Comcast 2Q Earnings Fall Short Of Estimates On Strong Revenue Growth

Comcast generated 2Q net income of $1.02B, up 15.6% vs the same period last year, on revenues of $14.3B, up 50.5%. But earnings, at 37 cents a share, missed the 41 cent target among analysts who follow the company. They expected revenues to come in at $13.8B. The cable operation had 22.5M pay TV customers at the end of June, down 3% vs last year. But Comcast picked up broadband and phone subscribers bringing its total customer base to 49.1M, a 2.8% increase. Revenues at NBCUniversal rose 17.1% to $5.2B. Within that group, cable networks improved 12.6% to $2.2B andbroadcast TV was up 18.5% to $1.7B. The filmed entertainment operation benefited from Fast Five and Bridesmaids and was up 21% to $1.3B. And theme parks were helped by "The Wizarding World of Harry Potter" as revenues rose 22.5% to $147M.