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Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) is focused on lifting revenue growth and it’s moving forward on its streaming ambitions, the company’s president said Monday.
The cable/media giant’s revenue growth has lagged GDP growth but “I would say we’re very much focused: The top line will drive the bottom line for a sustained period in the future,” President Mike Cavanagh said at a UBS investor conference.
Some six businesses make up more than 50% of Comcast revenues now, and they all have highlights to build on, Cavanagh noted: Residential broadband (leading the country with 32M subs; 4% growth in average revenue per user); Wireless (just 10% penetrated but showing year-over-year revenue growth of 60%, Cavanagh said); Business Services (nearly $10B in revenue and 60% incremental margins); Studios (still among the top in box office the past couple of years); Theme Parks; and Streaming.
Comcast’s streaming operations got a callout from Cavanagh: Peacock is “right at” 30M paying subscribers with an average revenue per user of $10, he said, characterizing it as a strong position “ex-Netflix” (NFLX).
And the arrival of December on Friday brought a planned payment from Walt Disney (DIS) for the remainder of Hulu ownership, Cavanagh said: “By the way, we collected an $8.5B check on Friday … that represents the beginning of the process” to value the streaming service, which now is in the hands of a couple of third-party banks. They “certainly hope to get more than that.”
Comcast stock (CMCSA) was also upgraded to Outperform at BNPP Exane Monday, with a $49 price target implying another 14% upside. The stock rose 2% late Monday.
