Comcast Trumps Cablevision in Earnings (CMCSA, GE, CVC, T, VZ, DTV, DISH)

Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ: CMCSA) reported fourth quarter and full-year earnings this morning that both beat analysts’ expectations. For the quarter, Comcast posted EPS of $0.36 on revenue of $9.7 billion, and for the full year, the company reported EPS of $1.29 on revenue of $37.9 billion. Comcast also completed its acquisition of a controlling interest in NBCUniversal from General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) during the fourth quarter. NBCUniversal’s results will be consolidated with Comcast’s starting with the first quarter of 2011.

Cablevision Systems Corp. (NYSE: CVC) did not fare as well. The company reported fourth quarter EPS of $0.39 on sales of $1.87 billion. Analysts had been expecting EPS of $0.41 on revenue of $1.85 billion. For the full year, Cablevision reported diluted EPS of $1.20 on revenue of $7.23 billion, below expectations of EPS of $1.30 and revenue of $7.24 billion.

What both Comcast and Cablevision face now is a challenge from telecom carriers like AT&T (NYSE: T) and Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ), as well as increased competition from satellite providers like DirecTV (NASDAQ: DTV) and Dish Network Corp. (NASDAQ: DISH) for high-end subscribers to the full-menu of the companies’ offerings.

On a gross level, both Comcast and Cablevision are losing customers for their low-end services and gaining customers for their high-end multi-services packages that include video, high-speed internet, and voice services. Cablevision’s acquisition of Bresnan Communications gives it 881,000 new customers and new territory in the Mountain West, but the possibility of adding substantially more is limited by the population of Colorado, Utah, Montana, and Wyoming. Altogether, the total population of all four states is less than 10 million, and there are only about 2.7 million households in the region.

Cablevision’s total customer count is about 3.65 million, while Comcast counts some 68 million. AT&T and Verizon both post more than 90 million customers.

Both Comcast and Cablevision saw a rise in revenue from their content divisions, and both noted higher affiliate revenue and stronger advertising sales. When the NBCUniversal revenue hits Comcast earnings this quarter, revenue should jump significantly.

Comcast also raised its annual dividend to $0.45, beginning with the current quarter, and said that it would speed up share repurchases by acquiring $2.1 billion in company stock still authorized under its existing share repurchase program.

Comcast shares are up about 3% in early trading this morning, and Cablevision’s shares are down about -3%.

Paul Ausick