Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA) and Charter Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHTR) both reported second-quarter results in the same week, and they told very different stories. Comcast is splitting itself in two, spinning off NBCUniversal and Sky, while its streaming service Peacock just posted its first-ever profit. Charter Communications is doing the opposite, closing a $21.9 billion deal to buy Cox Communications and bet on more cable scale, even as its core broadband business shrank faster than Wall Street expected.
Why Two Cable Giants Are Taking Opposite Paths
Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA) plans to complete its media spinoff within a year, separating NBCUniversal, Sky, and Peacock from its broadband and cable business. Peacock turned its first quarterly profit, $189 million, on World Cup and “Love Island USA” viewership, even as Comcast lost 167,000 domestic broadband customers in the quarter. Meanwhile, Charter Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHTR) is finishing its Cox acquisition and betting that more scale will help it fight fixed wireless and fiber rivals, even though it lost 172,000 broadband customers, worse than analysts expected. The firm had to cut its full-year profit outlook because of it.
This makes you question: is splitting up the smarter answer to cable’s slow decline, or is buying more of it, the way Charter Communications is doing with Cox, the better bet?
Comcast’s Bull and Bear Case
Peacock added 2 million subscribers in the quarter, nearly four times what analysts expected, reaching 48 million total, and its revenue rose 54% to $1.9 billion. NBCUniversal’s content and experiences business grew revenue almost 23% year over year. Comcast just struck a deal to bring Peacock to YouTube Premium’s more than 125 million subscribers starting in 2027. The spinoff itself could unlock value since Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA) trades cheaper than 97% of the S&P 500 on an earnings basis. MoffettNathanson’s Craig Moffett said the split means Comcast “sheds its conglomerate discount.”
However, broadband losses widened to 167,000 customers, worse than analysts expected, and profit fell to 99 cents a share from $2.98 a year earlier. Theme parks also softened, with Orlando attendance weakening and Osaka and Beijing hurt by China-related travel restrictions, pulling park profit down 5.1%. Zacks’ Brian Mulberry warned that winning back customers could mean incentives “that could eat away again at that future profitability.”
Charter’s Bull and Bear Case
Charter Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHTR)’s profit beat expectations, $10.66 a share versus $9.98 expected, and mobile kept growing, adding 406,000 lines, more than forecast. Video losses came in smaller than expected too, helped by bundling and cheaper ad-supported streaming apps. CEO Chris Winfrey said the pending Cox deal, expected to close in mid-to-late August, should “drive better internet customer performance and unit growth.”
Nonetheless, this was Charter Communications’ fourth straight quarter of declining revenue, and broadband losses of 172,000 customers came in well above estimates, forcing Charter Communications to cut its full-year profit forecast to a roughly 1% decline instead of the slight growth it had guided to before. Shares fell as much as 13% on the news before paring losses. The company is also fighting bankrupt Dish Wireless in arbitration after Dish abandoned a 5G network Charter Communications had helped build, leaving the firm an unsecured creditor with an uncertain recovery.
Insider Monkey’s Hedge Fund Data
Insider Monkey’s hedge fund database shows Comcast had 78 hedge fund holders as of Q1 2026, down from 95 the quarter before, with the dollar value held falling from about $4.90 billion to $3.47 billion. Charter Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHTR) had 48 hedge fund holders as of Q1 2026, down from 62 the quarter before. Comcast still has substantially more hedge funds behind it in absolute terms.
Closest peers by sector are AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile: AT&T had 72 hedge fund holders, Verizon had 75, and T-Mobile had 85. Comcast sits right in the middle of that group, while Charter Communications trails all of them.
Conclusion
Comcast and Charter Communications are both fighting the same problem: a shrinking broadband business, with opposite strategies. Comcast is betting that breaking up unlocks more value than staying combined, leaning on Peacock and NBCUniversal for growth. Charter Communications is betting that buying Cox and adding scale is the better answer. Both companies beat profit estimates this quarter, but both also lost more broadband customers than Wall Street wanted. Hedge funds have a clear preference between the two: Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA) wins, with more holders in absolute terms and a smaller pullback heading into this year.
READ NEXT: Hedge Funds Are Bullish on DXC Technology (DXC) and Honeywell Technologies (HON)’s First Earnings as a Standalone Company: Bull vs Bear Analysis.
Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
Hedge Fund Resource Center