Are Comcast Earnings Enough for Investors?

When 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 $0.78 in earnings per share (EPS) and $26.9 billion in revenue. Consensus estimates had called for $0.75 in EPS and $27.06 billion in revenue, and it the second quarter of last year, Comcast said it had $0.65 in EPS and $21.73 billion in revenue.

During the latest quarter, total customer relationships increased by 152,000 to 30.9 million. Residential customer relationships increased by 123,000 and business customer relationships increased by 29,000.

Dividends paid during the second quarter of 2019 totaled $954 million. 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 October 23, to shareholders of record as of the close of business on October 2.

In terms of its segments, Comcast reported as follows:

• Cable Communications revenue increased 3.9% to $14.5 billion, driven primarily by increases in high-speed internet, business services and wireless revenue.
• NBCUniversal revenue decreased 0.8% to $8.2 billion, reflecting increases at Broadcast Television, Filmed Entertainment, Cable Networks and Theme Parks.
• Sky pro forma revenue decreased 3.3% to $4.8 billion, primarily driven by higher content and direct-to-consumer revenue, partially offset by lower advertising revenue.

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

I am very pleased with our terrific second quarter results and the continued, successful execution of our strategy. Each of our businesses demonstrated healthy growth in adjusted EBITDA, contributing to a double-digit increase in adjusted earnings per share. Our company’s consistent, profitable growth is fueled by our leading scale in direct customer relationships and premier content. We now have nearly 55 million high-value direct customer relationships, including the 456,000 net additions in the second quarter, and a vast library of intellectual property and new productions that are extremely popular across generations and geographies. Our teams throughout the company continue to collaborate to make themselves and each other even stronger, and I’m excited about our growth opportunities ahead.

Shares of Comcast traded down nearly 1% to $44.50 early Thursday, in a 52-week range of $32.61 to $45.26. The consensus price target is $48.67.

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