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Comcast (CMCSA) to Report Q4 Earnings: What's in the Card?

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Comcast (CMCSA - Free Report) is set to report fourth-quarter 2021 results on Jan 27.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fourth-quarter 2021 revenues is pegged at $29.58 billion, indicating 6.77% growth from the year-ago quarter’s reported figure.

The consensus mark for earnings remained at 73 cents per share in the past 30 days, suggesting a decline of 30.36% from the figure reported in the year-ago quarter.

Comcast’s earnings beat the consensus mark in all the last four quarters. The company has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 21.12%, on average.

Let’s see how things are shaping up prior to this announcement.

Comcast Corporation Price and EPS Surprise

 

Comcast Corporation Price and EPS Surprise

Comcast Corporation price-eps-surprise | Comcast Corporation Quote

 

Internet Subscriber Base Growth to Aid Growth

Comcast’s top line in the to-be-reported quarter is expected to have benefited from the robust growth in its broadband subscriber base and strong growth momentum in the wireless business.

Coronavirus-led increased content consumption and the online learning and work-from-home waves are expected to have benefited this cable giant.

Improvement in customer experience owing to expanding Wi-Fi coverage and innovative xFi control features are expected to have aided subscriber growth.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Cable Communication – High Speed Internet revenues is pegged at $5.91 billion, indicating 9.4% growth from the figure reported in the year-ago quarter.

Comcast’s wireless business added 285K lines in third-quarter 2021. The momentum is expected to have continued in the fourth quarter.

Apart from the Verizon (VZ - Free Report) MVNO agreement expansion, the reopening of retail stores and strong marketing and sales channel are expected to have aided wireless revenues.

Per the deal, Verizon’s team has been working to bring in new offerings as part of its wireless phone service, Xfinity Mobile.

The expansion of the MVNO agreement with Verizon will enable Comcast to improve its range of offerings and expand its customer base.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Cable Communication revenues is pegged at $16.28 billion, indicating 3.7 % growth from the figure reported in the year-ago quarter.

NBCUniversal & Theme Park Revenues to Drive the Top Line

Comcast’s NBCUniversal revenues are expected to have been benefited from the ongoing recovery at the theme parks and growth in the company’s linear and streaming media platforms.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for NBCUniversal revenues is pegged at $8.82 billion, suggesting 17.6% growth from the figure reported in the year-ago quarter.

NBCUniversal’s theme park revenues are expected to reflect significant upside owing to the resumption of services in Universal Orlando Resort and Universal Studios Japan. On Sep 20, NBCUniversal opened its Universal Beijing Resort Theme Park.

The consensus mark for Theme Parks’ revenues is pegged at $1.45 billion. The company had reported revenues of $579 million in the year-ago quarter.

NBCUniversal’s streaming service, Peacock, is expected to have gained users on the back of a solid content portfolio.

Sky’s Revenues Continue to Recover

Sky’s top line is expected to have benefited from the resumption of sports-content coverage in the to-be-reported quarter. Strong advertising and content revenues are expected to have aided growth.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Sky revenues is pegged at $5.23 billion, suggesting 0.4% growth from the figure reported in the year-ago quarter.

What Our Model Says

Per the Zacks model, the combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the odds of an earnings beat. But that’s not the case here.

Comcast has an Earnings ESP of +1.46% and a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell). You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Stocks to Consider

Here are some companies worth considering as our model shows that these have the right combination of elements to beat on earnings in their upcoming releases:

Gildan Activewear (GIL - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +9.57% and a Zacks Rank #2. GIL is all set to announce fourth-quarter 2021 results on Feb 23. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

GIL is up 48.6% in the past year against the Zacks Textile – Apparel industry’s decline of 5.5% and the Consumer Discretionary sector’s decline of 20.2%.

Electronic Arts (EA - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +5.23% and a Zacks Rank #2. EA is set to announce its third-quarter fiscal 2022 results on Feb 2.

EA is down 5% against the Zacks Toys - Games - Hobbies industry’s decline of 10.8% and the Consumer Discretionary sector’s decline of 20.2% in the past year.

Stay on top of upcoming earnings announcements with the Zacks Earnings Calendar.

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