Comcast leaders pledge company won’t ‘miss a beat’ after Jeff Shell’s firing for sexual harassment

Amid a top executive’s ousting for sexual harassment, Comcast leaders pledged the company is still on a steady course.

Comcast leaders addressed NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell’s departure without mentioning him by name during Thursday’s investor call as the company’s theme parks continued to be a standout in the latest first-quarter earnings.

Theme parks generated $1.95 billion in revenue — up 25% from the same time period in 2022 — and posted adjusted earnings to $658 million which set a record for a first quarter, the company said. Comcast earnings beat Wall Street’s expectations, according to CNBC.

Comcast hired an outside counsel to investigate Shell after receiving a complaint. The investigation found evidence of Shell’s misconduct and determined he had sexually harassed a female employee, Comcast disclosed in a SEC filing Monday.

“As a consequence, on April 23, 2022, the Company terminated Mr. Shell’s employment with Cause under his employment agreement, effective immediately,” the filing said.

Comcast CEO Brian Roberts called it “obviously a tough moment” when he spoke on Thursday’s earning call. Comcast President Mike Cavanagh will also be covering Shell’s duties at NBCUniversal.

“Mike is a fantastic executive and operator that many of you know well, and he’ll work closely with each of the management teams at NBCUniversal to continue our excellent momentum,” Roberts said.

Cavanagh downplayed the impact of Shell leaving the company.

“While it’s unfortunate to have an unexpected change (in) leadership, I would tell you there’s no reason for anyone to think that we’re going to be revisiting strategy as a result of that,” Cavanagh said.

“The businesses are performing really well right now, so job No. 1 for me is to just settle things down and make sure the businesses and the business leaders at NBCU remain focused on the job at hand. … Frankly, I don’t think the business is going to miss a beat.”

Cavanagh highlighted the theme parks division which he said “is clearly on a roll.”

The company plans to open its third Orlando theme park gate, Epic Universe, in 2025 as well as a smaller horror-themed experience in Las Vegas and a Texas park tailored for young children.

The company is spending $1.2 billion more on theme park capital expenses in 2023 due largely to Epic Universe’s construction, leaders said Thursday.