Find out why Comcast's -20.1% return over the last year is lagging behind its peers.
A Discounted Cash Flow, or DCF, model estimates what a company is worth today by projecting its future cash flows and discounting them back to a present value. For Comcast, the model uses a 2 stage Free Cash Flow to Equity approach, based on its ability to generate cash for shareholders over time.
Comcast currently produces trailing twelve month free cash flow of about $17.6 billion, a substantial base from which analysts and extrapolated estimates project modest growth. Analyst forecasts extend several years ahead, after which Simply Wall St extrapolates free cash flows, with projections reaching roughly $18.4 billion by 2035 as cash generation edges higher over time.
When those projected cash flows are discounted back to today, the DCF model used in this analysis suggests an intrinsic value of about $82.09 per share. Compared with the current market price, this implies roughly a 64.4% discount, indicating that, under these assumptions, investors are pricing Comcast well below the value implied by its projected cash generation.
Result: UNDERVALUED (based on this DCF model)
Our Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) analysis suggests Comcast is undervalued by 64.4%. Track this in your watchlist or portfolio, or discover 898 more undervalued stocks based on cash flows.
For a mature, consistently profitable business like Comcast, the Price to Earnings (PE) ratio is a useful way to gauge whether investors are paying a reasonable price for each dollar of current earnings. In general, faster growing and lower risk companies tend to justify higher PE ratios, while slower growth or higher risk stories deserve lower multiples.
Comcast currently trades at around 4.7x earnings, which is far below both the media industry average of about 16.0x and the broader peer group average near 34.3x. On the surface, that discount suggests the market is heavily penalizing Comcast relative to other media names, despite its solid profitability and scale.
Simply Wall St uses a proprietary Fair Ratio to go a step further. For Comcast, that Fair PE Ratio is estimated at roughly 15.5x, based on its earnings growth outlook, margins, risk profile, industry, and market cap. This is more informative than a simple peer or industry comparison because it adjusts for the company’s own fundamentals rather than assuming it should trade exactly like its competitors. With the current PE at 4.7x versus a Fair Ratio of 15.5x, Comcast screens as materially undervalued on this metric.
Result: UNDERVALUED
PE ratios tell one story, but what if the real opportunity lies elsewhere? Discover 1457 companies where insiders are betting big on explosive growth.
Earlier we mentioned that there is an even better way to understand valuation, so let us introduce you to Narratives, a simple way to connect your view of Comcast’s story to a set of numbers and a fair value estimate. A Narrative is your structured perspective on the company, where you spell out what you believe about its future revenue, earnings and margins, and then link that story to a financial forecast and, ultimately, a fair value per share. On Simply Wall St, Narratives live inside the Community page and are designed to be easy to use, so millions of investors can compare their own Fair Value to the current share price and decide whether Comcast looks like a buy, a hold, or a sell. Because Narratives update dynamically when new information like earnings, news or guidance drops, they stay aligned with reality instead of going stale. For Comcast, one Narrative might lean toward a lower fair value around 28 dollars if you think broadband and media headwinds will bite harder, while another might support a higher fair value near 49 dollars if you believe investments in parks, streaming and next gen broadband will pay off more strongly.
For Comcast, however, we will make it really easy for you with previews of two leading Comcast Narratives:
Fair value: $34.65 per share
Implied undervaluation vs last close: approximately 15.6%
Forecast revenue growth: 1.53%
Fair value: $28.00 per share
Implied overvaluation vs last close: approximately 4.4%
Forecast revenue growth: 0.69%
Do you think there's more to the story for Comcast? Head over to our Community to see what others are saying!
This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com