Comcast's (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Q2 Sales Top Estimates, Stock Soars

Telecommunications and media company Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) reported Q2 CY2025 results beating Wall Street’s revenue expectations, with sales up 2.1% year on year to $30.31 billion. Its non-GAAP profit of $1.25 per share was 5.9% above analysts’ consensus estimates.

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“We delivered solid financial results in the second quarter, growing Adjusted EPS by 3% and generating $4.5 billion of free cash flow, while continuing to invest in our growth businesses and returning $2.9 billion to shareholders," said Brian L. Roberts, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Comcast Corporation.

Company Overview

Formerly known as American Cable Systems, Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) is a multinational telecommunications company offering a wide range of services.

Revenue Growth

A company’s long-term sales performance can indicate its overall quality. Any business can experience short-term success, but top-performing ones enjoy sustained growth for years. Regrettably, Comcast’s sales grew at a sluggish 3.3% compounded annual growth rate over the last five years. This fell short of our benchmark for the consumer discretionary sector and is a rough starting point for our analysis.

We at StockStory place the most emphasis on long-term growth, but within consumer discretionary, a stretched historical view may miss a company riding a successful new product or trend. Comcast’s recent performance shows its demand has slowed as its annualized revenue growth of 1.5% over the last two years was below its five-year trend.

We can better understand the company’s revenue dynamics by analyzing its number of domestic broadband customers and domestic video customers, which clocked in at 31.54 million and 11.77 million in the latest quarter. Over the last two years, Comcast’s domestic broadband customers were flat while its domestic video customers averaged 11.8% year-on-year declines.

This quarter, Comcast reported modest year-on-year revenue growth of 2.1% but beat Wall Street’s estimates by 1.8%.

Looking ahead, sell-side analysts expect revenue to remain flat over the next 12 months. This projection is underwhelming and indicates its newer products and services will not accelerate its top-line performance yet.

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Operating Margin

Operating margin is a key measure of profitability. Think of it as net income - the bottom line - excluding the impact of taxes and interest on debt, which are less connected to business fundamentals.

Comcast’s operating margin has shrunk over the last 12 months, but it still averaged 18.7% over the last two years, top-notch for a consumer discretionary business. This shows it’s an efficient company that manages its expenses effectively.

In Q2, Comcast generated an operating margin profit margin of 19.8%, down 2.6 percentage points year on year. This contraction shows it was less efficient because its expenses grew faster than its revenue.

Earnings Per Share

We track the long-term change in earnings per share (EPS) for the same reason as long-term revenue growth. Compared to revenue, however, EPS highlights whether a company’s growth is profitable.

Comcast’s EPS grew at an unimpressive 8.2% compounded annual growth rate over the last five years. This performance was better than its flat revenue but doesn’t tell us much about its business quality because its operating margin didn’t improve.

In Q2, Comcast reported adjusted EPS at $1.25, up from $1.21 in the same quarter last year. This print beat analysts’ estimates by 5.9%. Over the next 12 months, Wall Street expects Comcast’s full-year EPS of $4.42 to stay about the same.

Key Takeaways from Comcast’s Q2 Results

It was encouraging to see Comcast beat analysts’ revenue expectations this quarter. We were also happy its EPS outperformed Wall Street’s estimates. Overall, this print had some key positives. The stock traded up 5.9% to $34.45 immediately after reporting.

So do we think Comcast is an attractive buy at the current price? If you’re making that decision, you should consider the bigger picture of valuation, business qualities, as well as the latest earnings. We cover that in our actionable full research report which you can read here, it’s free.