Face palm: Comcast lost more residential broadband customers in the third quarter of 2026 due to increasing competition from fiber and wireless rivals that offer connectivity at lower prices. Faced with falling revenue and a shrinking subscriber base, the company says it is planning massive job cuts and is preparing to replace humans with AI agents to reduce costs and increase efficiency.
Comcast released its third-quarter 2026 financial results this week, showing lower revenue and adjusted profit due to a subtraction of subscribers from its broadband business. The company reported total revenue of $29.3 billion, down 6.1% year-over-year from $31.2 billion on a reported basis, driven by the Versant spin-off and the sale of Sky’s German operations, but up 0.5% on a pro forma basis.
Operating income fell to $5.32 billion from $5.53 billion, while net income rose 3.5% to $3.45 billion from $3.33 billion. Adjusted diluted earnings per share were $1.07, down 4.0%, while reported diluted earnings per share were $0.97, up 7.2%. Adjusted EBITDA was $9.106 billion, down 5.8%, and free cash flow was $4.21 billion, down 14.8% from the year-ago period.
Comcast lost 144,000 domestic residential broadband customers during the quarter, but added a net 368,000 domestic wireless lines, ending the third quarter with 10.6 million. Almost 45% of broadband customers are now on Gigabit+ plans, and Premium Unlimited plans accounted for about 40% of postpaid phone connections.
Photo credit: The Desk
Facing tough competition, Comcast is reportedly planning major job cuts as part of a major restructuring of its cable TV, broadband and wireless businesses. According to Variety, it’s unclear how many jobs will be affected, but the layoffs are expected to hit “the Comcast Cable side of the business and not the NBCU divisions.”
The company is also expanding the use of AI agents in customer service. CFO Jason Armstrong said Comcast is introducing AI across the customer experience with the stated goal of “simplifying customer interactions and delivering a better experience.” He added that AI has already reduced service contact rates by about 20%.
Earlier this year, Comcast announced a restructuring plan to separate its media and entertainment operations from its connectivity, broadband and wireless businesses. Under the plan, American media group NBCUniversal and European pay-TV giant Sky will be spun off together as a single, independent, listed company.
The transaction will be structured as a tax-free spinoff to Comcast shareholders and is expected to close around mid-2027. After the split, NBCUniversal will oversee its film studios, theme parks, television networks, news and streaming service Peacock, with Sky serving as its European arm. Comcast, meanwhile, will focus on broadband, Wi-Fi, business services and cable TV.
