UniversalParksBlog News for October 23rd, 2026
Comcast just reported its quarterly earnings, and they’re better than expected.
Yes, for once, Comcast executives should feel pretty good about the business.
Drew Angerer/Getty Images
There is, unfortunately, a big exception, though. It’s the one that matters most to you and me.
Once again, Universal Studios struggled in terms of revenue and profit.
Photo:Universal Studios
In fact, this is the worst the theme park division has performed in a while.
We’ll discuss all the good and bad news in UniversalParksBlog News.
A Good Quarter for Comcast
CNN
When the stock market opened on Thursday, Comcast executives smiled.
The stock shot up nearly a dollar within its first hour of trading.
Image: UniversalParksBlog
This seems like a good time to mention that Comcast reported its quarterly earnings before then.
When the opening bell rang, traders already knew that Comcast had done well.
Photo: Comcast NBC Universal
The results speak for themselves as Comcast was profitable once more.
As a reminder, the company had lost $189 million in the previous quarter.
Image: Associated Press
It had also lost $217 million during the fiscal third quarter of 2025.
So, expectations were rather low when executives revealed this morning’s report.
As I’ve previously mentioned, Comcast has primarily struggled for two reasons.
The first is the high level of competition and saturation of the broadband market.
(Jeff Fusco/Comcast via AP Images)
For Comcast, broadband and wireless matter more than anything else in its business.
Well, I’m happy to report that the company added 368,000 wireless customers last quarter.
Photo: NY Times
In fact, the corporation is trending quite well in this regard over the past 12 months.
The business has added 1.6 million wireless domestic subscribers over the past year.
Photo: billboard.com
It also trimmed its broadband losses to 376,000, somewhat better than 475,000 last time.
Then, we have the other uncomfortable topic for Comcast executives: Peacock.
Photo: Deadline
The streaming service only turned a profit for the first time last quarter.
Peacock went live in July 2020, meaning it took six calendar years to make money.
Well, the streaming service pleasantly surprised everyone with a pre-tax profit of $261 million.
Yes, the company improved by $478 million in a calendar year, a great sign.
Also, Peacock has increased its subscriber base by 17 percent in a year.
Peacock now claims 48 million subscribers. It’s almost a real streaming service!
Comcast by the Numbers
The news isn’t universally positive, as it rarely is for corporations these days.
Comcast’s revenue fell six percent year over year, with $29.3 billion for the quarter.
Comcast
As a reminder, Comcast is currently spinning off NBCUniversal or potentially selling it.
We don’t know whether the corporation will find a buyer before the spinoff occurs.
Photo: NBC/Universal
So, that’s the expected outcome right now, although NBCU could also sell itself after the spinoff.
Anyway, Comcast technically turned a profit this past quarter despite the drop in revenue.
Photo: NBC Universal
Call it an accounting trick if you like, but the company’s “pro forma revenue” was up a fractional amount.
For this reason, net income increased by 3.5 percent, which isn’t bad.
Photo: Universal Orlando
The accountants performed a similar sleight-of-hand with EBITDA.
Technically, Comcast dropped 5.8 percent, but if we only focus on pro forma EBITDA, it increased by nearly one percent.
Photo:insudeuniversal.net
Hey, that’s how the accountants earn their money! They really did this quarter.
A lot of eyes are on Comcast after several years of sluggish performance.
Photo:skillastics.com
Alas, the movie studio had an ace up its sleeve in the form of The Odyssey.
The Christopher Nolan film was much of the reason why Comcast was slightly up rather than slightly down.
Comcast’s studio division decreased its revenue one percent to $2.97 billion.
However, The Odyssey became the studio’s most successful film EVER!
Photo: Getty
So, you can imagine where Comcast would have been without that one.
Because of this one film, the studio division’s EBITDA rose nearly 19 percent to $402 million.
Comcast
I’m not exaggerating when I say that The Odyssey and the FIFA World Cup saved Comcast.
Peacock’s subscriber base and revenue never would have risen without the latter. The film division would have been a disaster if not for The Odyssey.
About the Theme Parks
Universal
I’ve saved this discussion for last because it’s quite frustrating.
Universal Studios, the theme park division, has struggled mightily in 2026.
Universal
This past quarter was no exception. If anything, it was a punctuation mark.
The theme parks segment watched its revenue fall 4.4 percent to just under $2.6 billion.
Universal
Revenue fell a worrisome 17 percent to $780 million after earning $940 million a year ago.
So, Universal Epic Universe clearly provided a halo effect in 2025.
That halo has dimmed dramatically in calendar 2026, which I think we all knew.
Operating expenses only increased two percent at the parks, so this is entirely due to attendance declines.
Universal
Comcast explains that revenue at the parks: “decreased primarily due to lower revenue from park admissions, including from the impact of increased promotional activity.”
In other words, attendance dropped to the point that Universal offered more discounts.
Universal
The earnings report recognizes the fact that park performance will worry investors.
It states: “Despite near-term cyclical headwinds in Theme Parks, we remain confident in the business’s long-term growth potential.”
Image: Universal
Insert This Is Fine meme here. Actually, wait a second before we do that. Comcast also announced impending layoffs.
So, yeah. It’s rough right now.
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Feature Photo: Universal
