Comcast’s earnings highlight NBCUniversal’s strength before the split

Comcast Thursday’s second-quarter results showed NBCUniversal’s strength — especially in its TV and movie units — as the company prepares to spin off its media and broadband businesses.

Comcast said NBCUniversal’s streaming service, Peacock, was profitable during the quarter for the first time, giving a boost to its media business. The streaming service has also benefited from live sporting events including the FIFA World Cup and NBA postseason and brought in new subscribers.

Revenue at the company’s content and experiences division, which includes the NBCUniversal media unit, rose nearly 23% year over year.

Meanwhile, the story was different for the traditional cable and communications business. The company said its changing strategy for its broadband business is “gaining momentum” after years of competition and significant pressure due to the emergence of alternatives such as 5G providers.

But Comcast again reported losses in broadband customers during the period, and its communications and platform segment revenues declined as lower pricing plans and promotions continued.

The divergent broadband and media storylines come weeks after Comcast announced it would split the two companies into separate, publicly traded companies. In a statement issued Thursday, co-CEOs Brian Roberts and Mike Kavanagh called the split “an important step toward creating two focused companies with the financial strength and flexibility to pursue their respective growth strategies.”

During a Thursday call with investors, Roberts addressed the separation immediately, noting that there had been a positive reaction after weeks of discussions with “key constituencies, staff at every level, and most of our key partners.”

“I feel more positive and energized today than I did the day we announced,” Roberts said Thursday.

Revenues for the Communications and Platforms segment, which includes Xfinity-branded broadband, mobile and cable TV offerings, fell 3% to $19.8 billion. EBITDA for the unit fell nearly 6% to $7.96 billion.

Comcast lost 167,000 residential broadband customers and 280,000 cable TV subscribers during the quarter. Mobile remained a bright spot with additions again setting a record quarter and total lines reaching 10.2 million. Mobile has become a key driver and a key part of Comcast’s strategy to strengthen its broadband business.

NBCUniversal’s Content and Experiences segment, which includes NBCUniversal’s TV, movies and theme parks, generated revenue of $10.73 billion, boosted by the impact of the FIFA World Cup, which began in mid-June and was broadcast in Spanish in the United States on the company’s Telemundo network.

The TV media unit’s revenues in particular benefited from Peacock and increased advertising, and movie studio revenues rose 25%. Theme park revenues rose nearly 3%, as weakness in international parks offset higher revenues in Orlando, Florida.

Comcast’s total revenue fell 1.2% during the second quarter to $29.94 billion. On a pro forma basis, taking into account the impact of Comcast’s Versant spin-off completed at the beginning of the year, the company said quarterly revenue was 4.7% higher.

Comcast reported adjusted earnings per share of $1.04, beating Wall Street estimates of 97 cents, according to LSEG. Comcast reported net income attributable to the company of $3.53 billion.

Disclosure: Versant Media Group is the parent company of CNBC.