As it continues to feel the squeeze on its broadband and pay-TV operations, Comcast executives said today the company will take a $1 billion charge for the current fourth quarter that will include layoffs as part of an ongoing revamp of its core connectivity business of broadband, pay-TV and wireless.
The media giant flagged the charge during its third-quarter earnings call.
“We are fundamentally redesigning our organization,” CFO Jason Armstrong told analysts. “We’ve already made important leadership changes across customer experience, growth, and marketing. We’re simplifying our organizational structure to move faster, improve execution, and operate more efficiently.”
No specifics were offered about the scope of the cuts or specific timing, but they are not expected to impact NBCUniversal with that business set to be spun off into a new stand-alone public company. The split is on track to be completed by mid-2027.
Co-CEOs Mike Cavanagh and Brian Roberts talked up the pending transaction during the call, with Roberts noting employees’ “energy and excitement” about the move. Cavanagh, a former banker with significant M&A experience, is expected to explore a number of potential options for the new company, which he will run as CEO.
Asked on the call to delve deeper restructuring plan across the non-NBCU business, CFO Armstrong described it as a “transformation exercise” and a set of “cost actions that’ll facilitate a fast start into 2027.” Executives, he added, “don’t look at it as a cost-cutting exercise” but rather an effort to “simplify in order to move faster, to be more nimble in decision-making.”
Last year, Comcast elevated Steve Croney to CEO of Connectivity & Platforms business and tapped former Expedia and Apple Executive Jon Gieselman as chief growth officer for the residential domestic businesses of Connectivity & Platforms. The segment has been focused on customer service and new offerings with flexible packages and different price points to attract consumers.
It is making progress. Still, Q3 Connectivity & Platforms revenue fell 2.6% to $19.7 billion amid ongoing broadband subscriber losses, offset in part by the fast growing areas of Wireless and Business Services.
Elon Musk’s Starlink merited only a passing mention during the earnings call, but the IPO of Starlink parent SpaceX has only added to Musk’s vast fortune. Those resources, and an asset portfolio spanning AI, social media and electric vehicles along with space exploration, has started to weigh on a number of broadband and wireless providers.
Uneasiness about broadband providers amid still competition from telcos is reflected in recent stock movement. Comcast shares perked up on the earnings, rising 4% in late-day trading Thursday, but they are still down 18% in 2026 to date. Shares in rival Charter Communications’ have tumbled 46%.
“While satellite is not yet a material factor, we recognize the importance of anticipating emerging forms of competition and positioning our business to respond as the market evolves,” Cavanagh said.
Along with competitive pressures and ongoing cutting of the pay-TV cord, agentic AI tools have streamlined the customer service operations at Comcast. “We’ve already reduced customer service contact rates by roughly 20% and eliminated more than 30 million service interactions year to date versus the prior year,” Armstrong said. “As personal AI agents reshape how consumers discover, purchase, and manage services, we’re positioning Comcast to capitalize on that shift.”
Jill Goldsmith contributed to this post