Comcast's Stock Gains After Profit And Revenue Beat Expectations

Comcast Corp.'s stock gained 1.2% in light premarket trade Wednesday, after the cable operator beat second-quarter profit and sales expectations. Earnings declined to $2.03 billion, or 83 cents a share, from $2.14 billion, or 84 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. The FactSet consensus was for EPS of 81 cents. Revenue increased to $19.27 billion from $18.74 billion, beating the FactSet consensus of $19.00 billion. Cable communications revenue rose 6% to $12.44 billion, compared with expectations of $12.43 billion, while NBC Universal revenue slipped 1.8% to $7.10 billion, above expectations of $6.79 billion. Customer relationship net additions increased by 115,000 to 28.1 million. "Despite an expected difficult comparison to last year's record second quarter film slate, NBCUniversal achieved solid results, driven by strength in our TV businesses and Theme Parks, which benefited from the successful opening of The Wizarding World of Harry PotterTM in Hollywood," said Chief Executive Brian Roberts. The stock has climbed 19% year to date through Tuesday, while the S&P 500 has gained 6.1%.