PHILADELPHIA — Comcast Corp. on Wednesday reported first-quarter earnings of $2.13 billion, surpassing Wall Street’s expectations with help from an increase in subscriber numbers.
The company added 53,000 video subscribers during the quarter, appeasing fears about “cord-cutters” who get rid of cable subscription in favor of video streaming services like Netflix and Hulu. In all, Comcast added 269,000 subscribers during the quarter, up nearly 36 percent from the same period a year earlier.
On a per-share basis, the Philadelphia-based company said it had profit of 87 cents. Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring gains, came to 84 cents per share.
The average estimate of 22 analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 79 cents per share.
The cable provider posted revenue of $18.79 billion in the period, also surpassing Street forecasts. Twenty analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $18.65 billion.
But Comcast’s shares fell 38 cents to $60.67 in morning trading. Comcast shares have climbed 8 percent since the beginning of the year, while the Standard &Poor’s 500 index has risen slightly more than 2 percent. The stock has risen almost 4 percent in the last 12 months.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
