Comcast Slides By With Q3 Results

Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ: CMCSA | CMCSA Price Prediction) reported its most recent quarterly results before the markets opened on Thursday. The company said that it had $0.79 in earnings per share (EPS) and $26.83 billion in revenue, compared with consensus estimates that called for $0.75 in EPS and $26.77 billion in revenue. In the third quarter of last year, Comcast said it had EPS of $0.68 on revenue of $22.14 billion.

During the latest quarter, Cable Communications’ total customer relationships increased 3.4% year over year to 31.2 million, including net additions of 309,000 in the quarter. Separately, Sky’s total customer relationships increased 2.1% to $23.9 million, with net additions of 482,000 in in the past 12 months.

The board of directors declared a quarterly dividend of $0.21 a share on the company’s common stock. The quarterly dividend is payable on January 29, 2020, to shareholders of record as of the close of business on January 8.

In terms of its segments, Comcast reported as follows:

• Cable Communications revenue increased 9.3% to $4.72 billion, driven primarily by increases in high-speed internet, business services and wireless revenue.
• NBCUniversal revenue decreased 3.5% to $8.30 billion, reflecting decreases at Broadcast Television, Filmed Entertainment, and Cable Networks.
• Sky pro forma revenue decreased 4.2% to $4.6 billion, primarily driven by higher direct-to-consumer and content revenue, partially offset by lower advertising revenue.

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Brian L. Roberts, board chair and chief executive, commented:

We continued our long track record of highly-profitable growth, while also investing in our businesses to further strengthen our leading competitive position. Cable had its highest third quarter broadband net additions in 10 years, which drove its best quarterly net additions in total customer relationships on record; NBC ranked #1 in primetime for the sixth consecutive 52-week season; and Sky’s channels had a 10% increase in household viewership. These and our many other accomplishments during the quarter underscore our strategic focus on innovation and providing our customers with superior products, services and experiences.

Shares of Comcast traded flat at $45.72 early Thursday, in a 52-week range of $32.61 to $47.27. The consensus price target is $50.37.

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