Comcast Stock on November 20, 2025: CMCSA Dips as Zacks Turns Bearish, MLB Rights Deal Expands Sports Portfolio, Warner Bros. Bid Looms

Published: November 20, 2025

Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ: CMCSA) spent Thursday under pressure as a fresh “Bear of the Day” call from Zacks, renewed concerns about broadband competition, and ongoing M&A speculation around Warner Bros. Discovery collided with a busy news day that also featured a major new Major League Baseball media-rights deal for NBCUniversal.

Comcast stock today: price, performance and valuation snapshot

As of late trading on Thursday, November 20, Comcast shares were trading around $26.6, down just under 1% on the day and roughly in line with the broader market, with the S&P 500 closing about 0.9% lower. ^[1]

Key numbers investors are watching today:

Last price: about $26.6
Day’s range: roughly $26.6–$27.1
Previous close: about $26.9 ^[2]
Market cap: ~$97 billion
52‑week range:$25.75–$44.03 ^[3]
Dividend:$1.32 per share annually, for a yield near 5% at today’s price ^[4]
Valuation: trailing P/E ~4.4, forward P/E ~6.6, with a beta below 1, highlighting both the stock’s discounted multiple and relatively defensive profile. ^[5]

Over the past year, Comcast has lost roughly 35–40% of its market value as the stock slid from the mid‑$40s to the mid‑$20s, materially underperforming the S&P 500. ^[6]

Why sentiment soured today: Zacks names Comcast its “Bear of the Day”

One of the most widely shared headlines on Thursday came from Zacks Investment Research, which designated Comcast as its “Bear of the Day,” assigning the stock a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell). ^[7]

Zacks highlighted several pressure points:

Long‑term underperformance: According to Zacks, Comcast shares have significantly lagged the broader market over the last five years, even before the recent slide. ^[8]
Cord‑cutting and video losses: The firm pointed to continued erosion in traditional pay‑TV, noting that Comcast shed roughly a quarter of a million video subscribers in Q3 2025, reinforcing a secular headwind in its legacy cable TV business. ^[9]
Broadband competition: Zacks emphasized growing pressure from fiber competitors and fixed‑wireless offerings from wireless operators, which is forcing Comcast to lean on more aggressive promotions and bundled pricing to retain customers. ^[10]
Earnings outlook: The research house also underscored that consensus forecasts now point to flat‑to‑declining earnings in 2026 and only low single‑digit revenue growth, a combination that they argue justifies a cautious stance despite the low valuation. ^[11]

The Zacks piece also referenced a “bear flag” technical pattern and relative weakness versus the S&P 500, reinforcing the narrative that CMCSA has been a serial underperformer despite seemingly solid fundamentals. ^[12]

For short‑term traders, that kind of widely syndicated “Strong Sell” call can amplify existing negative momentum — particularly in a stock already sitting near its 52‑week lows.

Hedge fund commentary: competition weighs on Q3, but story not broken

Another article making the rounds today came via Yahoo Finance / InsiderMonkey, summarizing commentary from value‑focused investors on Comcast’s recent performance. ^[13]

Key points from that piece:

Comcast’s one‑month return was roughly ‑8%, and its 52‑week loss was reported around ‑38%, underscoring how hard the stock has been hit over the last year. ^[14]
Q3 2025 revenue slipped about 3% year over year, with competition and promotional activity weighing on growth. ^[15]
Hedge‑fund managers cited intense broadband competition and the need for richer promotional offers as key reasons margins are under pressure, even as Comcast continues to generate substantial free cash flow. ^[16]

Crucially, that commentary does not portray Comcast as a broken business. Instead, it frames the company as a maturing connectivity franchise in a tougher competitive environment, where management must trade off near‑term profitability to defend market share and reposition for the long term.

Institutional flows: Traub Capital’s new stake and a heavily owned stock

On the more constructive side, a new MarketBeat report today flagged that Traub Capital Management LLC has initiated a position in Comcast, acquiring 18,146 shares in the second quarter, valued at about $648,000. ^[17]

The same article highlights that:

Multiple other institutional investors have recently added to their Comcast positions.
Overall institutional ownership is extremely high — various data providers put it at roughly 80–90% of the float, underscoring that CMCSA remains firmly in “big money” portfolios despite the drawdown. ^[18]
Across Wall Street, MarketBeat’s tally shows 11 Buy, 21 Hold and 2 Sell ratings, for an average “Hold” and a consensus price target around the mid‑$30s. ^[19]

That contrasts with StockAnalysis, which aggregates 23 analysts and pegs the average rating at “Buy” with a 12‑month price target of about $38.12 — implying more than 40% upside from today’s price. ^[20]

The takeaway: while Zacks is firmly in the bear camp today, the broader analyst community is split between “Hold” and “undervalued Buy” rather than uniformly negative.

Big sports news: MLB returns to NBC and Peacock in 2026

Beyond the day‑to‑day stock move, one of the most strategically significant headlines for Comcast today is the announcement that Major League Baseball is returning to NBC and Peacock in 2026 under a new three‑year media‑rights agreement. ^[21]

According to the press release carried by MarketScreener and other outlets:

The deal makes NBC, the new NBC Sports Network (NBCSN) and Peacock the exclusive home of Sunday Night Baseball, an expanded MLB Sunday Leadoff package and special Opening Day and Labor Day prime‑time games. ^[22]
NBCU platforms will carry the entire Wild Card round of the postseason and stream one out‑of‑market game per day on Peacock, alongside whip‑around coverage on Sunday afternoons. ^[23]
The agreement slots Sunday Night Baseball alongside Sunday Night Football and Sunday Night Basketball, giving NBC a year‑round prime‑time sports lineup built around the same night of the week. ^[24]

Separate coverage from CNBC, Reuters and The Wall Street Journal notes that MLB’s new rights deals with Netflix, NBCUniversal and ESPN are, in aggregate, valued at around $800 million per year, underscoring the financial scale of this new sports cycle. ^[25]

For Comcast shareholders, this matters because:

It deepens Peacock’s live‑sports offering, a key differentiator as the streaming market matures.
It leverages NBC’s long‑standing baseball heritage and cross‑promotional muscle across linear, streaming and international outlets (including Sky in the UK and Ireland). ^[26]
It also increases Comcast’s exposure to sports‑rights inflation, meaning execution on advertising, subscriptions and cross‑sell will be critical to turn this into a value‑creating deal rather than a margin drag.

This announcement lands just days after Reuters reported that NBCUniversal is also launching a new NBC Sports Network cable channel on November 17, extending Comcast’s sports footprint even further. ^[27]

M&A wild card: Warner Bros. Discovery auction and potential Comcast bid

The other storyline hovering over Comcast — even if no formal bid has been announced — is the ongoing auction process for Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD).

In recent days:

The Wall Street Journal has reported that Paramount Skydance, Comcast and Netflix are preparing bids for some or all of WBD’s assets as part of a formal auction that the company aims to wrap up by year‑end. ^[28]
Reuters coverage notes that WBD’s board is pushing Paramount to sweeten its roughly $71 billion offer and that Comcast and Netflix have been exploring bids, though Comcast is believed to be more interested in select assets such as HBO and Warner Bros. studios rather than the entire debt‑heavy company. ^[29]
The Los Angeles Times and New York Post have both described a high‑stakes bidding contest that has captivated Hollywood, with Comcast CEO Brian Roberts reportedly confident in his ability to compete but facing skepticism from some on Wall Street who fear a large, complex deal. ^[30]

While there were no confirmed deal terms from Comcast today, the November 20 first‑round bid deadline has kept the story front‑and‑center and may be contributing to a “deal‑risk discount” in CMCSA shares. Investors tend to worry that big media acquisitions can saddle buyers with debt, regulatory headaches and integration challenges — all of which could weigh on Comcast’s stock in the short term, even if synergies look attractive on paper.

Regulatory backdrop: FCC scrutiny still in the picture

Adding another layer of complexity, a fresh Reuters piece today on U.S. media regulation referenced ongoing Federal Communications Commission scrutiny of Comcast’s relationships with local TV affiliates.

The article noted that FCC Chairman Brendan Carr earlier this year opened a probe into affiliate agreements involving NBC‑parent Comcast, a process that remains a potential overhang as regulators reassess how national networks and local stations share programming and advertising economics. ^[31]

While there was no new enforcement action announced today, the renewed mention of that probe in national coverage is a reminder that Comcast’s scale in U.S. media continues to attract regulatory attention — an important consideration if the company ultimately pursues a WBD deal.

How the business is actually performing: Q3 2025 recap

Beneath the headlines, Comcast’s Q3 2025 earnings, released on October 30, still frame the fundamental story that investors are reacting to. ^[32]

Highlights from that quarter:

Earnings beat, revenue dip:
- Adjusted EPS came in at $1.12, slightly above consensus estimates of about $1.10.
- Revenue was $31.2 billion, down roughly 2.7% year over year and a bit below Wall Street’s expectations, largely because the prior year benefited from a big boost from the Paris Olympics. ^[33]
Free cash flow strength: Free cash flow jumped roughly 45% year over year to just under $5 billion, giving Comcast ample capacity to fund dividends and share buybacks. ^[34]
Connectivity & Platforms (broadband, video, wireless):
- Residential connectivity revenue slipped about 1.5%, reflecting more promotional pricing and a still‑soft housing/move market.
- Business services grew around 6%, a relative bright spot.
- Wireless remained a standout, with about 414,000 lines added, pushing Comcast’s mobile penetration above 14% of its broadband base and driving wireless revenue growth in the mid‑teens. ^[35]
- Overall EBITDA in this segment fell roughly 3–4%, reflecting the cost of more aggressive customer offers. ^[36]
Media, Studios and Theme Parks:
- Media EBITDA rose nearly 30%, helped by shrinking losses at Peacock.
- Peacock’s EBITDA loss narrowed by more than $200 million year over year to roughly $200 million‑plus, marking real progress toward breakeven.
- Theme parks posted double‑digit revenue and EBITDA growth, supported by new attractions and still‑healthy travel demand. ^[37]

On a trailing 12‑month basis, Comcast has generated around $123 billion in revenue and over $22 billion in net income, reinforcing the gap between the company’s earnings power and its single‑digit P/E multiple. ^[38]

Community and connectivity initiatives: digital divide efforts continue

While not needle‑movers for the share price on their own, Comcast also continues to roll out digital inclusion and rural connectivity initiatives that shape its long‑term reputation and regulatory goodwill:

This week the company announced $2.5 million in grants to Lead for America and Partners for Rural Impact as part of Project UP, its $1 billion digital opportunity program. The funding will support digital‑skills “navigators” across multiple rural states and expand training and access for underserved communities. ^[39]
Recent press releases also highlight network expansions in Blair County, Pennsylvania, new Xfinity stores, and grants to community organizations in Michigan and elsewhere. ^[40]

These moves don’t fix broadband saturation, but they do strengthen Comcast’s position as a key infrastructure provider — something regulators and local governments notice when approving builds, mergers and franchise renewals.

What today’s mix of news means for Comcast stock

Putting it all together, today’s narrative around Comcast stock can be boiled down to a tension between cheap valuation and structural headwinds, all amplified by the possibility of a transformative media deal:

Near‑term negatives

A high‑profile “Strong Sell” from Zacks and relentless headlines about broadband competition feed a doom‑loop of sentiment, especially with the stock already near its lows. ^[41]
Investors remain nervous that Comcast could overpay or overreach in a Warner Bros. Discovery deal, potentially adding leverage and regulatory risk at a time when the core business is already under pressure. ^[42]
Regulatory scrutiny at the FCC, while not new, remains in the background and was back in the news today. ^[43]

Offsetting positives

On fundamentals, Comcast is still printing strong free cash flow, funding a ~5% dividend yield and ongoing buybacks, while trading at 4–7x earnings — levels many value investors consider depressed for a diversified media and connectivity giant. ^[44]
The new MLB media‑rights deal bolsters NBCUniversal’s sports portfolio and could help Peacock differentiate in an increasingly crowded streaming market. ^[45]
Institutional ownership remains high, and several large investors have added to or initiated positions, suggesting not everyone agrees with the most bearish takes. ^[46]

For now, the market seems to be saying: “Show me.” Comcast must demonstrate that:

It can stabilize broadband economics despite fierce competition.
Peacock and NBCU’s sports push (MLB, NBA, NFL, WNBA) can earn an attractive return on rising rights costs. ^[47]
Any move on Warner Bros. Discovery — if it happens — will be disciplined and accretive, not an empire‑building gamble.

Until there’s clarity on those fronts, CMCSA may continue to trade as a high‑yield, deep‑value stock with a sizeable risk discount.

Quick FAQs about Comcast stock today

Is Comcast stock a buy or a sell right now?

Zacks rates Comcast a Strong Sell and has featured it as the Bear of the Day. ^[48]
MarketBeat sees an overall “Hold” with most analysts neutral and a handful still bearish. ^[49]
StockAnalysis, aggregating a different set of forecasts, shows a “Buy” consensus and an average target price above $38, implying over 40% upside from current levels. ^[50]

In other words, professional opinions are sharply divided. This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. Investors should consider their own risk tolerance and do independent research before making any decisions.

What is Comcast’s dividend yield today?

Based on an annual dividend of $1.32 per share and a share price in the mid‑$26s, Comcast’s forward dividend yield is currently around 5%, with a payout ratio that remains comfortably covered by earnings. ^[51]

What are the biggest catalysts to watch next?

Any formal announcement regarding bids for Warner Bros. Discovery or other large media assets. ^[52]
The next earnings report and updated guidance on broadband trends, wireless growth and Peacock profitability. ^[53]
Further details and early‑view metrics around the MLB media‑rights partnership and NBC Sports Network launch. ^[54]