Comcast said its second quarter was boosted by revenue tied to World Cup telecasts on the company’s Spanish-language Telemundo network as well as the Peacock streaming service, which achieved profitability for the first time, but the company still faced headwinds in its cable and broadband business and saw profit in the period decline due to comparisons with the year-earlier period, which included a sizable gain tied to the sale of its stake in Hulu to Walt Disney.
The Philadelphia owner of NBC and the Universal movie studio posted net income of $3.5 billion, or 99 cents per share, compared with $2.98 per share in the year-earlier period, or $11.1 billion. Comcast gained $9.4 billion from the sale of its interest in Hulu.
Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring costs, came to $1.04 per share.
Revenue came to $29.9 billion, off 1.2% from the year-earlier quarter.
Comcast said Peacock generated a profit for the first time since its launch in 2020, with paid subscribers now totaling 48 million, up by two million net additions during the period. The company said it also generated an extra $440 million in revenue due to its World Cup telecasts.
