Universal Studios Theme Park Attendance Fell Last Quarter

Comcast just reported its quarterly earnings for the second quarter of 2026.

As a reminder, the corporation recently announced that it will spin off NBCUniversal.

Until then, NBCU remains a subsidiary of Comcast and a struggling one at that.

This latest earnings report has proven a mixed bag, with a few unexpected highlights.

Unfortunately, Universal Studios’ theme parks fell last quarter. I’ll explain how and why.

The Big Picture at Comcast

Are you following any of the corporate intrigue surrounding Paramount?

Only recently, Larry and David Ellison used Skydance Entertainment to buy the legacy studio.

Then, the Ellisons turned around and made a $108 billion offer for Warner Bros. Discovery.

Remarkably, that total didn’t prove high enough, allowing Netflix to “win” the bidding.

Eventually, Paramount came back with a $111 billion offer that WBD accepted.

Now, we’re waiting on a lawsuit to determine whether that deal will ever finalize.

What does any of this have to do with Comcast? Well, it’s oddly important.

The prevailing belief is that Comcast intended to spin off its legacy media division.

Then, that spinoff, Versant, would have merged with a similar one with WBD.

Paramount’s bid blew up all those plans, forcing Comcast to pivot on the fly.

As part of that pivot, Comcast is now splitting its current vertically integrated business into two separate ones.

When that happens, NBCU will turn into a standalone company, one ripe for a takeover.

So, these are nervous times at NBCU, and the latest earnings report didn’t help any.

Well, it didn’t help NBCU. The news is better than usual for Comcast.

Once again, Comcast’s core revenue stream, broadband subscribers, fell.

This quarter’s loss of 167,000 was in line with expectations, which I swear to you is a huge win.

If Comcast had suffered unexpectedly sizable losses, Wall Street would have freaked out.

As you know as a customer, competition is fierce for broadband subscriptions.

Comcast had once believed it could grow its business indefinitely.

Many of the struggles we’ve witnessed since then stem from reality setting in that it couldn’t.

The Other Comcast and NBCU Earnings

When NBCU spins off, it’ll be stuck with Peacock, the worst streaming service.

I’m saying that objectively, not as an opinion, as Peacock holds a shameful record.

This streaming service had been the only one never to turn a profit in a quarter.

You’ll notice I’m finally using past tense, as Peacock just enjoyed a profitable quarter!

Miracles do happen, and the proof is that Peacock netted $189 million profit.

That’s small potatoes for that had $29.9 billion in revenue last quarter.

Still, it’s refreshing for Peacock not to be a lodestone for the first time since it debuted in July 2020.

Yes, the service hadn’t turned a profit in six calendar years (!!!) before today’s news.

So, when the spinoff occurs, Peacock may not be as much of a detriment as it historically has been.

Peacock gained two million subscribers, bringing its total to 48 million.

We call that the Love Island effect, as the wildly popular series began a new season during the quarter.

Peacock also benefited from the NBA Playoffs and FIFA World Cup.

So, its gains may yet prove illusory and challenging to duplicate.

On the film side, Universal released Obsession. If you’ve been keeping up with cinema, you know the deal there.

The unique horror film with a killer elevator pitch earned $400 million on a sub-$1 million budget.

Obviously, Universal was going to have an amazing quarter, and it did!

NBCU’s media profit increased 3.7 percent to $708 million.

The film studio improved the most, more than tripling from $61 to $201 million.

Obsession proved so dominant that we can track its success on NBCU’s bottom line.

About the Parks

I haven’t said this in several quarters, but the news isn’t great at the theme parks.

A combination of a scorching hot summer and a flagging economy hurt Universal Studios.

During the earnings call, Comcast Co-CEO Mike Cavanagh explained that attendance fell at the parks.

According to him, international attendance was soft, while even the Orlando theme parks dropped some.

Ordinarily, I’d dismiss that behavior as an unfair comparison.

Remember that Universal Epic Universe opened in the same quarter last year.

However, Universal intentionally kept attendance down last year to enhance the guest experience.

So, attendance should not have fallen during the same fiscal quarter in 2026.

Frustratingly, it did, which Cavanagh explained by saying:

(There was) “weakness in consumer sentiment and higher travel costs affecting demand.”

Cavanagh added the upbeat sentiment that this isn’t a long-term issue.

(As soon as) “economic conditions and consumer demand stabilize for us we’ll be getting that attendance back.”

You should remember that Cavanagh is in sales, though.

His job centers on getting investors to remain interested in Comcast.

Therefore, he’s not necessarily to be trusted here, although we all want him to be right.

During the quarter, theme park revenue increased 2.7 percent to $2.413 billion. Alas, profit fell 5.1 percent from $641 million to $609 million.

More about the Parks

Universal Studios theme parks are no longer enjoying the afterglow of Epic Universe.

This is the first quarter of the park’s second year, and the numbers are lackluster at best.

The earnings report indicated that higher operating expenses are an issue across the parks.

On the earnings call, Comcast execs noted specific problems with the Beijing and Osaka parks.

There is a positive, though. Universal Kids Resorts has opened and will contribute next quarter.

Even though the park hasn’t been well received, it’s now a net positive.

Universal no longer needs to pay the construction fees while benefiting from its revenue.

So, next quarter’s numbers should recover after a disappointing round this time.

 

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Feature Photo: Universal