Comcast earnings propelled by broadband, voice subscriber gains
Comcast reported better-than-expected fourth quarter results as it continued to poach telephone customers from incumbent carriers and bolstered its high-speed Internet subscriber base.
The cable giant, which will become one of the larger media players if it closes its purchase of NBC Universal, delivered fourth quarter earnings of 33 cents a share, up from 14 cents a year ago. That sum includes a tax benefit of 4 cents a share. Wall Street was expecting earnings of 27 cents a share.
Comcast's revenue also topped expectations. The company’s fourth quarter revenue was $9.07 billion, up 3 percent from a year ago and better than the $8.96 billion Wall Street estimate.
CEO Brian Roberts said in a statement that the company's cable franchise has proven to be resilient in a rocky economy. Meanwhile, the company is investing in business services and 4G wireless service via its Clearwire partnership. Roberts said Comcast was positioned well for 2010 and outlined the following goals:
By the numbers:
- For the year, Comcast reported earnings of $1.26 a share on revenue of $35.7 billion, up 3.9 percent from a year ago.
- Capital spending for 2009 was $5.1 billion, down 11 percent from 2008.
- Cable revenue was $33.9 billion for 2009, up 3.8 percent from a year ago.
- Here's the look at the customer statistics:
