Epic Universe Boosts Comcast
Epic Universal is already paying dividends for Comcast, the corporate owner of NBCUniversal.
Those of you who know how to look at graphs of stocks will be amused by what happened at the end of July.
Today Show
At one point, Comcast’s stock fell below $32. Then, in a matter of hours, it popped to $34.
While Comcast ultimately declined to $32.52, it was still up two percent due a couple of factors.
Attraction Insight
Those factors are Universal Epic Universe and Hulu. Let’s discuss how Epic Universe just boosted Comcast.
What Just Happened?
Epic
Comcast reported quarterly earnings for the period ending on June 30th, 2025.
What’s the big deal about that date? Well, it’s twofold for Comcast, with one aspect mattering more right now.
(Jeff Fusco/Comcast via AP Images)
The other factor will impact Comcast much more in the current and future quarters.
So, let’s talk about the temporary one first, and it’s that Comcast got paaaaaaaid.
Photo: Comcast NBC Universal
During this quarter, Disney wrote Comcast a check for $9.4 billion in a surprising development.
After years of squabbling about all their business interests, the two parties suddenly settled.
Photo: billboard.com
Disney fully purchased Comcast’s one-third ownership interest in Hulu, the one it gained with the NBCU acquisition.
The two companies fought like cats and dogs over the proper valuation of Hulu.
(Photo by Michael Short/Getty Images)
Eventually, Comcast ceded the point and accepted a modest $438.7 million. Well, that’s only partially true.
Disney had already committed $9.2 billion to Comcast, bringing the total value to $9.639 billion.
Photo: NY Times
Comcast happily added those numbers to the current earnings report, which delighted investors.
That’s why the stock spiked in a matter of hours. People realized Comcast was $9.4 billion richer.
That’s how much Comcast actually reported from the sale on this income statement.
For a company weighed down by massive long-term debt, that was the huge win Comcast needed.
Image: Associated Press
It wasn’t the only one, but I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s focus on the money for a moment.
Comcast Beats Estimates
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On a seemingly unrelated note, Comcast beat its earnings estimates, which reinforces an important point.
The people who perform these estimates just don’t pay enough attention to what’s happening.
Comcast
People didn’t factor in Comcast’s Hulu gains enough, which led to Comcast being wildly undervalued.
However, the company didn’t have a great quarter, save for that big fat Hulu check, which saved Comcast’s bacon.
OC Register
The corporation’s bread and butter, its domestic broadband service, lost an alarming 226,000 subscribers.
So, I cannot help but believe that Comcast used the Hulu earnings as a misdirect.
Universal
The company reported quarterly revenue of $30.3 billion, with a net profit of $11.1 billion.
That’s a massive increase from the same quarter in 2024, when Comcast managed a still-good $3.9 billion.
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I’ll wryly note that without the Hulu money, Comcast’s net profit would have dropped to $1.7 billion.
You can understand why Comcast held it until now and why the stock started dropping again afterward.
UO
Investors noticed the huge hit, bought on the news, and then did their homework a bit later.
At that point, they realized how artificial Comcast’s gains were. But you can’t argue with results.
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Comcast reported earnings per share of $2.98, which is still at any point.
It’s even better compared to the previous year’s $1.00. So, Comcast basically tripled its earnings per share year-over-year.
Epic
That’s a one-time game from an outlier, Hulu, but investors don’t care. The money still spends.
To a larger point, there was great news for Comcast, as its plan is working.
The Theme Park Expansion Era Begins
I’ve been writing about this on our sister site, MickeyBlog, which is more Disney-focused.
Over there, I’ve discussed Comcast’s rapid expansion plans for Universal Studios.
Comcast has identified its subsidiary as a high-margin business and accelerated its growth with resources.
Specifically, Horror Unleashed opens later this month, and another one is coming to Chicago in 2027.
Universal
In between these two events, Universal Kids Resort will open in Frisco, Texas.
Oh, and there’s another Universal Studios theme park coming to England in a few years.
Universal
All these expansions are occurring on the heels of Epic Universe, where we just got our first numbers.
This quarterly report only covers five full weeks of Epic Universe, at least officially. We all know there were sneak previews.
Universal
From Comcast’s perspective, the park’s opening reduced capital expenditures to $734 million.
The earnings report indicates that theme park EBITDA increased due to “higher revenue, which more than offset higher operating expenses.”
Photo: Universal
Comcast indicates that the higher operating expenses are temporary due to Epic’s debut.
Universal’s theme park division increased its revenue nearly 19 percent from $1.975 billion to $2.349 billion.
Photo: Universal
Adjusted EBITDA only went up 4.1 percent to $658 million, but this total will improve from now on.
Again, the increased operating costs are diluting the short-term picture a bit. Comcast leader Mike Cavanagh added:
Photo: Universal
“We’re pleased with the early results as Epic is already driving higher per (capita) spending and attendance across the entirety of Universal Orlando Resort.”
So, the early results for Epic Universe appear positive, but we’ll know more in three months.
Photo: Universal
Comcast’s next earnings report will include three full months of Epic Universe operations, including the late summer and some Halloween Horror Nights dates.
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