Small toy figures with laptops and smartphones are seen in front of displayed Comcast logo, in this illustration taken December 5, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
Jan 29 (Reuters) - Comcast lost more broadband customers than expected in the fourth quarter, as rivals lured away consumers with aggressive offers, piling pressure on the company's mainstay business.
Promotional campaigns by high-speed fiber providers and the launch of cheaper fixed-wireless access internet services have deepened competition in the U.S. broadband market - long dominated by the likes of Comcast and Charter Communications.
Comcast on Thursday said it lost 181,000 broadband customers in the quarter, compared with an estimate of 173,780-user decline, according to data compiled by Factset.
To compete better now, Comcast has decided not to raise prices this year, while revamping packages and bundling services.
Analysts, however, do not expect any meaningful customer growth until 2027.
Comcast reported total revenue of $32.31 billion for the three months ended December, in line with estimates of $32.35 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.
Its performance was helped by a strong showing at its theme parks business, which comprises Epic Universe in Orlando. The unit posted revenue growth of 21.9%.
The company's Peacock streaming service added 3 million paid subscribers, after muted growth in 2025, thanks to the addition of National Basketball Association games and an exclusive National Football League deal. But costs linked to the deals widened Peacock's losses to $552 million.
Studio revenue fell 7.4% to $3.03 billion as its "Wicked: For Good" movie failed to match the blockbuster performance of 2024's "Wicked."
The first film grossed over $758 million globally at the box office, while the sequel, released last year, collected $527 million, according to Box Office Mojo.
Free cash flow for the quarter came in at $4.37 billion, compared with analysts' estimates of $2.23 billion.
Adjusted profit came in at 84 cents per share, beating expectations for 75 cents.
(Reporting by Harshita Mary Varghese in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)
