Comcast (CMCSA) trades at 24.55 dollars as it splits connectivity from NBCUniversal. See what price, RSI and dividend yield reveal about the breakup.
Comcast Corp (NASDAQ:CMCSA) is the cable and broadband giant that also owns NBCUniversal, and it is now unwinding that arrangement. The company plans to split its connectivity business from its media and entertainment operations, a move that sent shares up 1.65% to 24.55 dollars on the day the strategy came into sharper focus for investors.
At a Glance
- Share price: 24.55 dollars, up 1.65% on the day
- 52 week range: 22.12 to 32.08 dollars
- Market cap: 82.77 billion dollars
- Dividend yield: 5.38%
- RSI: 55.5, a neutral reading
Why Comcast Is Splitting Now
The logic behind Comcast's 2011 purchase of a controlling stake in NBCUniversal was straightforward at the time: bundle cable channels with broadband pipes and let each business feed the other. Streaming broke that logic apart. Viewers now reach content through dozens of apps rather than a cable box, and that shift has made it harder for Wall Street to put a clean value on a company straddling both worlds.
Comcast co-CEO Mike Cavanagh, who is set to become NBCUniversal's chief executive once the separation is complete, told investors this week that the company had simply reconsidered its earlier thinking. He said Comcast now believes each business needs its own focus and speed to succeed, and that keeping them tied together no longer serves either one well.
What the Split Changes Operationally
On the connectivity side, Comcast is facing sharpened competition from fixed wireless offerings at T-Mobile and Verizon, along with fiber expansion from AT&T. Freed from the media business, Comcast's broadband unit can direct more capital toward network upgrades. The company is also bringing back former CFO Michael Angelakis, a close ally of chair and co-CEO Brian Roberts, to run the connectivity arm and steer it through the transition.
Separately, the cable business gains room to respond to industry consolidation, including Charter's merger with Cox earlier this year. Executives say no major acquisitions are imminent, but a standalone connectivity company would face less regulatory scrutiny than one still linked to a broadcast media arm, potentially opening doors that were previously closed.
NBCUniversal, for its part, would no longer need to weigh how its own deals affect Comcast's broader interests. Roberts said the media unit would be
