Facepalm: Comcast lost more residential broadband customers in Q3 2026 amid increased competition from fiber and wireless rivals offering connectivity at lower prices. Faced with dwindling revenues and a shrinking subscriber base, the company says it intends to implement massive job cuts as it prepares to replace humans with AI agents to reduce expenses and improve efficiency.
Comcast released its Q3 2026 financial results this week, showing lower revenue and adjusted profit amid an exodus of subscribers from its broadband business. The company reported $29.3 billion in total revenue, down 6.1% year over year from $31.2 billion on a reported basis, reflecting the Versant separation and the sale of Sky's German operations, but up 0.5% on a pro forma basis.
Operating income fell from $5.53 billion to $5.32 billion, while net income rose 3.5% from $3.33 billion to $3.45 billion. Adjusted diluted EPS was $1.07, down 4.0%, while reported diluted EPS was $0.97, up 7.2%. Adjusted EBITDA came in at $9.106 billion, down 5.8%, and free cash flow totaled $4.21 billion, down 14.8% from the same period last year.
Comcast lost 144,000 domestic residential broadband customers during the quarter but added a net 368,000 domestic wireless lines, ending Q3 with 10.6 million. Nearly 45% of its broadband customers are now on Gigabit+ plans, and premium unlimited plans accounted for about 40% of postpaid phone connects.
Image credit: The Desk
Facing stiff competition, Comcast is reportedly planning sweeping job cuts as part of an overall restructuring of its cable TV, broadband and wireless businesses. According to Variety, it's unclear how many positions will be affected, but the layoffs are expected to hit "the Comcast Cable side of the business, not NBCU divisions."
The company is also expanding the use of AI agents in customer service. CFO Jason Armstrong said Comcast is rolling out AI across its customer experience, with the stated aim of "simplifying customer interactions and (delivering) a better experience." He added that AI has already cut service contact rates by roughly 20%.
Earlier this year, Comcast announced a restructuring plan to split its media and entertainment assets from its connectivity, broadband and wireless businesses. As part of the plan, American media conglomerate NBCUniversal and European pay-TV giant Sky will be spun off together as a single, independent, publicly traded company.
The transaction will be structured as a tax-free spin-off to Comcast shareholders and is targeted for completion around mid-2027. Following the separation, NBCUniversal will oversee its film studios, theme parks, television networks, news and the Peacock streaming service, with Sky serving as its European arm. Comcast, meanwhile, will focus on broadband, wireless, business services and cable TV.