Comcast Corporation

Structural note: Comcast's portfolio has changed substantially within the past year. It completed the spin-off of its cable-network business (USA Network, CNBC, MS NOW/formerly MSNBC, E!, SYFY, Golf Channel, Oxygen, plus Fandango and Rotten Tomatoes) into an independent public company, Versant Media Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: VSNT), on January 2, 2026. Separately, in June 2026 Comcast announced its intention to spin off NBCUniversal and Sky into a second independent public company, expected to complete in mid-2027; as of this entry, that transaction has not closed and Comcast still owns both businesses.

Overview

Comcast Corporation (Nasdaq: CMCSA) is a publicly traded American telecommunications and media company headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. As of this entry, its businesses include Xfinity residential broadband, cable television, and wireless service; Comcast Business; NBCUniversal (NBC, Telemundo, Universal Pictures, Peacock, and Universal Destinations & Experiences theme parks); and Sky, a European pay-TV and broadband provider (following the May 2026 sale of its Sky Germany operations).

Portfolio

• Xfinity: residential broadband, cable television, and mobile/wireless service.

• Comcast Business: connectivity and communications services for businesses.

• NBCUniversal: NBC and Telemundo broadcast networks, Peacock streaming service, Universal Pictures, and Universal Destinations & Experiences theme parks. NBCUniversal is included in Comcast's announced (but not yet completed) plan to spin off into an independent company by mid-2027.

• Sky: a pay-TV and broadband provider operating in the United Kingdom and other European markets, also part of the announced 2027 spin-off plan. Comcast sold its Sky Germany operations on May 31, 2026.

• No longer owned: Versant Media Group, Inc., comprising USA Network, CNBC, MS NOW (formerly MSNBC), E!, SYFY, Golf Channel, Oxygen, and digital platforms including Fandango, Rotten Tomatoes, GolfNow, GolfPass, and SportsEngine, was separated from Comcast as an independent public company (Nasdaq: VSNT) on January 2, 2026.

Ownership

Comcast is publicly traded with no parent company, but effective voting control rests with the Roberts family. Chairman and Co-CEO Brian L. Roberts, son of founder Ralph J. Roberts, holds all of Comcast's Class B common stock, which under the company's articles of incorporation carries a fixed, non-dilutable 33 1/3 percent of the combined voting power of Comcast's two classes of common stock, regardless of how many Class A shares are issued. Roberts' direct economic stake is much smaller, roughly 1 percent of total shares outstanding. The largest economic shareholders are institutional index-fund managers, including Vanguard, BlackRock, and State Street. The same Class B voting structure carried over to the spun-off Versant Media Group, where the Roberts family also holds approximately one-third of voting power.

History

Comcast was founded on June 28, 1963, when Ralph J. Roberts, with partners Daniel Aaron and Julian A. Brodsky, purchased American Cable Systems, a cable television operator with about 1,200 subscribers in Tupelo, Mississippi. The company was renamed Comcast Corporation and reincorporated in Pennsylvania in 1969, with headquarters moved to Philadelphia. Comcast grew through decades of cable-system acquisitions, acquired AT&T Broadband in 2002, and took control of NBCUniversal in stages beginning in 2011, becoming its sole owner in 2013. Comcast acquired European pay-TV operator Sky in 2018.

On October 31, 2024, Comcast announced its intention to separate most of NBCUniversal's cable television networks and complementary digital assets into an independent, publicly traded company. Comcast's board approved the separation on December 3, 2025, and the transaction, creating Versant Media Group, Inc., was completed January 2, 2026, with Versant beginning trading on Nasdaq (ticker VSNT) on January 5, 2026; MSNBC was renamed MS NOW as part of the separation. Mark Lazarus became Versant's chief executive officer. Effective January 2026, Michael J. Cavanagh, previously Comcast's president, became co-chief executive officer alongside Brian L. Roberts, becoming the first non-Roberts family member to hold Comcast's top executive role. In June 2026, Comcast announced its intention to separate into two independent public companies through a tax-free spin-off of NBCUniversal and Sky, expected to be completed in mid-2027; Comcast has said it expects to retain an ownership interest of up to 19.9 percent in the spun-off entity for up to one year following completion.

Leadership

• Brian L. Roberts is Chairman of the Board and Co-Chief Executive Officer of Comcast Corporation. He joined Comcast in 1981, became president in 1990, CEO in November 2002, and chairman in 2004. He is the son of founder Ralph J. Roberts.

• Michael J. Cavanagh is Co-Chief Executive Officer of Comcast Corporation, effective January 2026. He joined Comcast in 2015 as chief financial officer, became president in October 2022, and previously served as co-CEO of JPMorgan Chase's Corporate & Investment Bank.

Location and contact info

Headquarters
One Comcast Center
Philadelphia, PA 19103
Website. https://corporate.comcast.com