Why Comcast Stock Popped on Thursday
Key Points
The media giant notched a solid beat on fourth-quarter earnings, despite a slump in adjusted net income.
It missed on revenue, however.
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Mr. Market clearly liked what he heard from Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA) Thursday morning. The media company posted its final set of financial results from 2025, and the quarterly bottom-line figure came in higher than expected. Thanks in no small part to the earnings beat, Comcast's shares rose by nearly 3% on the day.
Mixed but encouraging results
For its fourth quarter of 2025, Comcast's revenue was a bit over $32.31 billion, representing a 1% increase from the same period the previous year. Net income not in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) fell to $3.06 billion, or $0.84 per share, from the year-ago profit of $3.69 billion.
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That meant a mixed quarter for Comcast, as it convincingly beat the consensus analyst non-GAAP (adjusted) net income estimate of $0.73 per share. However, pundits tracking the media conglomerate were modeling a slightly higher revenue figure of $32.35 billion.
Comcast splits its business into two main segments: residential connectivity and platforms, and content and experiences. The former's revenue slumped by 2% to $17.65 billion, while the latter's improved by 5% to $12.74 billion.
Content and experiences' growth was fueled mainly by a nearly 6% rise in the media sub-segment (to $7.62 billion). Crucially, media contains the company's Peacock streaming service. The company's lineup of theme parks also did well, with a nearly 22% increase in their collective revenue to $2.89 billion.
Content is king
Comcast aims to lift those connectivity growth numbers back into positive territory, as it has pledged to make its largest-ever investment in the sizable broadband internet operations this year.
Broadband isn't the most exciting, high-potential business, but the assets the company is better known for -- its TV, movie, and streaming operations -- look to be in very good shape. Comcast has some rather juicy pieces of content (like the upcoming National Football League championship game and the summer release of Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey film) coming down the pike in the coming months.
I'd be bullish on its future, and I think Thursday's investor reaction was justified.
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Eric Volkman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Comcast. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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