Comcast (CMCSA) to Report Q4 Earnings: What's in the Cards?
Comcast CMCSA is set to report fourth-quarter 2020 results on Jan 28.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fourth-quarter 2020 revenues is pegged at $26.77 billion, indicating a 5.7% dip from the year-ago quarter’s reported figure.
Moreover, the consensus mark for earnings stayed at 49 cents per share over the past 30 days, suggesting a decline of 38% from the figure reported in the year-ago quarter.
Notably, Comcast beat on earnings in all the trailing four quarters, the average being 15.3%.
Comcast Corporation Price and EPS Surprise
Comcast Corporation price-eps-surprise | Comcast Corporation Quote
Let’s see how things are shaping up prior to this announcement.
Internet Subscriber Base Growth a Tailwind
Comcast’s top line in the to-be-reported quarter is expected to have benefited from an increased number of high-speed Internet subscribers amid the coronavirus outbreak. Increased media consumption and work-from-home wave are expected to have augured well for this cablegiant.
Additionally, improving customer experience owing to expanding Wi-Fi coverage and innovative xFi control features are expected to have aided subscriber growth.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Cable Communication – High Speed Internet revenues is pegged at $5.35 billion, indicating 11.6% growth from the figure reported in the year-ago quarter.
Notably, Comcast’s wireless business added 633K lines in the third-quarter 2020. The momentum is expected to have continued in the fourth quarter.
Moreover, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for Cable Communication revenues is pegged at $15.37 billion, implying 4.1% growth from the figure reported in the year-ago quarter.
NBCUniversal & Theme Park Revenues to Take a Hit
Comcast’s NBCUniversal and Theme Park revenues are expected to have been negatively impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for NBCUniversal revenues stands at $7.18 billion, implying a 21.6% decline from the figure reported in the year-ago quarter.This division is expected to have been hurt by the lack of film releases and lost sports advertising revenues due to coronavirus-induced lockdowns and social-distancing measures, globally.
Further, the consensus mark of $430 million for Theme Parks’ revenues is significantly lower from $1.56 billion reported in the year-ago quarter.
However, NCUniversal’s streaming service Peacock is expected to have gained users thanks to its solid content in the to-be-reported quarter.
Per a research from JustWatch cited by 9TO5 Mac, Peacock had 6% market share in the fourth quarter, which was better than Apple TV+ service but lagged HBO Max and Disney+.
Sky’s Robust Content to Aid Growth
Meanwhile, Sky’s top-line growth is expected to have benefited from the resumption of sports-content coverage in the to-be-reported quarter. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Sky revenues is pegged at $4.98 billion, implying a 1.1% decline from the figure reported in the year-ago quarter.
What Our Model Says
Per the Zacks model, the combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the odds of an earnings beat.
Comcast has an Earnings ESP of +0.32% and a Zacks Rank #3. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.
Other Stocks to Consider
Here are a few other companies worth considering as our model shows that these too have the right combination of elements to beat on earnings in their upcoming releases:
Littelfuse LFUS has an Earnings ESP of +5.02% and a Zacks Rank #1. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Kulicke and Soffa KLIC has an Earnings ESP of +11.03% and a Zacks Rank #1.
Snap SNAP has an Earnings ESP of +6.06% and a Zacks Rank #2.
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