Comcast revenue boosted by streaming growth at Peacock — but shares plunge 5%

Comcast  beat quarterly revenue estimates on Thursday driven by higher-than-expected subscriber growth at its Peacock streaming service and strong attendance at its theme parks.

But shares of the company fell more than 5%.

Peacock added 3 million subscribers in the first quarter, taking its total to 34 million and outpacing estimates of 2.32 million by Visible Alpha, thanks to higher investments that Comcast hopes will help it compete better with Netflix  and Disney+.

Peacock became the first streaming service to exclusively air an NFL playoff game in January, which was one of its biggest growth drivers in the quarter.

It also benefited from the release of 2023 hit “Oppenheimer” on Peacock in February, which became one of the most watched movies in its history.

Revenue at the streaming service rose about 54% from a year earlier, helping Comcast report a total revenue of $30.06 billion.