Comcast Corp. share price up, reports strong Q3 results with a new wave of subscribers

Comcast Corp. reported on Thursday an increase in revenue and income during the recent quarter as more people signed up for its services.

The U.S. cable company reported better-than-expected earnings in the third quarter, marking a record performance for the last five years, as it expanded its customer base with 315 000 new subscribers to its high-speed internet service.

With the latest users, Comcast totaled 21.6 million broadband subscribers, a number that may soon be even with its diminishing video service customers. The company reported that around 81 000 people canceled their video subscription during Q3, as viewers move to services provided by rivals, such as Verizon and AT&T.

The company still services 22.4 million video subscribers and lost far less than last year, when it parted ways with 127 000 people in the third quarter.

“It was a very good quarter, particular strength in improving video numbers, broadband and NBC broadcast network,” Matthew Harrigan, an analyst at Wunderlich Securities, said in a phone interview for Bloomberg.

Comcast stated revenue of $16.8 billion in the third quarter, a 4% increase compared to last year, surpassing Thomson Reuters I/B/E/Ss projection of $16.81.

Net income jumped 50% from $1.72 billion last year to $2.6 billion, but including a one off-tax gain. Earnings per share rose to $0.99. Adjusted earnings per share, excluding the one-off tax gain, increased to $0.73 from $0.65.

Comcast has agreed on a $45 billion takeover deal for Time Warner Cable, the second-largest U.S. cable-TV company. However, the agreement may take longer than expected as regulators resolve disputes over programming contracts. The Federal Communications Commission is putting on pause the informal 180-day period, with the idea to give companies more time to submit comments about the transaction.

“Since the deal was announced, it’s been a cloud of uncertainty,” said for Bloomberg David Heger, an analyst at Edward Jones & Co. “It’s been a big factor on why the shares have been underperformers this year.”

Comcast Corp. lost 1.34% on Wednesday and closed at $51.49 on the NASDAQ. Shares traded 2.84% higher at $52.95 at 15:01 GMT on Thursday, marking a one-year increase of 12.76%. The company is valued at $133.24 billion. According to the Financial Times, the 24 analysts offering 12-month price targets for Comcast Corp. have a median target of $63.50, with a high estimate of $72.00 and a low estimate of $52.00. The median estimate represents a 23.32% increase from the last price of $51.49.