Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Q2 2026: EPS Beats but EBITDA Falls 13.4% as Peacock Hits First Profit

Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ: CMCSA) reported Q2 2026 adjusted EPS of $1.04, beating the $1.00 analyst consensus by 4.0%, while GAAP revenue of $29.94 billion declined 1.2% year over year. The headline beat obscures a sharper deterioration in profitability: consolidated Adjusted EBITDA fell 13.4% to $8.9 billion, driven by margin compression in the residential connectivity business and the accounting drag from recent divestitures.

Q2 2026 Results

• Adjusted EPS: $1.04, versus $1.25 in Q2 2025 (down 16.8% YoY) and above the $1.00 consensus estimate; GAAP EPS was $0.99, down 66.8% YoY, with the prior-year period having included a $9.4 billion gain from the Hulu stake sale
• Revenue: GAAP revenue of $29.94 billion fell 1.2% YoY; on a pro forma basis adjusting for the Versant separation (completed January 2, 2026) and the sale of Sky Germany (completed May 31, 2026), revenue rose 4.7% to $29.57 billion
• Adjusted EBITDA: $8.9 billion, down 13.4% on a reported basis and down 5.3% on a pro forma basis
• Free Cash Flow: $4.6 billion, up 2.3% from $4.5 billion in Q2 2025; capital expenditures rose 8.3% to $2.9 billion
• Shareholder Returns: $2.1 billion returned, consisting of $1.2 billion in dividends and $900 million in share repurchases across 33.8 million shares; the repurchase program was paused as of June 29, 2026

What Drove the Results

Adjusted EPS of $1.04 beat the $1.00 consensus by 4.0%, and pro forma revenue growth of 4.7% exceeded reported GAAP revenue, which was depressed by the Versant and Sky Germany divestitures. The divergence between the revenue line and EBITDA is the central story: residential Connectivity and Platforms Adjusted EBITDA fell 8.0% to $6.45 billion, even as segment revenue declined only 4.0%, compressing the residential EBITDA margin by 160 basis points to 37.7%.

The margin compression reflects deliberate investment in a new go-to-market strategy. Non-programming operating expenses in the residential segment rose 2.1% to $6.98 billion, while programming costs fell 7.5% to $3.70 billion. Domestic broadband revenue fell 5.5% to $6.28 billion, and residential customer net losses were 167,000, though that figure improved by 34,000 compared to the same quarter last year.

Connectivity bright spots were wireless and business services. Domestic wireless added 448,000 lines in Q2 2026, the best quarterly result on record, bringing total wireless lines to 10.2 million. Business Services Connectivity revenue grew 3.7% to $2.67 billion, and segment EBITDA rose 5.0% to $1.52 billion, with an EBITDA margin of 56.7%.

On the content side, Peacock generated its first-ever quarterly profit, with EBITDA of $189 million, a $290 million improvement year over year. Paid subscribers rose by 2 million net additions to 48 million, with engagement driven by the NBA Playoffs, FIFA World Cup 2026, and Love Island USA. Studios EBITDA increased $141 million year over year, supported by The Super Mario Galaxy Movie crossing $1 billion in worldwide box office year to date.

Wall Street View

Comcast's planned separation of NBCUniversal and Sky into an independent publicly traded company via a tax-free spin-off remains a focal point for analysts. The company paused share repurchases effective June 29, 2026, channeling capital discipline toward executing the split. No specific financial guidance for the next quarter or full year was disclosed alongside Q2 results.

Investor Takeaway

The Q2 2026 report presents a company generating $4.6 billion in free cash flow and beating adjusted EPS estimates, while simultaneously absorbing 160 basis points of residential EBITDA margin erosion as it repositions its go-to-market strategy. The first-ever Peacock profit and record wireless additions signal progress in growth businesses, but the trajectory of non-programming cost investment in broadband will determine how quickly the core residential margin can recover, a question investors will weigh alongside the structural complexity of the pending NBCUniversal spin-off.