Comcast lost 144,000 residential broadband customers in the third quarter of 2026, up from 91,000 in the same quarter a year earlier, the company said in its earnings report.
That is a loss roughly 58% larger than last year's. Comcast is also still losing TV customers, and it reportedly plans significant job cuts in its cable division. The company has not detailed those cuts in the material we reviewed.
The cause, according to Comcast, is competition. Co-CEO Mike Cavanagh told analysts on the earnings call: "Fixed wireless remains aggressive and continues to take share, while fiber construction remains elevated, with pockets of irrational pricing and promotional activity." Fixed wireless means home internet delivered over cellular networks instead of a cable in the wall. Fiber is the newer wired option, built from glass lines rather than the coaxial cable Comcast mostly runs.
The word "irrational" is doing a lot of work. Comcast built its broadband business in an era with little competition in many of its markets, and prices set in that era look high next to a rival fighting for new subscribers. A price is irrational only if you assume the incumbent's margins are the benchmark. Customers who switch are evidently reaching a different conclusion.
The quote also undercuts the idea that this is a blip. Cavanagh described fixed wireless as continuing to take share and fiber construction as remaining elevated. Both verbs point to pressure that is ongoing, not tapering off. The pricing complaint is limited to "pockets" of Comcast's territory, which leaves open how much of the 144,000 came from those pockets and how much from places where rivals are simply offering a good enough product.