Comcast Corp, the largest US cable operator, on Wednesday posted a quarterly profit that fell short of Wall Street forecasts but reported better-than-expected gains in high-speed Internet customers.
Comcast, whose shares rose 2 percent in pre-market trading, also raised its full-year growth projections for high-speed Internet subscribers.
The Philadelphia-based company added 549,100 net new high speed Internet customers in the third quarter, well ahead of even the most aggressive Wall Street estimates of about 475,000.
Third-quarter net income was $220 million, or 10 cents a share. Among analysts polled by Reuters Estimates, the average profit forecast was 13 cents a share. Among analysts polled by Thomson Financial/First Call, the average forecast was 11 cents a share.
A year earlier, net earnings were $3.18 billion, or $1.41 a share a year, including a one-time gain of $3.29 billion, or $1.48 a share, from the sale of its stake in the QVC shopping channel.