Comcast profit triples, spending raises concerns
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Comcast Corp. said on Thursday its  quarterly profit tripled, but higher-than-expected spending  plans for 2007 dragged down shares of the largest U.S. cable  company and its rivals.
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Media conglomerate Time Warner Inc.  said on Wednesday that fourth-quarter profit rose more than 30 percent, boosted by asset sales, more digital cable and phone customers, and a rise in AOL advertising sales.
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AT&amp;T&#160;reported net income of $3.1 billion for the third quarter of 2007, up from $2.2 billion a year earlier, largely due to its&#160;acquisition of BellSouth.AT&amp;T nearly doubled its revenue from a year ago, going from $15.6 billion to $30.1 billion, but those 2006 numbers don&#39;t factor in the BellSouth acquisition and revenue from Cingular Wireless, which AT&amp;T and BellSouth co-owned. The BellSouth deal closed Dec. 29, 2006.AT&amp;T&#39;s revenue was up 3.2 percent from the combined revenue from AT&amp;T, BellSouth, and Cingular in the third quarter of 2006. Comparable earnings per share were $0.50 compared to $0.56 the third quarter of 2006.AT&amp;T&#39;s adjusted third-quarter earnings, which exclude costs and accounting effects associated with the acquisition, were $4.3 billion, or $0.71 per diluted share, up from $2.4 billion, or $0.63 per diluted share, in the third quarter of 2006.AT&amp;T&#39;s third-quarter results were &quot;excellent,&quot; Randall Stephenson, AT&amp;T chairman and CEO, said in a statement. Stephenson cited growth in wireless, broadband, and U-verse TV customers as the reason for a strong quarter.AT&amp;T&#39;s renamed wireless division saw an increase in 2 million customers in the quarter, the company said. The company&#39;s wireless division now has 65.7 million subscribers.AT&amp;T&#39;s merger integration efforts are on schedule, the company said, and cost savings are running ahead of the original estimates. In the first three quarters of 2007, cost savings from the BellSouth merger were about $2.8 billion, and AT&amp;T expects those savings to reach more than $3 billion for the year.Wireless data revenue increased 63.9 percent from last year, driven by increases in consumer and business data usage, including messaging, media bundles, laptop connectivity, and smart phone connectivity, AT&amp;T said.In the broadband space, AT&amp;T&#39;s connections, including DSL (Digital Subscriber Line), AT&amp;T U-verse, and satellite broadband services, increased by 499,000 in the quarter to reach 13.8 million. That&#39;s up 2.2 million, or 18.6 percent, over the past year.
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TO THE EDITOR:           It's definitely not comcastic, if anything it's fantastic - used in the sense of being capricious. My reference is to the article announcing Comcast's rate increase ("Comcast likely to hike rates," Intell, Dec. 2).
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Internet service provider EarthLink Inc.  on Tuesday posted higher quarterly profit, boosted by cost controls, but sales fell 3 percent.
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Continuing cable's tactic of fighting DSL on speed, not price, Comcast will hike data rates by a third.
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TO THE EDITOR:           Record profits, no accountability, greed. The latest Comcast rate increase is explained by the need to improve services. What ever happened to investing profits to enhance service? Comcast is truly the poster child for de-regulation of a monopoly.
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General Mills Inc.  on Thursday  said quarterly profit edged higher, though increased marketing  spending and higher commodity costs tempered the increase.
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The network equipment maker reported that its quarterly net income grew 7.2 percent amid growing concern that economic weakness could affect technology spending this year.
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Time Warner Cable Inc , the  second-largest U.S. cable operator, on Wednesday posted a 23  percent rise in fourth-quarter profit from higher numbers of  broadband and digital phone customers.
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Cable giant Comcast Corp. on Wednesday posted a smaller third-quarter profit that missed Wall Street expectations, but said digital cable and high-speed Internet subscriptions continued to grow during the period.
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Comcast Corp., the largest U.S. cable operator, on Wednesday posted a third quarter profit, boosted by high-speed Internet customer gains that offset slower growth in basic video subscribers.
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PHILADELPHIA -- Comcast Corp., the nation's biggest cable TV systems operator, said Thursday that its third-quarter profit fell 54 percent and new customer additions slowed amid intensified competition from phone and satellite TV companies.
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Comcast&#39;s (CMCSA:Nasdaq - news - research) shares jumped 2% Tuesday on news that Warren Buffett had feasted on its shares.
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Comcast Corp. posted strong growth in high-speed Internet and digital cable customers during the third quarter. The Philadelphia-based cable TV and programming company&#39;s profit was slightly below estimates and its revenue was slightly above them.
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Leading U.S. cable company's results impacted by cost to lure subscribers.
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What's the cause of the fall in Comcast's share price during the past month?