Twitter's share price fell as much as 18% in pre-market trading after the company reported a quarter-over-quarter decline in monthly active users, reports Business Insider.
The company reported its Q2 financials as follows, beating on revenue and with EBITDA in line with estimates:
Revenue: $711 million, up 24% year on year
EBITDA: $265 million, up from $178 million last year
MAU: 335 million, down from 336 million in Q1, but up from 326 million in Q2 2017.
Twitter blamed the active user decline on new European privacy rules and its decision not to move to paid SMS carrier relationships, and on its efforts to clean up the platform.
Twitter's put its EBITDA guidance for the third quarter between $215 million and $235 million.
Chief executive Jack Dorsey said: "Our second quarter results reflect the work we're doing to ensure more people get value from Twitter every day.
"We want people to feel safe freely expressing themselves and have launched new tools to address problem behaviors that distort and distract from the public conversation."
Dorsey said daily active users had growth 11%, but the company didn't break out figures.
The company saw strong gains in advertising, with revenue up 23% year on year to $601 million.
Twitter saw fastest revenue growth in international markets, which now account for half its revenue. Markets outside the US grew 44% year on year to $344 million. The US grew just 10%, and brought in $367 million.
The Justice Department is investigating whether television station owners violated antitrust law in ways that inflated local television advertising prices, according to The Wall Street Journal citing people familiar with the matter.
The probe has examined whether Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc., Tribune Media Co. and other independent TV station owners coordinated efforts when their ad sales teams communicated with each other about their performance, potentially leading to higher rates for TV commercials, one of the people said.
Companies like Sinclair and Tribune own dozens of local TV stations that carry programming from national broadcast networks like ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox.
“It is our policy not to comment on a potential investigation,” said a Sinclair spokesman. “It is our understanding that this is not specific to Sinclair but focuses on the larger broadcast industry.”
A spokesman for Tribune declined to comment.
Government officials stumbled across the alleged ad sales practice during their review of Sinclair’s $3.9 billion proposed acquisition of Tribune, the people familiar with the matter said. Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai put that deal in jeopardy last week by referring the matter to an administrative law judge. Mr. Pai said Sinclair hadn’t been candid in its filings with the telecom regulator.
The two station groups submitted detailed documents during their merger review process.
Facebook on Thursday posted the largest one-day loss in market value by any company in U.S. stock market history after releasing a disastrous quarterly report.
According to CNBC, the social media giant's market capitalization plummeted by $119 billion to $510 billion as its stock price plummeted by 19 percent. At Wednesday's close, Facebook's market cap had totaled nearly $630 billion, according to FactSet.
No company in the history of the U.S. stock market has ever lost $100 billion in market value in just one day, but two came close.
CNBC Graphic
Facebook's enormous loss in value came a day after the company reported weaker-than-expected revenue for the second quarter as well as disappointing global daily active users, a key metric for Facebook. The company also said it expects its revenue growth rate to slow in the second half of this year.
Meanwhile, Facebook approved a $10 million annual pre-tax allowance to amplify security for CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his family.
The allowance, announced in an SEC filing on Thursday, increases Facebook's security spend on Zuckerberg from $7.3 million last year.
"This allowance will be in addition to the continued funding of Mr. Zuckerberg's overall security program to cover the costs of security personnel for his protection; the procurement, installation, and maintenance of certain required security measures for his residences; and the usage of private aircraft for personal travel," Facebook wrote in a filing.
The social media company said it took into account Zuckerberg's "position and importance to Facebook," as well as his salary, which was just $1 last year.
Zuckerberg's personal security budget has been climbing throughout the years from $4.2 million in 2015, according to a proxy statement, filed in April.
COO Sheryl Sandberg also has an authorized security program, which amounted to $2.7 million last year.
Entercom, has announced the appointment of Zach Strief to the role of play-by-play announcer on WWL 870 AM / 105.3 FM, the flagship station of the New Orleans Saints. Strief, who played offensive tackle for the Saints from 2006-2017, will join former teammate Deuce McAllister in the booth.
“When we set the criteria for the new ‘Voice of the Saints’ we were looking for someone who would make the professional play calls, as well as someone who has a deep connection to the team, the fans and our community,” said Chris Wegmann, senior vice president and market manager, Entercom New Orleans. “Zach possesses all of those qualities, knows the game first-hand and is a fixture in the New Orleans community. We’re very excited about adding him to the team.”
“I’m thrilled about the opportunity and humbled by the faith WWL and the Saints have in me,” added Strief. “I also want all Saints fans to know I will work tirelessly to bring you the best game day experience possible. Nobody will work harder to live up to the expectations of Saints fans.”
WWL 105.3 FM (96 Kw) Red=Local Coverage Area
With the move, Strief succeeds former play-by-play announcer Jim Henderson. In addition to calling Saints games, Zach will be a guest on “Sports Talk with Bobby Hebert and Kristian Garic,” for special Saints Training Camp broadcasts, starting Thursday, July 26. “Sports Talk with Bobby Hebert and Kristian Garic” can be heard weekdays from 4 p.m. – 8 p.m. CT on WWL.
WWL 870 AM (50 Kw, DA) Daytime 2 mV/m contour
Listeners can tune in to WWL (WWL-AM) in New Orleans on-air, as well as nationwide on the Radio.com app. Fans can also connect with the station on social media via Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Roseanne Barr joined Sean Hannity for her first televised interview since she was fired by ABC for a racist tweet toward Valerie Jarrett.
Barr discussed the tweet that got her fired, ABC's decision and her ardent support of President Trump, reports Fox News.
Months after the sitcom "Roseanne" made a successful return to ABC, Barr was fired May 31 following a tweet in which she likened the former top White House adviser to a monkey.
The 65-year-old actress-comedian has since expressed her disagreement with the decision, arguing she did not know the Iranian-born Jarrett is African-American.
Roseanne said her tweet about Jarrett was meant to criticize the former bureaucrat's role in constructing the Iran nuclear deal.
"I will always defend Israel. I'm a Jew and I also have family that lives there," Barr said. "That is a tweet asking for accountability from the previous administration about the Iran deal, which Valerie Jarrett is the author of."
Hannity asked Barr if she understood how the tweet was construed as a racist barb toward Jarrett.
"The first thing [I felt] was shock that they were saying it was racial... That was a hard one to take," she said.
Barr said she knows she made a mistake that "cost her everything" but added that she wants to turn the situation into a "teachable moment."
This week's Podcast Movement Conference was a sold-out 2,500-attendee event in Philadelphia that called itself “the world’s largest gathering of podcasters.” Attendees came from as far as Australia, China, and Brazil. Opening Tuesday, it had the feeling of an evangelical revival and a self-help group, with an emphasis on how to broaden the audience for a 15-year-old digital platform popular with 48 million weekly users.
According to philly.com, techie-sounding podcasts are still misunderstood by many other Americans who don’t know what they are (“on-demand radio, like Netflix for audio,” said convention organizer Dan Franks) or how to find them (mostly through smartphone apps).
But U.S. podcast advertising boomed last year, up 87 percent to $317 million, according to Advertising Age. Advertising and sponsorship remain the top ways to finance podcasts — with some getting listener support — and everyone from radio station groups to Google to start-ups is betting on growth.
Popular with millennials because they can be listened to “anytime, anywhere,” podcasts have become a mantra for media companies seeking to tap into app-generation millennials. Podcasts are cheap to produce and offer repurposed radio content without the shock-jocking as well as thoughtful conversations on complex topics and original content. True crime and comedy are popular genres.
Podcasts also have been helped in recent years by the ubiquity of WiFi for downloads, unlimited-data wireless plans, and storage-rich smartphones. Most podcasts are free.
“Video got ahead of audio,” Tim Murphy, senior vice president of business development at Entercom Communciations, the Bala Cynwyd-based company that now owns CBS Radio, said at the conference. “But I think the trajectory will be the same.”
Tom Webster, senior vice president at the Edison Research firm in New Jersey and a lead podcasting analyst, said in one of the keynote speeches that about 48 million Americans listen to podcasts but that now the goal should be 100 million, calling it “podcast’s next frontier.” The challenge to those producing podcasting is to make more high-quality content to drive audience gains, he said.
Google executive Zack Reneau-Wedeen told a packed audience as an opening speaker that the internet search-engine giant is preloading Google Podcast on Android phones, opening podcasts to two billion global Android phone users. One can search for podcasts on Google Podcast over the smartphone screen.
There were about 500 attendees at the first Podcast Movement Conference in 2014 in Texas. Other events were in Chicago and Anaheim, Calif. Franks, a convention organizer, said that planners had expected 2,000 attendees in Philadelphia. But the conference blew through that target, with 2,500. Some meetings were standing-room-only.
Entravision Communications Corporation announced Thursday the return of Super Estrella, the original and only Spanish-language rock and pop station to the Los Angeles market.
Super Estrella launched Thursday on KDLD / KDLE 103.1 FM in the Los Angeles market and brings back its distinct music format that was the foundation of its success and loved by its audience.
"Super Estrella has a strong legacy in Los Angeles that spans over 20 years, and it's coming back to where it all started. This distinct, iconic format has been loved by so many fans over the years that it was able to keep its large, devout following, and we're excited to bring this station back to the listeners," said Nestor Rocha, VP of Programming, Entravision.
KDLD 103.1 FM (3.7 Kw) Red=Local Coverage Area
"Super Estrella will help us create a unique position in the growing Los Angeles radio market, while providing an exceptional opportunity for advertisers to reach the growing Hispanic consumer market, and associate themselves with a proven brand," said David Padilla, SVP of Los Angeles, Entravision.
KDLE 103.1 FM (300 watts)
Super Estrella was first launched on 97.5 FM in Riverside, as well as online, on April 14, 1997. In 2003, Super Estrella moved to 107.1 FM and 97.5 FM. In May 2008 Super Estrella moved to only 107.1 FM, and then transitioned to an online streaming station in 2016.
Former Alabama quarterback John Parker Wilson will be color analyst on the Alabama football radio broadcast team this fall, with fellow former Crimson Tide player Rashad Johnson reporting from the sideline, according to tusacloosanews.com.
Wilson will replace Phil Savage, who announced earlier this month that he would not return in the color analyst role.
Chris Stewart has been promoted to broadcast anchor of Alabama football games, hosting the pregame and halftime shows and providing in-game updates. He will also host Nick Saban’s weekly show. Eli Gold will return in his role doing play by play.
“The addition of Wilson and Johnson will bring a lot of energy to the broadcast, while their knowledge of the game – and Alabama football in particular – will provide great inside for our listerns,” said Jim Carabin, vice president and general manager of Crimson Tide Sports Marketing.
Said UA Director of Athletics Greg Byrne, “We are thrilled to welcome back two of Alabama’s greatest to our football radio broadcasts. ... They are both extremely knowledgeable when it comes to the sport and have great passion for the Crimson Tide.”
Wilson was a three-year starter from 2006-08. He spent five years in the National Football League with the Falcons, Jaguars and Steelers. Johnson come to UA as a walk-on running back and ended up earning a scholarship and earning All-America honors as a defensive back. He played eight years in the NFL with the Arizona Cardinals and Tennessee Titans.
➦In 1958…A study by the Esso oil company found that drivers speed more and therefore waste more gasoline when listening to the new rock 'n' roll music on the car radio. ➦In 1974...NBC-TV removed the daily Dinah’s Place from its programming roster. The move brought Dinah Shore’s 23-year association with the Peacock Network to a close.
Dinah Shore
Born Frances Rose Shore (February 29, 1916 – February 24, 1994) was an American singer, actress, radio/television personality, and the top-charting female vocalist of the 1940s. She reached the height of her popularity as a recording artist during the Big Band era of the 1940s and 1950s, but achieved even greater success a decade later, in television, mainly as hostess of a series of variety programs for Chevrolet.
She had a string of 80 charted popular hits, spanning the years 1940 to 1957, and after appearing in a handful of feature films went on to a four-decade career in American television, starring in her own music and variety shows from 1951 through 1963 and hosting two talk shows in the 1970s. TV Guide magazine ranked her at #16 on their list of the top fifty television stars of all time. Stylistically, Shore was compared to two singers who followed her in the mid-to-late 1940s and early 1950s, Doris Day and Patti Page.
1947
Shore made her radio debut on Nashville's WSM-AM radio station. Shore decided to return to pursuing her career in singing, moving to New York City to audition for orchestras and radio stations. In many of her auditions, she sang the popular song "Dinah." When disc jockey Martin Block could not remember her name, he called her the "Dinah girl," and soon after the name stuck, becoming her stage name. Shore eventually was hired as a vocalist at radio station WNEW, where she sang with Frank Sinatra. She recorded and performed with the Xavier Cugat orchestra, and signed a recording contract with RCA Victor Records in 1940.
In March 1939, Shore debuted on national radio on the Sunday afternoon CBS radio program, Ben Bernie's Orchestra. In February 1940, she became a featured vocalist on the NBC Radio program The Chamber Music Society of Lower Basin Street, a showcase for traditional Dixieland and Blues songs.
Shore soon became a successful singing star with her own radio show in 1943, Call to Music. She continued appearing in radio shows throughout the 1940s, including Birds Eye-Open House and Ford Radio Show. In early 1946, she moved to another label, Columbia Records. ➦In 1982...one of the great announce voices of network radio in the 1930’s and 40’s, Dan Seymour died at age 68. He had parlayed his skill with commercial copy on shows such as The Aldrich Family, Orson Welles’ Mercury Theatre, Sing it Again, We the People & Aunt Jenny’s Real Life Stories into a very successful advertising career, rising to CEO of the prestigious J. Walter Thompson agency.
Bob Hope
➦In 2003...singer-actor-comedian Bob Hope died of pneumonia at his home in Toluca Lake, California at the age of 100.
His career in broadcasting began on radio in 1934. His first regular series for NBC Radio was the Woodbury Soap Hour in 1937, a 26-week contract. A year later, The Pepsodent Show Starring Bob Hope began, and Hope signed a ten-year contract with the show's sponsor, Lever Brothers. Hope hired eight writers and paid them out of his salary of $2,500 a week. The original staff included Mel Shavelson, Norman Panama, Jack Rose, Sherwood Schwartz, and Schwartz's brother Al. The writing staff eventually grew to fifteen.
The show became the top radio program in the country. Regulars on the series included Jerry Colonna and Barbara Jo Allen as spinster Vera Vague. Hope continued his lucrative career in radio through to the 1950s, when radio's popularity was overshadowed by television.
➦In 2013…Personality David "Kidd" Kraddick died of a brain aneurysm while hosting his Kidd's Kids charity golf event at age 53.
Kidd Kraddick
Kraddick received the nickname "Kidd" from a radio producer and used the name on-air from 1978 until his death. He won the Billboard Magazine “Air Personality of the Year” Award three times, received the 1992 and 1997 AWRO "Air Personality of the Year," the Marconi Award for "Radio Personality of the Year", won the first annual 1999 WB Radio Music Award as the "Best Radio Personality in the Country", and also the 2001 "Radio and Records CHR/Pop Personality/Show of the Year."
He moved from Tampa to Dallas in 1984 and took over the night shift on the newly formatted Top40 station KEGL (The Eagle) and established a following. In 1990, Kraddick was named to the Ten Outstanding Young Americans list by the United States Junior Chamber. KEGL changed formats from Top 40 pop/rock to Modern Rock in 1992 and Kraddick was released from his contract. After eight months off the air, he was hired to a morning position at Top40 KHKS-106.1 Kiss-FM in Dallas-Fort Worth. He won a 1998 Marconi Award for Major Market Radio Personality of the Year while he was with KHKS and the next year he won Air Personality of the Year at the Radio Music Awards. He began to syndicate the show in 2001 and moved the production to an independent studio in Las Colinas. He became a member of the Texas Radio Hall of Fame.
In the early 1990s, Kraddick launched two radio oriented businesses. A monthly publication for morning personalities called "The Morning Mouth" and a show prep "sharing service" for air personalities called "BitBoard". Kraddick subsequently sold both entities; BitBoard is now operated by iHeartMedia and The Morning Mouth is owned and operated by Talentmasters in Atlanta, Georgia
➦In 2013...Herb Kaplow, for 45 years a Washington correspondent for ABC and NBC who brought an authoritative voice to his wide-ranging reporting, suffered a fatal stroke at age 86.
➦...radio talk show host and TV actor Jerry Doyle, best remembered as security officer Michael Garibaldi in the futuristic 90’s series Babylon 5, died of complications from chronic alcoholism, less than 2 weeks after his 60th birthday. When TV assignments dried up Doyle had turned to talk radio where he was syndicated nationally.
WKXW New Jersey 101.5 FM has taken its mid-day hosts, Dennis Malloy and Judi Franco, off the air until further notice in light of comments about state Attorney General Gurbir Grewal made during Wednesday's show.
"We are aware of the offensive comments made by Dennis and Judi during today’s broadcast," the station said Wednesday night. "We have taken immediate action and have taken them off the air until further notice. We are investigating the matter and will have further comment shortly."
Judy & Dennis
According to the WKXW website, Malloy and Franco had been discussing Grewal's recent order to suspend marijuana prosecutions, when Malloy said he couldn't remember Grewal's name — and told Franco "I'm just going to say the guy with the turban."
The pair continued to call Grewal "Turban Man" throughout the segment.
The comments caught widespread attention on social media and in national news stories late Wednesday evening, around the time Gov. Phil Murphy released a statement saying he was "outraged" by the comments. An audio recording of the segment was cited frequently on social media as well.
Murphy, in a statement released just after 9 p.m., described the hosts' comments as "abhorrent and xenophobic." His statements were echoed in similar criticisms from the state ACLU, state Sen. Vin Gopal, Hoboken Mayor Mayor Ravi Bhalla and others.
Grewal is the state's first Sikh attorney general, and the American-born son of immigrant parents.
"A proud son of New Jersey and of immigrants, Gurbir has committed his life to giving back to the state and nation that have given his family so much. His story is the American story," Murphy said when he announced Grewal's nomination last year.
Malloy and Franco acknowledged during their afternoon show that their reference to Grewal may be considered offensive. But they dismissed that possibility and suggested it was the fault of Grewal, the country's first Sikh attorney general, that he was being referred to in a way that could be perceived as derogatory.
"Listen, and if that offends you, then don't wear the turban and maybe I'll remember your name," Malloy said.
Nielsen’s Board of Directors today announced that Mitch Barns, Chief Executive Officer and Member of the Board will retire from the company at the end of 2018. James Attwood, current Chairman of the Board, has been named Executive Chairman.
Barns will remain through the end of the year to oversee the company, including the key initiatives—Total Audience, the Connected System and the efforts to automate and streamline operations. With strong support from the Board, these efforts continue to be key priorities for Nielsen. Attwood, a Managing Director at The Carlyle Group will assume a more active role and will direct the search for new leadership.
Since joining the company more than 20 years ago, Barns has held leadership roles across all major parts of Nielsen’s business – working in the U.S., Europe and Asia, as well as the Media and FMCG sectors. During his tenure, he has guided the company through the transformation of the Watch segment in a dynamic media environment, led by its Total Audience Measurement strategy. He led a sustained M&A strategy that resulted in the acquisition of Gracenote and the machine learning startup vBrand, and the push to sharpen the company’s focus and define the Connected System.
“Mitch has left an indelible mark on Nielsen—his commitment to integrity, openness, values and engagement will continue to be the heart of this company for years to come,” commented Attwood. “I, along with the rest of the Board of Directors, thank him for his service.”
The Nielsen Board of Directors will immediately commence a comprehensive search process to identify a new CEO.
In a separate release issued today, the company announced its second quarter 2018 results. Additionally, the Nielsen Board of Directors announced that it is conducting an in-depth strategic review of its Buy segment.
Nielsen Holdings plc today announced its second quarter 2018 results. The company also announced it is conducting an in-depth strategic review of Nielsen’s Buy segment. In a separate release issued today, Nielsen announced that James Attwood would assume the role of Executive Chairman of the Board and Mitch Barns, current CEO, would retire at the end of 2018.
Revenues were $1,647 million for the second quarter of 2018, up 0.2%, or down 0.7% on a constant currency basis, compared to the second quarter of 2017. Net income per share on a diluted basis was $0.20 per share in the second quarter of 2018, compared to $0.37 per share in the second quarter of 2017.
“In the second quarter, we continued to move forward on our multi-year transformations across Watch, Buy, and Operations. However, our progress was not reflected in our financial results, which are disappointing and came in below our expectations, and we are lowering our outlook for 2018,” said Jamere Jackson, Chief Financial Officer of Nielsen.
Jamere Jackson
Jackson continued, “We are addressing the challenges we face with the greatest sense of urgency and remain sharply focused on our key initiatives to drive value in the long term. Our cost reduction efforts are ahead of schedule and we are accelerating cost-out targets. In Buy Developed Markets, we saw increased pressure in the fast moving consumer goods end markets; however, we made great progress with the Connected System, retailer initiatives, and Total Consumer Measurement. In Emerging Markets, weakness in multinational client spending was offset by growth with local clients. In Watch, ongoing adoption of Total Audience Measurement continued to drive growth. However, the General Data Protection Regulation and changes in the consumer data privacy landscape impacted our growth rates in the near-term as clients and partners grapple with the changes and work to ensure compliance.”
Second Quarter Results
Net income for the second quarter of 2018 decreased 45.0% to $72 million, or 45.9% on a constant currency basis, compared to $131 million in the second quarter of 2017, as a result of softer revenues, higher restructuring charges, retailer investments, and other growth initiatives. Net income per share on a diluted basis was $0.20 per share, compared to $0.37 per share in the second quarter of 2017. During the second quarter of 2018, the company recorded restructuring charges of $65 million, or $0.12 per share. The restructuring charges reflect our continuing efforts to rightsize the business, the current market realities, and acceleration of our cost-out initiatives.
Adjusted EBITDA for the second quarter of 2018 decreased 8.1% to $468 million, or 8.2% on a constant currency basis, compared to the second quarter of 2017. Adjusted EBITDA margins contracted 254 basis points to 28.4%, or 232 basis points on a constant currency basis, due to softer revenue and continued investments in our Buy and Watch segments, partly offset by productivity initiatives.
UPDATE 7/26/18 10:30 AM: Facebook shares tumbled after the social-media company warned that its growth is slowing, igniting fears that its fortunes aren’t immune to the multiple controversies it has faced this year.
Facebook shares fell 18% to $178.60 in morning trading, erasing more than $90 billion in market value for the company, among the biggest-ever single-day drops in market cap. The stock is now trading around its May levels.
Facebook missed projections on revenue and global daily active users this quarter after struggling with data leaks and fake news scandals.
Earlier Posting....
CNBC reports the co Facebook lost about $130 billion in market value in just two hours, its steepest stock decline ever, after warning of slowing sales growth.
CNBC Graphic
Earnings per share: $1.74 vs. $1.72 per a Thomson Reuters consensus estimate
Revenue: $13.23 billion vs. $13.36 billion per a Thomson Reuters consensus estimate
Global daily active users (DAUs): 1.47 billion vs. 1.49 billion, according to a StreetAccount and FactSet estimate
North American DAUs: 185 million vs. 185.4 million, according to a FactSet estimate
European DAUs: 279 million vs. 279.4 million, according to a FactSet estimate
Average revenue per user (ARPU): $5.97 vs. $5.95, according to a StreetAccount and FactSet estimate
Facebook said 2.5 billion people were using any of its family of apps each month, including Instagram and WhatsApp. Though Facebook-specific global DAU rates were up 11 percent year over year, it was less than Wall Street was projecting. European DAUs were down from 282 million last quarter, potentially related to the effect of the enactment of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the European Union. The set of regulations gives users more control over their online data.
"GDPR has not had a significant (ad) revenue impact, but we also recognize it wasn't fully rolled out this quarter," said Facebook chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg on a call with analysts, adding the company recognizes there could be more risk for decreased numbers in the Europe in the future.
North American DAUs remained flat despite the fallout from the Cambridge Analytica data leak scandal and fake news issues. However, average revenue per user in the region rose despite the lack of growth. It reached $25.91 per user, up from $23.59 during the first quarter.
Facebook also surprisingly missed on advertising revenue projections, reached $13.04 billion compared with the StreetAccount and FactSet estimate of $13.16 billion.
Comcast Corp.’s cable-TV subscriber losses accelerated to 140,000 in the second quarter but the company added many new high-speed internet customers, the company said Thursday morning.
According to philly.com, the Philadelphia-based cable and entertainment giant is attempting to acquire the U.K.-based Sky TV as it pivots away from a U.S. cable-TV business that’s threatened by low-cost and popular Netflix and Amazon streaming services. Click Here for SEC Filing.
Here's how the company did compared with what Wall Street predicted:
Earnings: 65 cents per share vs. 60 cents per share forecast by Thomson Reuters
Revenue: $21.74 billion vs. $21.86 billion forecast by Thomson Reuters
Net increase of 260,000 high-speed internet customers vs. 195,000 forecast by FactSet consensus estimates
Shares of Comcast rose 3 percent in premarket trading Thursday.
Brian Roberts
Comcast has emphasized its “connectivity” business. In the second quarter, it added 260,000 new internet customers compared with adding 175,000 internet customers in the same period a year ago.
The company’s second-quarter revenues rose 2.2 percent to $21.7 billion and net income jumped 27.6 percent to $3.2 billion.
Comcast attributed the weak revenue figure to its blockbuster-bare Universal film slate and the boost in profits to high-margin internet businesses.
Comcast recently dropped out of the bidding for the entertainment assets of 21st Century Fox but is still seeking to acquire Sky for about $31 billion.
CEO Brian Roberts said the company’s second quarter results were “fantastic.”
