Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

The analysis of the key financial turnover ratios and related periods over multiple quarters reveals several notable trends and fluctuations.

Receivables Turnover Ratio

The receivables turnover ratio generally fluctuates within a range of approximately 8.77 to 10.18 over the observed periods. It reached a peak around mid-2022 quarters, indicating more efficient collection of receivables during that time. Subsequently, there is a slight decline toward late 2023 and 2024, suggesting a mild decrease in collection effectiveness. However, the ratio exhibits signs of stabilization toward the end of the timeline with values around 9.3 to 9.6.

Payables Turnover Ratio

This ratio remains relatively stable throughout the periods examined, with values fluctuating narrowly between 2.96 and 3.27. It shows a minor peak in mid-2025, reflecting a slightly faster payment to suppliers. Overall, the company maintains consistent payment practices, with no significant deviation or volatility observed.

Working Capital Turnover Ratio

Data on the working capital turnover ratio is largely missing, with an isolated value of 165.1 for one quarter, which is unusually high and may indicate either a data anomaly or a significant change in working capital efficiency during that specific period. Due to limited data points, no trend or meaningful analysis can be conducted for this ratio.

Average Receivable Collection Period (Days)

The average collection period remains fairly steady, generally oscillating between 36 and 42 days. There is a slight increase toward the end of 2023 and into 2024, peaking at 42 days, which correlates with the dip in receivables turnover ratio, indicating a slower collection cycle. However, the collection period decreases marginally afterward, returning closer to prior averages by mid-2025.

Average Payables Payment Period (Days)

The average payment period to creditors exhibits some variation but stays predominantly in the range from 112 to 123 days. There is a slight shortening of payment periods in early to mid-2024, followed by a lengthening again toward the end of the dataset. These movements imply minor adjustments in supplier payment policy or cash flow management but do not signify any drastic operational changes.

In summary, the turnover ratios and collection/payment periods suggest consistent operational performance with moderate fluctuations in receivables efficiency and stable payables management. The data does not indicate any significant deteriorations or improvements but reflects typical cyclical variations expected in financial operations over multiple quarters.

Revenue Trends

Over the observed periods, revenue exhibits a general pattern of fluctuation with no consistent upward or downward trajectory. Starting at approximately 27.2 billion USD, revenue increased steadily through 2021, peaking near 31 billion USD in early 2022. Subsequent quarters show variability, with periods of decline and recovery. Notably, there is a marked increase in late 2024, reaching over 32 billion USD, representing the highest point in the series. The fluctuations suggest seasonal or market-driven influences but no persistent growth or contraction trend.

Receivables, Net

The net receivables balance displays a gradual increase throughout the periods, with initial values around 11 billion USD progressing to highs exceeding 14 billion USD near the end of 2024. This upward trend suggests expanding credit extended to customers or potentially slower collection periods. Temporary dips and partial recoveries occur but the overall trajectory is positive, indicating either growth in sales on credit terms or lengthier accounts receivable cycles.

Receivables Turnover Ratio

The receivables turnover ratio fluctuates moderately, starting close to 9.5 times per period and peaking above 10 in mid-2022. Following this peak, the ratio shows a declining trend toward late 2024, falling below 9 on multiple occasions. The lower turnover rates in the later periods suggest a slowdown in the collection process relative to sales, implying that receivables are being converted into cash less frequently. This aligns with the increase in net receivables and may indicate extended payment terms or collection challenges.

Overall Observations

The combination of relatively stable but fluctuating revenue, increasing receivables, and a decreasing turnover ratio may point to pressure in working capital management. Specifically, while sales remain strong and generally stable, the ability to quickly collect receivables appears to be weakening over time, potentially impacting liquidity. The cyclical nature of revenue alongside changes in receivables efficiency suggests a need for continued monitoring of credit policies and collection procedures.

The analysis of the quarterly financial data reveals notable patterns and fluctuations across several key items, reflecting various operational and financial dynamics.

Programming and Production Expenses

These expenses exhibit a cyclical pattern with peaks and troughs over the observed periods. The values started at approximately $8.9 billion and showed an upward trend in early 2021, reaching a high near $10.4 billion in the third quarter of 2021. Subsequently, there was a modest decline followed by fluctuations around the $9 billion mark through most of 2022 and early 2023. Noteworthy peaks occurred again in late 2023 and 2024, with expenses surpassing $10 billion in several quarters, followed by dips in mid to late 2024. The most recent data suggests some volatility but maintains levels generally between $7.5 billion and $10.3 billion, indicating variable but substantial investment in programming and production costs.

Accounts Payable and Accrued Expenses Related to Trade Creditors

This liability item showed a gradual upward trajectory from about $11.1 billion to approximately $12.7 billion in early 2022, reflecting an increase in payables. Following this peak, balances remained relatively stable, oscillating around the $12 billion to $12.5 billion range through 2022 and 2023. Starting in 2024, the balances generally declined to near $11.3 billion by the end of 2024, with slight increases again in 2025 but remaining below early 2022 peaks. This pattern may indicate management's efforts to optimize payment terms or changes in trade creditors’ volume.

Payables Turnover Ratio

The payables turnover ratio, representing how quickly payables are paid off, remained within a narrow band from approximately 2.9 to 3.3 times over the periods examined. The ratio peaked at around 3.27 times in the second quarter of 2025, suggesting faster payment cycles during that period, while lower points near 2.96 times occurred in late 2023. Overall, the ratio reflects relatively stable management of payables with minor fluctuations potentially linked to changes in supplier terms or working capital needs.

In summary, the data demonstrates that programming and production expenses are significant and subject to periodic variations, likely influenced by content investment strategies and seasonal factors. Concurrently, accounts payable trends suggest moderate fluctuation in liability levels with some evidence of tightening in payables during 2024. The payables turnover ratio's stability indicates consistent, efficient payment practices over time. Collectively, these trends provide insights into operational cost management and liquidity practices within the firm.

The quarterly financial data demonstrates several notable trends in working capital, revenue, and working capital turnover over the periods analyzed.

Working Capital

The working capital values exhibit significant volatility and generally negative figures throughout most of the periods. Initially, the working capital was negative with -1,373 million US dollars as of March 31, 2021, and it fluctuated greatly, reaching a positive value of 689 million US dollars in September 30, 2021. Subsequently, it reverted to large negative values through 2022 and 2023, with a particularly sharp decline occurring in December 2021 (-4,541 million US dollars) and even more pronounced negative levels at the end of 2023 (-16,211 million US dollars). While there was some improvement in relative terms during early and mid-2024, values again fell substantially by June 2025. Overall, the data reveals persistent challenges in maintaining positive working capital, indicating potential liquidity constraints or aggressive asset-liability management.

Revenue

The revenue figures show a more stable and upward trend, with modest fluctuations from quarter to quarter. Starting from 27,205 million US dollars in March 2021, revenue increased steadily to cross the 30,000 million US dollars mark by early 2022. Although some quarters show slight decreases or plateaus, revenue mostly oscillated between approximately 29,000 and 32,000 million US dollars throughout the subsequent periods. The highest revenue recorded was 32,070 million US dollars for September 2024, indicating overall growth with some degree of seasonal or cyclical variability.

Working Capital Turnover

Working capital turnover is only available for one quarter (September 30, 2021), reported at 165.1 ratio. This unusually high figure at that point in time corresponds to the quarter where working capital experienced a positive spike. The absence of additional data limits trend analysis, but the provided ratio suggests a significant efficiency in using working capital during that quarter.

In summary, the company’s revenue performance reflects consistent growth and stability across the observed quarters, whereas working capital management exhibits considerable volatility with predominantly negative balances, implying funding or operational liquidity pressures. The isolated working capital turnover measure indicates a temporary improvement in capital utilization efficiency during late 2021, but no further assessment can be made due to lack of data. Continued monitoring of working capital trends is recommended to assess liquidity risks and operational efficiency alongside sustained revenue growth.

The receivables turnover ratio exhibits fluctuations over the observed periods, generally oscillating between approximately 8.8 and 10.2. Initially, the ratio increased from 9.48 to a peak near 10.18 around mid-2022, indicating relatively efficient collections during that time frame. However, a downward trend followed, with the ratio declining to as low as 8.77 by late 2024 before experiencing minor recoveries toward early 2025. This suggests some variability in the efficiency of converting receivables into cash over the periods.

Concurrently, the average receivable collection period in days displays an inverse relationship with the receivables turnover ratio, as expected. The collection period remained fairly stable around 36 to 38 days for much of the timeframe but saw a gradual increase towards 40 to 42 days in the later quarters prior to returning closer to 38-39 days by early 2025. This pattern points to occasional lengthening of the time it takes to collect receivables, reflecting slightly reduced collection efficiency in those periods.

Receivables Turnover Ratio

Demonstrated moderate variability, peaking mid-2022, declining subsequently, and showing minor improvement towards early 2025.

Average Receivable Collection Period

Varied inversely to turnover ratio, mostly stable around 36-38 days initially, increasing to around 40-42 days during late 2023 to 2024, then trending slightly downward.

Overall, the data reflect periodic shifts in collection efficiency, with no sustained upward or downward trend but intermittent fluctuations. These oscillations may be indicative of external factors affecting customer payment behavior or internal credit management policies. The company appears to maintain a relatively consistent receivable cycle, with only moderate deviations around the core collection period of approximately 38 days.

Payables Turnover Ratio

The payables turnover ratio demonstrates moderate fluctuations over the observed periods. Starting at 3.03 in March 2021, it showed a gradual upward trend reaching a peak of 3.27 in December 2024. This indicates a generally improving ability to pay off payables quickly during this timeframe. However, minor declines were noted intermittently, specifically towards the end of 2023 and in the latest periods of 2025, where the ratio decreased to values slightly below 3. Such variations suggest some inconsistencies but overall maintain a level indicating efficient management of payables.

Average Payables Payment Period

The average payables payment period in days exhibits an inverse relationship to the payables turnover ratio, consistent with financial understanding. The period decreased from 121 days in March 2021 to a low of 112 days in June 2025, reflecting faster payments to suppliers. This improvement was not linear, as there were intervals where the payment period lengthened, notably rising to 123 days at the end of 2023 and again slightly increasing towards the end of the data range. These fluctuations denote a variable pace in settling payables, though the overall trend points toward a modest reduction in days payable over the multi-year span.

Summary of Trends

The analyzed metrics collectively suggest a general improvement in payables management efficiency over the observed quarters. The upward movement in payables turnover coupled with a declining average payment period indicates a tendency towards quicker payment cycles. Despite this, periodic reversals in trends imply external or internal factors affecting payment timing intermittently. Maintaining or enhancing this efficiency could support stronger supplier relationships and improved cash flow management.