Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Net Operating Profit After Taxes (NOPAT)

The net operating profit after taxes exhibited significant fluctuations over the analyzed period. It increased notably from 14,617 million USD in 2020 to a peak of 19,205 million USD in 2021. However, a sharp decline was observed in 2022, with NOPAT falling to 6,839 million USD. This drop was followed by a recovery in 2023 and 2024, where the figures rose to 16,517 million USD and then to 18,803 million USD, respectively. This pattern indicates volatility in operating performance, with a substantial dip in 2022 sandwiched between periods of stronger profitability.

Cost of Capital

The cost of capital showed a relatively stable trend over the five years, fluctuating slightly between 9.99% and 10.97%. It increased marginally from 10.75% in 2020 to a peak of 10.97% in 2021 before decreasing towards 9.99% in 2024. The modest decline in the cost of capital by 2024 suggests an improvement in the company's perceived risk or capital efficiency during this final year.

Invested Capital

Invested capital demonstrated a decreasing trend overall. Starting at 224,149 million USD in 2020, it marginally increased to 229,233 million USD in 2021, before declining steadily in the subsequent years to reach 215,148 million USD in 2024. This downward trend reflects a cautious or selective deployment of capital, possibly aligning with shifts in operational strategy or asset management.

Economic Profit

Economic profit, calculated as the difference between NOPAT and the cost of capital applied to invested capital, remained negative throughout the observed period. The deficit improved from -9,484 million USD in 2020 to -5,941 million USD in 2021, indicating a reduction in value destruction. However, 2022 saw a significant worsening to -16,228 million USD, correlating with the sharp fall in NOPAT noted that year. Improvement followed in 2023 and 2024, with deficits narrowing to -6,633 million USD and -2,693 million USD respectively. Despite this recovery, the persistent negative economic profit suggests that the company has been unable to generate returns that cover its cost of capital during these years, although the margin of loss has diminished substantially by 2024.

The financial data reveals notable fluctuations and a generally positive trend in profitability over the five-year period.

Net Income Attributable to Comcast Corporation

The net income increased significantly from 10,534 million US dollars in 2020 to 14,159 million US dollars in 2021, indicating a strong growth phase. However, there was a sharp decline in 2022 to 5,370 million US dollars, representing a substantial decrease from the previous year. This drop was followed by a robust recovery in 2023, with net income rising to 15,388 million US dollars, surpassing earlier levels. The upward trend continued in 2024 with net income further increasing to 16,192 million US dollars, reaching the highest point in the five-year span.

Net Operating Profit After Taxes (NOPAT)

NOPAT exhibited a similar pattern to net income. It increased from 14,617 million US dollars in 2020 to 19,205 million US dollars in 2021, reflecting improved operational profitability. In 2022, NOPAT dropped sharply to 6,839 million US dollars, mirroring the decline seen in net income. Following the decline, NOPAT rose again to 16,517 million US dollars in 2023, nearly returning to its previous peak. This increase continued into 2024, reaching 18,803 million US dollars, indicating strengthened operational efficiency and profitability.

Overall, the data shows a period of growth through 2021, followed by a significant contraction in 2022. The company demonstrated resilience with a strong recovery in 2023 and further improvement in 2024. Both net income and NOPAT followed consistent trends, suggesting that the fluctuations in net income were largely driven by changes in operational performance. The recovery and subsequent growth imply effective management responses to the downturn experienced in 2022.

The financial data over the five-year period reveals fluctuations in both income tax expense and cash operating taxes. Income tax expense exhibited a rising trend from 2020 through 2021, increasing significantly from 3,364 million USD to 5,259 million USD. In 2022, there was a decline to 4,359 million USD, followed by a rebound to 5,371 million USD in 2023. The most recent figure for 2024 shows a pronounced reduction to 2,796 million USD, representing the lowest value in the five-year span.

Cash operating taxes present a less consistent pattern. There was an initial decrease from 4,911 million USD in 2020 to 4,326 million USD in 2021. However, this was followed by a sharp increase in 2022 to 6,068 million USD, and a further substantial rise in 2023, reaching 9,025 million USD. In 2024, cash operating taxes dropped significantly to 4,622 million USD, nearing the levels observed at the start of the period.

Income Tax Expense Trends

Overall, income tax expenses experienced volatility with peaks in 2021 and 2023, and a notable trough in 2024, indicating possible changes in taxable income, tax rates, or deductions impacting the tax burden.

Cash Operating Taxes Trends

The pattern suggests variability with a dip in 2021, followed by two consecutive years of sharp increases and a steep decline in 2024. This could reflect fluctuations in operating profits, changes in tax regulations, or timing differences in tax payments.

Comparative Insights

Both tax-related measures show significant increases in 2023 followed by reductions in 2024, possibly indicating strategic tax planning or extraordinary items affecting tax calculations in those years. The divergence in 2022 and 2023, where cash operating taxes increased sharply yet income tax expense moved relatively moderately, might point to differences between tax liability and cash tax payments during the periods.

The financial data presents trends across a five-year period from 2020 to 2024 for key balance sheet items related to debt, equity, and invested capital.

Total reported debt & leases

The total reported debt and leases showed a decreasing trend from 2020 to 2022, falling from 108,218 million US dollars to 101,593 million US dollars. However, from 2022 onwards, there was a gradual increase, reaching 105,413 million US dollars by the end of 2024. This indicates some degree of deleveraging followed by a moderate uptrend in debt levels, suggesting a cautious approach to leverage after a period of reduction.

Total Comcast Corporation shareholders’ equity

Shareholders’ equity increased from 90,323 million US dollars in 2020 to a peak of 96,092 million US dollars in 2021. Following this peak, there was a sharp decline to 80,943 million US dollars in 2022. Equity subsequently experienced a mild recovery, increasing to 85,560 million US dollars by 2024. This pattern suggests significant changes in retained earnings or other comprehensive income components during 2022, possibly reflecting impactful operational results or adjustments, with partial restoration of equity in later years.

Invested capital

Invested capital increased slightly from 224,149 million US dollars in 2020 to 229,233 million US dollars in 2021, then declined steadily to 213,605 million US dollars in 2022 and further to 211,709 million US dollars in 2023. A slight recovery was observed in 2024, with invested capital increasing to 215,148 million US dollars. The overall trend points to a cautious reduction in invested capital post-2021, with a minor resurgence in the most recent year.

In summary, the period is characterized by an initial improvement in equity and invested capital until 2021, followed by a notable decrease in equity and invested capital in 2022, coinciding with the lowest debt level in the analyzed timeframe. The subsequent years show moderate recovery in equity and invested capital alongside a gradual increase in debt levels, indicating strategic adjustments in financial structure after a phase of deleveraging and equity decline.

Economic Profit

The economic profit demonstrates a fluctuating but overall negative trend over the five-year period. Starting at -9,484 million US dollars in 2020, the loss eased significantly in 2021 to -5,941 million. However, in 2022, the loss sharply increased to -16,228 million, marking the largest deficit during this period. This was followed by an improvement in 2023 to -6,633 million and a further reduction in loss to -2,693 million in 2024. The data suggests volatility with intermittent recovery phases but consistently negative economic profit throughout.

Invested Capital

The invested capital showed moderate variation. The value increased from 224,149 million US dollars in 2020 to 229,233 million in 2021, indicating growth. Thereafter, it declined over the next two years, falling to 213,605 million in 2022 and 211,709 million in 2023, before rebounding slightly to 215,148 million in 2024. This pattern suggests adjustments in the capital base with a peak in 2021 followed by a contraction and a partial recovery by the end of the period.

Economic Spread Ratio

The economic spread ratio consistently remained negative throughout the period, indicating that the returns on invested capital were below the cost of capital. It started at -4.23% in 2020 and improved somewhat in 2021 to -2.59%. Nevertheless, it deteriorated significantly in 2022 to -7.6%, reflecting a substantial decline in economic efficiency. Subsequent years showed recovery trends, with the ratio improving to -3.13% in 2023 and further to -1.25% in 2024, though it did not reach positive territory during the timeframe analyzed.

Revenue Trends

The adjusted revenue demonstrates a consistent upward trend over the five-year period. It increased steadily from $103,891 million in 2020 to $124,043 million in 2024, indicating sustained growth in the company's top line.

Economic Profit Analysis

The company has consistently recorded negative economic profit throughout the period, reflecting that the economic cost of capital exceeded earnings generated. The economic profit margin, while negative, improved from -9.13% in 2020 to -2.17% in 2024, suggesting a narrowing loss gap relative to revenue.

Fluctuations in Economic Profit

The absolute economic profit figures exhibit considerable volatility. Notably, an exceptionally large negative figure appears in 2022 (-$16,228 million), which is a significant deviation from other years. This indicates a substantial economic loss during that year, followed by improvement in subsequent periods but still remaining negative.

Margin Improvement

Despite economic profits being negative across all years, the economic profit margin shows overall improvement, decreasing in magnitude from -9.13% to -2.17%. This implies that, relative to revenue, the company has reduced its economic losses over time, potentially through better cost management or increased operational efficiency.

Conclusion

Overall, while revenue growth has been steady and positive, persistent negative economic profit suggests challenges in generating value above the cost of capital. However, the improving economic profit margin and reduction in negative economic profit levels in the most recent years point to progress in financial performance effectiveness.