the timing of tax legislation benefits is “lumpy,” with an outsized benefit in 2025 expected to be significantly lower in 2026. He also noted the Versant spinoff removes a significant pool of cash flow from operations.
Capital spending in 2025 declined 5% to $14.4 billion, with a 17% decline in content and experiences capex driven by lower theme parks investment following Epic Universe completion, and relatively consistent spending in connectivity and platforms. Armstrong said total capital spending in 2026 is expected to be “relatively similar” to 2025.
On shareholder returns, Armstrong said Comcast returned nearly $12 billion to shareholders in 2025, including nearly $7 billion in share repurchases, and is maintaining its annual dividend at $1.32 per share. He also said the Versant distribution will allow investors to participate in Versant’s capital allocation, and he said investors “should see higher total dividends in 2026,” marking Comcast’s 18th consecutive year of dividend growth.
About Comcast NASDAQ: CMCSA
Comcast Corporation NASDAQ: CMCSA is a diversified global media and technology company headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Its principal operations are organized around Comcast Cable, which provides broadband internet, video, voice and wireless services to residential and business customers in the United States under the Xfinity and Comcast Business brands, and NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment group that develops, produces and distributes content across broadcast and cable networks, film, and streaming platforms.
NBCUniversal's assets include the NBC broadcast network, a portfolio of cable channels, Universal Pictures and other film and television production businesses, and the Peacock streaming service.
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