Comcast Corp

The US Department of Justice said on Saturday, October 10, that it is examining whether major US television networks violated federal antitrust law after they jointly boycotted participation in the White House rotating press pool, in retaliation for the administration's revocation of press credentials from three news organizations, including CNN. The five major television networks targeted by the investigation are ABC, CBS, CNN, NBC and Fox News. A Justice Department spokesperson said in a statement that coordinated boycotts among competing businesses may constitute a violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act, and the Antitrust Division is gathering facts to determine whether these media organizations did in fact breach antitrust law. Normally, CNN is one of five television networks, alongside ABC, CBS, Fox News and NBC, that jointly operate the White House television press pool, a arrangement in which they share costs and take turns sending crews to record the president's activities in restricted spaces before distributing the feed to television stations nationwide. After the ban order on September 19, all five networks, including Fox News, jointly suspended their participation in the television press pool entirely and refused to send crews to fill in. Then on September 24, Timothy Kelly, a US federal district judge, ruled that the White House's press exclusion order was likely unconstitutional and issued an order requiring the administration to immediately restore access and press credentials to the journalists.

The Emmy Awards will end their rotation across traditional television networks and move to an exclusive broadcast on Amazon Prime Video starting in 2027, under a six-year global streaming agreement, according to a report by CNBC. The e-commerce company and the Television Academy announced the deal last Tuesday. Under the agreement, Prime Video will stream the annual awards ceremony free for viewers, including non-subscribers, in more than 240 countries and territories. The broadcast rights will begin with the 2027 ceremony, while NBC, a Comcast subsidiary, will air the 2026 ceremony on September 14. No financial details of the agreement were disclosed. The change ends the traditional wheel-deal system in which ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox took turns hosting the Emmy Awards each year, a practice dating back to at least 1994. The most recent eight-year contract expires this year, and Prime Video was described in a statement as the permanent home of the Emmy Awards. Cris Abrego, chairman of the Television Academy, said television has never been more global, and the Emmy Awards should be a celebration the whole world can share. The decision to move the more than 70-year-old awards show to a streaming platform reflects a broader trend in a shifting media landscape, as Americans continue to abandon broadcast and cable television and turn to streaming subscriptions. Earlier, in December 2025, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced an agreement with Alphabet's YouTube and YouTube TV for the media rights to the Oscars, which will take over from ABC in 2029, while Netflix has streamed the SAG Awards exclusively since 2024.

Comcast's NBCUniversal is cutting jobs in its global streaming technology organization, with most of the reductions falling at Sky, Comcast's European media arm, though some US-based NBCUniversal employees will also be affected. The number of employees affected would depend on the outcome of consultations with employees, according to Reuters. NBCUniversal said it is proposing changes to its Global Streaming Technology organization to ensure it has the right structure and resources in place for future growth.

MoffettNathanson analyst Craig Moffett said Tuesday that SpaceX's Starlink is becoming a more credible competitor to terrestrial broadband providers, particularly in rural and lower-density markets, as the service begins deploying higher-capacity V3 satellites. Moffett told CNBC that Starlink poses a much greater competitive challenge to Comcast Corp. and Charter Communications Inc. than to traditional wireless carriers such as AT&T Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc., saying the terrestrial broadband business where they deliver ISP service is a very credible product that already is having a significant impact. SpaceX's first Starship orbital flight deployed 26 V3 Starlink satellites, which Moffett said carry substantially more capacity and should improve the service, though he expects it will be after 2030 before most of the Starlink constellation consists of V3 satellites. Even with V3 satellites, he does not expect Starlink to match the speeds offered by terrestrial fiber or cable broadband, leaving pricing and customer segmentation as major competitive factors, with Starlink potentially competing more effectively for value-oriented customers. Moffett compared the challenge with the pressure Comcast and Charter already face from fixed wireless access, noting the cable operators have responded by bundling broadband with wireless services, a strategy he said has proven relatively successful.

Comcast shares have returned -19% over the past month, against a +1% gain for the Zacks S&P 500 composite, while the Zacks Cable Television industry lost 20% over the same period. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current quarter now stands at $0.98 per share, a year-over-year change of -12.5% and a -2.8% revision over the last 30 days. For the current fiscal year, the consensus earnings estimate of $3.48 points to a -19.3% change from the prior year, and for the next fiscal year the $3.61 estimate indicates a +3.6% change. The consensus sales estimate of $29.48 billion for the current quarter points to a -5.5% year-over-year change, with $120.33 billion and $117.92 billion projected for the current and next fiscal years. Comcast reported revenues of $29.94 billion in the last reported quarter, a -1.2% year-over-year change, with EPS of $1.04 versus $1.25 a year ago, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate by +2.62% on revenue and +7.22% on EPS. The recent estimate revisions have resulted in a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) for Comcast, though the stock carries a Zacks Value Style Score of A.

Bank of America downgraded Nike to Underperform from Neutral, with analyst Lorraine Hutchinson cutting her price target to $30 from $47 and lowering fiscal 2027 and 2028 EPS estimates by 11% and 12% to $1.43 and $1.87, saying the turnaround is taking longer to materialize. Stifel upgraded Microsoft to Buy from Hold, with analyst Brad Reback raising his price target to $575 from $530 and citing confidence in sustaining mid-to-upper-teens revenue growth. J.P. Morgan upgraded CoreWeave to Overweight from Neutral and lifted its price target to $125 from $120, pointing to favorable compute pricing and a greater willingness to lean into short-term contracts at premium pricing. UBS downgraded PG&E to Neutral from Buy and cut its price target to $14 from $19, lowering its long-term EPS growth forecast to 8.5% from 9% as the wildfire liability reform catalyst fades. KeyBanc downgraded Comcast to Underweight with an $18 price target, expecting domestic broadband net losses to widen to 665,000 in 2027, while HSBC downgraded Twilio to Reduce from Hold and Rosenblatt initiated SanDisk at Buy with a $2,400 price target.

KeyBanc Capital Markets downgraded Comcast to Underweight and cut its price target to $18, implying roughly 19% downside from the stock's latest close. Analyst Brandon Nispel expects Comcast's domestic broadband net losses to widen to 665,000 in 2027, far worse than the consensus estimate for a 482,000 decline, as rivals offer 1-gigabit internet plans for roughly $30 to $40 per month. Cable and connectivity EBITDA may also struggle to recover as quickly as investors expect, with Comcast describing 2026 as a year of investment amid what it calls the largest cost transformation in company history. Universal attendance weakened through August, with total attendance down 3% year over year and Epic Universe's average daily attendance falling to roughly 13,000 from 16,000 in July. Nispel also sees limited upside from Comcast's planned NBCUniversal spin-off, arguing deteriorating fundamentals and reduced share-repurchase support could offset the potential benefits.

Akamai Technologies surged 21.3% in premarket trading after announcing a seven-year, $11.6 billion cloud services commitment from AI company Anthropic, designed to support Anthropic's growing CPU workload demands across Akamai Cloud's distributed infrastructure. The deal includes provisions allowing the relationship to expand by up to an additional $9 billion, potentially taking the total commitment to about $20 billion, and Akamai also disclosed a hardware supply agreement with Lenovo and authorized contract manufacturer Jabil to procure about $1.7 billion in memory components. People Incorporated rose 6.5% in premarket trading after The Wall Street Journal reported that MGM Resorts International is weighing a potential takeover bid for Barry Diller's media conglomerate, with an offer potentially coming within days, just one day after People Incorporated withdrew its own $48.30-per-share cash proposal to acquire MGM's remaining public shares. Select Water Solutions rose 5.5% after announcing a definitive agreement to acquire Pilot Water Solutions for $700 million, plus up to $15 million in potential contingent consideration, in a transaction including $600 million in cash and $100 million in Class A common stock. Prime Medicine climbed 11.7% in after-hours trading to $3.49 after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration cleared its Investigational New Drug application for PM647, an investigational in vivo Prime Editor designed to correct the E342K mutation in the SERPINA1 gene, the root cause of Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency, paving the way for a global first-in-human Phase 1/2 clinical trial. On the downside, Comcast slipped 1.6% in premarket trading to $21.77 after KeyBanc downgraded the stock to Underweight from Sector Weight with an $18 price target, Twilio fell 3.7% after HSBC downgraded it to Reduce from Hold with a $211 price target, Zscaler fell 3.6% after naming Ross Tackett Chief Revenue Officer effective Oct. 1, succeeding Mike Rich, and Scholastic tumbled 11% after reporting fiscal first-quarter 2027 results that missed expectations, with revenue down 3.9% year over year to $216.8 million and an adjusted loss per share of $3.63.

Wolfe Research downgraded Charter Communications to underperform from neutral and set a $118 price target, 19% below the stock's Sept. 11 close, as Spectrum's internet customer losses continue. Spectrum, operated by Charter, lost more than 400,000 internet customers in 2025, another 120,000 in the first quarter of this year and 172,000 in the second, amid price increases including a $10 hike on multiple internet plans in July. Wolfe Research analyst Peter Supino said satellite internet is becoming a rising problem for traditional broadband providers, noting that a single Starlink launch represents roughly 22 times more downlink capacity and that falling unit costs and ramping capacity portend significant price cuts; Starlink has garnered more than 12 million global high-speed internet customers so far this year. Wolfe Research expects Charter to garner 1.34 million fewer broadband net adds, steeper than its expectations for Comcast, and lowered its estimate of Comcast's 2027 connectivity and platform revenue from $78.29 billion to $77.95 billion while maintaining a Peer Perform rating on Comcast. Supino also took a bleak view of Charter's $34.5 billion acquisition of Cox Communications, which closed in August, saying Charter inherited a degrading subscriber pool facing stronger competitive pressure than management anticipated, and that Charter needs $1 billion in cost savings in 2027 to improve EBITDA. Charter CFO Jessica Fisher said on the July earnings call that Spectrum has not observed meaningful share loss to Starlink, while Comcast CFO Jason Armstrong told the Goldman Sachs Communacopia + Technology Conference on Sept. 9 that satellite looms as a potential threat that is not really being seen yet.

Comcast Chief Financial Officer Jason Armstrong warned that "irrational" fiber internet pricing from rivals is intensifying broadband competition and will keep customer losses from improving in the third quarter of this year. Speaking at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia + Technology Conference on Sept. 9, Armstrong said standalone fiber pricing in the $30-$40 range for a gig is "not a rational price point," given that the copper-to-fiber transition costs Comcast potentially thousands of dollars, while Comcast charges roughly $50 per month for its 1 Gbps fiber-powered internet. He said fiber overbuild in Comcast's markets has accelerated to about 4% or 5% per year from a historical 2%-3%, and that fixed wireless and satellite, including SpaceX's Starlink, which surpassed 12 million global high-speed internet customers this year, remain growing threats. Comcast, which operates broadband under the name Xfinity, lost over 700,000 internet customers in 2025 after raising Xfinity prices and restricting its autopay discount, and lost a combined 232,000 internet customers across the first and second quarters of this year. Armstrong's comments come as Comcast plans to split into two companies in mid-2027, separating media and entertainment assets including NBCUniversal and Sky from its cable business, with former Comcast CFO Michael Angelakis returning as CEO of the retained cable business.

Comcast Corporation shares fell 7% on Wednesday after its chief financial officer warned of persistent broadband subscriber losses and called fiber pricing "irrational." Speaking at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia + Technology Conference, CFO Jason Armstrong said the company expects no improvement in third-quarter broadband subscriber losses, though it still projects a "modest" improvement in EBITDA. KeyBanc analyst Brandon Nispel warned of downside risks, projecting 125,000 domestic residential net losses for the quarter, far worse than the consensus estimate of 89,000. Nispel noted that competitors offering gigabit speeds for $30 to $40 per month will prevent year-over-year improvement in Comcast's broadband net additions, and Charter Communications shares also fell 5% amid the broader sector sell-off.

The Walt Disney Company is expanding its parks pipeline as part of a $60 billion, 10-year investment plan for Parks, Experiences and Products, aiming to add capacity and drive growth. In the fiscal third quarter of 2026, Experiences revenues rose 10% year over year, with operating income up 20%, supported by a 3% increase in domestic attendance and a 4% rise in per-capita guest spending. The expansion includes new attractions such as Villains Land in Orlando and the Avengers Campus expansion in Anaheim, along with additional cruise capacity. However, international attendance, particularly in Shanghai and Hong Kong, remains a risk due to weaker consumer conditions, and the company expects fiscal 2026 capital expenditures of approximately $9 billion. Disney faces competition from Comcast's Universal parks, including Epic Universe and the new Universal Kids Resort, and Six Flags Entertainment, which is adding attractions and expanding memberships. Disney shares have declined 7.5% year to date, and the stock trades at a forward P/S ratio of 1.72, compared with the industry's 1.24. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2026 revenues is $101.38 billion, with earnings estimated at $6.91 per share.

Comcast has agreed to a US$117.5 million class-action settlement tied to an October 2023 cybersecurity breach affecting Xfinity customers. The breach exposed personal data of millions of current and former subscribers, leading to extensive legal claims over security and privacy controls. The settlement addresses customer compensation and related costs as Comcast responds to the operational and reputational impact of the incident. This outcome highlights ongoing cybersecurity, legal and compliance risks for large consumer-facing communications providers.

California has granted final state approval for Charter Communications' $34.5 billion acquisition of Cox Communications, clearing the way for the deal to close next week. The California Public Utilities Commission approved the merger subject to settlement agreements and enforceable conditions, including new affordable broadband offerings for low-income residents, a $30 million investment in digital inclusion, and at least $275 million for network upgrades in the state. The commission also secured customer protections such as automatic bill credits for qualifying outages of two hours or longer, continued honoring of eligible residential price-for-life agreements, and elimination of equipment exchange fees. Charter announced the cash-and-stock deal last year with an enterprise value of about $34.5 billion and will assume roughly $12 billion of Cox's outstanding debt. The combined company will adopt the Cox Communications name within a year, with Charter's Spectrum becoming the consumer-facing brand, and the merger is expected to create the largest U.S. cable TV and broadband provider, surpassing Comcast.

The E.W. Scripps Company reported a second-quarter 2026 net loss of $1.2 billion, driven by a $1.1 billion non-cash goodwill and intangible asset impairment in its Scripps Networks business. Revenue fell 9.2% year over year to $490 million, with Local Media revenue down 5.4% to $317 million and Scripps Networks revenue down 16% to $172 million. Local political advertising reached a second-quarter record of $28 million, and the company now projects full-year political revenue between $225 million and $250 million. Scripps is targeting $125 million to $150 million of enterprise EBITDA growth by 2028 and expects approximately $100 million of annual run-rate cost savings by the end of 2026. Retransmission disputes with Comcast and DirecTV reduced distribution revenue by $26.7 million during the quarter, while the company continues to face pressure from weak national advertising and declining linear audiences.

Walt Disney is scheduled to report its third quarter results on Wednesday after the market close. Wall Street expects earnings per share of $1.85, a 14.9% increase, and revenue of $25.41 billion, up 7.4% from a year ago. Investors will focus on the streaming business and the experiences division, which includes parks, cruise ships, and consumer products, amid higher prices and volatile economic conditions. Analysts at Citi see risk to fourth quarter estimates following Comcast's recent commentary about weaker park attendance, while Jefferies noted that the success of Toy Story 5 likely aided the entertainment segment. Disney has beaten EPS estimates 100% of the time over the last two years and revenue estimates 75% of the time.