Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Shares Up 7.1% Following Earnings Beat

Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA)’s share price shot up 7.1% during trading on Thursday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The company traded as high as $31.62 and last traded at $31.4530. 9,770,617 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 70% from the average session volume of 32,693,549 shares. The stock had previously closed at $29.37.

The cable giant reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.06. Comcast had a return on equity of 16.86% and a net margin of 16.17%.The firm had revenue of $31.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.09 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year.

Comcast Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 1st were paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 1st. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.2%. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.58%.

More Comcast News

Here are the key news stories impacting Comcast this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 beat — Comcast reported Q1 revenue of about $31.46B and adjusted EPS of $0.79, topping Street estimates and prompting the rally. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Big-event advertising lift — Ad sales were boosted by the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics and Super Bowl LX, lifting Content/advertising revenue for the quarter. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Connectivity momentum — Broadband subscriber losses narrowed (net loss ~65k) and wireless additions were strong (hundreds of thousands of net wireless line adds), signaling stabilization in core services. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Wireless product push — Xfinity Mobile launched new premium plans (Mobile Plus and Mobile Select) aimed at higher ARPU and retention. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Streaming & conversion catalysts — Management expects Peacock to approach profitability next quarter and plans to convert the majority of free wireless lines to paid in 2H 2026, both of which could lift margins. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation view — Some DCF and P/E analyses argue CMCSA may trade below intrinsic value, supporting upside if execution continues; this is analyst-driven context rather than a company action. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Year-over-year profit drop and longer-term share slump — EPS declined from $1.09 a year ago to $0.79 this quarter and the stock had been down roughly 10% over the past year, underscoring that challenges remain. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider and institutional activity — Recent insider sales and large institutional position changes have been noted by market trackers, which can be viewed as a near-term headwind for sentiment. Read More.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on CMCSA shares. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $30.00 target price on shares of Comcast in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating and set a $33.00 target price (up from $32.79) on shares of Comcast in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Benchmark cut their target price on Comcast from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $29.00 target price on shares of Comcast in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Zacks Research raised Comcast from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $34.85.

Insider Buying and Selling at Comcast

In other news, CEO Michael J. Cavanagh sold 57,947 shares of Comcast stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.66, for a total value of $1,892,549.02. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 622,336 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,325,493.76. The trade was a 8.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.32% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Comcast

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Imprint Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Comcast in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. United Financial Planning Group LLC acquired a new position in Comcast in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. acquired a new position in Comcast in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Olistico Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Comcast in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its position in Comcast by 212.6% in the 4th quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,016 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 691 shares in the last quarter. 84.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Comcast Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $113.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $29.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $29.11.

About Comcast

Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ: CMCSA) is a diversified global media and technology company headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Its principal operations are organized around Comcast Cable, which provides broadband internet, video, voice and wireless services to residential and business customers in the United States under the Xfinity and Comcast Business brands, and NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment group that develops, produces and distributes content across broadcast and cable networks, film, and streaming platforms.

NBCUniversal’s assets include the NBC broadcast network, a portfolio of cable channels, Universal Pictures and other film and television production businesses, and the Peacock streaming service.