Comcast Cuts Cash Flow Guidance

Comcast (CMCSA Quote) matched third-quarter earnings estimates and cut its 2007 free cash flow forecast, citing a more competitive environment and a softening economy.

The company also boosted its stock buyback plan by $7 billion.

The Philadelphia-based cable company made $560 million, or 18 cents a share, down from the year-ago $1.22 billion, or 38 cents a share. Revenue rose 21% from a year ago to $7.78 billion.

Analysts were looking for an 18-cent profit on sales of $7.76 billion.

The company added 1.4 million revenue generating units in the latest quarter, down from 1.5 million last quarter. Comcast added 489,000 new digital cable subscribers in the latest quarter but lost 65,000 basic cable users. The company added 450,000 high-speed Internet customers and 662,000 Comcast Digital Voice users.

The news comes as Comcast faces increasing competition from telco rivals such as Verizon (VZ Quote) and AT&T (T Quote).

The company cut its consolidated free cash flow target for 2007, saying it expects the figure to decline 10% from a year ago. Previously the company had seen free cash flow being flat.