Comcast on Friday named Jason S. Armstrong its new chief financial officer, a role previously held by Mike Cavanagh, who was named president in October.
Armstrong spent the past nine years in various financial leadership positions at Comcast, most recently as deputy CFO and treasurer, working closely with the management teams across Comcast Cable, NBCUniversal and Sky.
Previously, he was treasurer of Comcast, chief financial officer at Sky, and head of investor relations and finance at Comcast. Prior to joining Comcast in 2014, Armstrong spent 13 years at Goldman Sachs, where he served as managing director and leader of the firm’s Cable and Telecommunications Research Group.
“Jason is ideally suited to be our next Chief Financial Officer,” Cavanagh said in a statement. “He is a trusted voice in the financial community, has a great understanding of our company, and is well respected by our management team. Jason is already playing a pivotal role in shaping our long-term strategy and I couldn’t be more excited to partner with him going forward.”
Cavanagh had continued to act as CFO after he was elevated to the role of president, the third in the company’s 59-year history. In addition to holding the top spot in cable in the US with more than 17 million subscribers, Comcast is also the parent of NBCUniversal and the UK’s Sky, along with Universal Films, Peacock and theme parks in the US and Asia.
“I’m incredibly honored to have this role and to work alongside [CEO Brian Roberts] and Mike and this exceptional team,” Armstrong said. “Comcast’s leadership, culture, strong financial position and commitment to innovation and growth attracted me here nearly a decade ago and continue to drive my excitement about the opportunities ahead of us.”
Comcast is due to report its fourth-quarter results on Jan. 26. Wall Street is forecasting revenue to be flat from the 2021 fourth quarter, through earnings per share is expected to jump about 10%. The Philadelphia-based cable giant posted a 1.5% revenue decline and swung to a loss of $4.67 billion in the third quarter.
Cavanagh during the third-quarter conference call said that the company expected to start layoffs during the last three months of the year. “We expect we’ll be taking severance and other cost reduction related charges in the fourth quarter in anticipation of expense reduction actions that will provide benefits in 2023 and beyond.” The company previously said it aimed to cut up to $1 billion from its budget.
The company’s NBCUniversal segment announced some layoffs at E! in December amid restructuring, and was expected to let more workers go this month. The company’s cable unit also laid off an unspecified number of workers in November, according to reports.
Investors will also be the number of broadband subscribers Comcast reports. It added 14,000 in the third quarter after gaining none in the prior three months.
Shares of Comcast rose by 1% to $37.39 in morning trading. The stock is off about 13.5% from its recent high in July.