Comcast Corp CMCSA shares were climbing in on Friday, after having tanked in the previous trading session following the release of the company's fourth-quarter results.

The company reported its quarterly results amid an exciting earnings season. Here are some key analyst takeaways.

BofA Securities On Comcast

Analyst Jessica Reif Ehrlich downgraded the rating from Buy to Neutral, while slashing the price target from $50 to $38.

Comcast continues to lose broadband market share amid a competitive environment "with still ramping FWA deployments and accelerating fiber builds," Reif Ehrlich said in the downgrade note. The U.S. broadband market has significantly matured, resulting in limited industry growth going ahead, she added.

The company's guidance for ARPU (average revenue per user) growth shows a softening to 3%-4%, "as it leans in converged (i.e. discounted) offerings," the analyst stated. "Peacock requires increased investment which will continue to be a drag on results," she further wrote.

Benchmark On Comcast

Analyst Matthew Harrigan reaffirmed a Buy rating while reducing the price target to $55.

Comcast's stock tanked on Thursday after the company's broadband unit growth missed expectations again, Harrigan said. The stock was also impacted by President Michael Cavanaugh suggesting that Xfinity "could retreat from its 3%-4% broadband pricing collar if highly desirable to support a new connectivity bundled approach with greater emphasis on mobile," he added.

The implied valuation of Connectivity & Platforms based on Comcast's current share price suggests the loss of 1.25 million broadband customers annually "with a complete absence of pricing power," the analyst stated.

Goldman Sachs On Comcast

Analyst Michael Ng reiterated a Buy rating while cutting the price target from $50 to $44.

Comcast's consolidated revenue of $31.9 billion came in ahead of the consensus of $31.6 billion, with adjusted earnings of 96 cents per share topping expectations of 86 per share, Ng said in a note. Management raised the dividend by eight cents to $1.32 per share for 2025 and the board approved a new share repurchase authorization of $15 billion, he added.

"CMCSA is now more aggressively using wireless as a tool to drive subscriber acquisition and retention resulting in near-term margin headwinds from elevated direct product costs, marketing, and ARPU headwinds," the analyst stated. The company's domestic broadband net additions could contract by 496,000 in 2025 and ARPU growth comes in at 3.0%, the low-end of the 3%-4% guidance range, he further stated.

Check out other analyst stock ratings.

Oppenheimer On Comcast

Analyst Timothy Horan maintained an Outperform rating and price target of $55.

Comcast's strong fourth-quarter results were "largely overshadowed by weak subscriber growth, Content & Experiences EBITDA guidance, and management not reiterating broadband ARPU growth of 3%-4%," Horan said. The company would find it difficult to grow revenue and EBITDA in 2025, given tough comps and investments in Theme Parks and Studios, he added.

Management plans to launch more aggressive promotions and pricing to stem the loss of share in broadband, the analyst stated. This is a risk to the Connectivity & Platforms revenues and margins, he further said.

Scotiabank On Comcast

Analyst Maher Yaghi reiterated a Sector Outperform rating and price target of $48.

Comcast reported strong quarterly results but faced "continued pressure on broadband loading," Yaghi said. Although the company's subscriber losses in the fourth quarter were within expectations, "the stock is likely to remain pressured until those trends begin to revert," he added.

Given its strong balance sheet, Comcast is returning "significant capital to shareholders," with a large share repurchase plan, the analyst stated. "We believe the company is well positioned to continue to invest in its networks, but until we see a sustainable recovery in broadband subscriber additions, valuation multiples will likely be hard to expand," he further wrote.

Rosenblatt Securities On Comcast

Analyst Barton Crockett reaffirmed a Neutral rating on the stock.

Comcast's revenues grew by 2% year-on-year to $31.9 billion, while adjuste4d EBITDA rose 10% to $8.8 billion, Crockett said. Both topped consensus by around $300 million, he added.

The decline in the stock was the biggest single-day loss in over five years, the analyst stated. This was due to a steeper decline in broadband subscribers than was feared as well as the softening of ARPU guidance, he further mentioned.

CMCSA Price Action: Shares of Comcast had risen by 1.13% to $33.63 at the time of publication on Friday.

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