Comcast Corp. (CMCSA): 3Q26 First Take: EBITDA beat on Media; broadband ARPU better, but net additions miss

CMCSA's results showed yoy trend improvements across broadband ARPU declines and C&P EBITDA declines, which should be encouraging for the thesis that C&P EBITDA declines could stabilize at some point in 2027/28. That said, CMCSA stock should be mixed as a Media-driven EBITDA beat and a beat on broadband ARPU (-2.9% yoy v. GSe/consensus of -3.2%/-3.3%) should be offset by a slight miss in residential broadband net additions of -144k (v. GS/consensus of -135k/-136k) and in-line C&P EBITDA. Consolidated revenue of $29.3bn missed GSe of $29.5bn but beat consensus of $29.2bn; adjusted EBITDA of $9.11bn beat GSe/consensus of $8.90/$8.90bn; adjusted EPS of $1.07 beat GSe/consensus of $1.02/$0.97. Media EBITDA of $769mn came in above GSe/consensus of $611/$596mn; Theme Parks EBITDA fell 17% yoy to $780mn; Peacock adjusted EBITDA of $261mn beat expectations with 48mn paid subscribers. We remain Neutral with a 12-month price target of $24 based on sum-of-the-parts valuation.