Peacock notched its second consecutive profitable quarter, reporting $261 million in adjusted EBITDA for Q3 2026, compared to a $217 million loss in the same period last year, according to Comcast's Q3 earnings released Thursday. The streamer's paid subscribers climbed 17 percent year over year to 48 million, and revenue grew 28.6 percent to $1.8 billion.
Comcast's media unit posted a 13 percent revenue increase to $5.36 billion for the quarter, with theatrical revenue rising 77 percent. The Odyssey, the Universal Pictures summer epic that has earned nearly $1.8 billion worldwide, was a key driver of that growth, according to The Desk.
The broader picture is split. Core cable continues to erode: Comcast lost 144,000 residential broadband customers in Q3, up from 91,000 losses in the same period a year earlier. Total Q3 revenue fell 6.1 percent to $29.3 billion, though that comparison includes businesses Comcast has since divested.
CFO Jason Armstrong said the company expects "a significant charge in the fourth quarter related mostly to our transformation efforts," which he put at over $1 billion. Layoffs focused on broadband and cable TV are expected in the coming weeks, according to The Desk. "We don't look at it as a cost-cutting exercise," Armstrong said.
Peacock's consecutive profitable quarters mark a structural shift for a platform that lost money for years. Whether the momentum holds through Q4, without the World Cup boost that lifted Q3 media revenue, is the next test.