Comcast
on Thursday outlined changes to its broadband strategy as the business continues to shed customers in the face of heightened competition.
The discussion came amid the company’s first-quarter earnings call with investors. Despite the customers losses, Comcast’s earnings surpassed analysts’ expectations.
Comcast shares closed down nearly 4% Thursday.
Here is how Comcast performed for the period ended March 31, compared with estimates from analysts surveyed by LSEG:
Earnings per share: $1.09 adjusted vs. 98 cents expected
Revenue: $29.89 billion vs. $29.77 billion expected
While domestic broadband revenue was up 1.7% to $6.56 billion, Comcast lost 199,000 total domestic broadband customers, reflecting the continued pressure on the cable giant’s cornerstone business. Competition has ramped up in recent years due to the rise of alternative home internet options, including 5G, or so-called fixed wireless.
“In this intensely competitive environment we are not winning the marketplace in a way that is commensurate with the strengths of our network and connectivity,” said Comcast President Mike Cavanagh on the company’s earnings call.
Analysts peppered Comcast executives with questions on Thursday regarding its Xfinity-branded broadband and mobile, and how the company will pivot the business.
Cavanagh said that the company had identified a “disconnect” that’s translated to slowed growth despite a strong broadband network and related products. He noted the two primary headwinds are “price transparency and predictability and the level of ease of doing business with us.”
During last quarter’s earnings call, Comcast executives alerted investors that they would shift the company’s focus to growing its mobile business following continued losses in broadband.
Comcast’s less-than-10-years-old mobile business remained a bright spot during the quarter. Revenue for the unit was up roughly 16% to $1.12 billion, and it added 323,000 lines. There are now roughly 8.15 million total Xfinity Mobile lines.
On Thursday, CEO Brian Roberts said the company is “clearly facing some challenges, but as you’ve heard, with a lot of passion.”
“The team has a sense of urgency, energy and focus to getting customer pain points resolved,” Roberts said. “While this may take a little time to fully take hold, our history of operational execution success would tell you that while sometimes we may not move first, once we get in motion we do it extremely well.”
