Comcast is reportedly planning major job cuts in its cable division as the company continues to lose residential broadband and TV customers. Comcast lost 144,000 residential broadband customers in the third quarter of 2026, compared to 91,000 customers in the same quarter a year ago, the company announced in its earnings report today.
Comcast has historically capitalized on the lack of competition in the wireline broadband space. But it now faces stronger competition from fixed wireless providers and fiber optic providers in parts of its wired territory.
“Fixed wireless remains aggressive and continues to take market share, while fiber buildout remains elevated, with pockets of irrational pricing and promotional activity,” Comcast co-CEO Mike Cavanagh said on an earnings conference call today.
Comcast Chief Financial Officer Jason Armstrong said fiber carriers’ “irrational pricing” includes monthly broadband deals of $30 to $40 “in specific markets in the third quarter.” He said a price of $30 to $40 is irrational because fiber optic deployment costs $1,500 or more per home and “gets more and more expensive as construction costs increase as you get into suburban and rural areas.”
“If we look at the return profile of that, we think it’s irrational competition,” Armstrong said. Although it didn’t name specific competitors, Verizon offers FiOS fiber plans that start at $30 per month. Comcast’s network is a mix of fiber and cable and only offers fiber to the home in small portions of its cable territory.
Armstrong said more Comcast customers are leaving when they face “price transitions,” apparently referring to the price increases customers get when promotional deals expire. “We have refined our offerings and retention strategies to better manage these transitions and strengthen customer loyalty,” he said.
Cavanagh said “satellite is not yet a significant factor” in the competition Comcast faces, but that Comcast is focused on “anticipating emerging forms of competition and positioning our business to respond to market developments.”
Fewer jobs, more AI agents
After the latest quarterly decline, Comcast has 28.3 million residential broadband customers in the United States. Comcast said it has a plan to turn things around.
“We have embarked on the most significant operational and cost transformation in our company’s history, with an opportunity that we believe will ultimately be in the billions of dollars,” Cavanagh said. The organizational changes will result in a “significant charge” of more than $1 billion to apply in the fourth-quarter earnings report, Armstrong said.
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