Comcast Warns Investors about Cord Cutting

Comcast warned investors to expect higher video subscriber losses in 2020 due to several factors that will impact the legacy video distribution business.

Michael Cavanagh, chief financial officer at Comcast, said during the company’s 2019 fourth-quarter earnings call that consumer cord-cutting trends and rate increases will likely drive higher declines. Comcast reported a net loss of 149,000 video subscribers in the fourth quarter, which brought its full-year total video losses to 733,000.

But what does this mean for you? It means that prices on TV products from all cable and satellite providers will increase more rapidly for those who do not cut the cord. So the longer you wait to cut the cord, the more you will continue to pay and lose. And that money could be put into the stock market.

Essentially, this is your Microsoft moment. What do we mean by that? A $1,000 investment in Microsoft on the day of its initial public offering, or IPO, on March 13, 1986, would be worth more than $1.6 million today, according to CNBC calculations. That includes price appreciation and dividends. So if you cut the cord now and start saving you could invest in a company that will increase your wealth. You can pass those stocks onto your kids or grand kids. Or you can sell them and take a nice vacation.