Comcast Reports Mixed Results

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.”