Earnings Preview: Comcast To Report 3Q Results

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Comcast Corp., the nation's largest cable TV operator and largest home Internet service provider, reports third-quarter earnings before the market opens on Wednesday. The following is a summary of key developments and analyst opinion related to the period:

OVERVIEW: Comcast is expected to report slower customer growth in the third quarter from the same quarter last year, but results will be an improvement over the second quarter of 2009. Competition continues to weigh on the cable operator, which is battling not only satellite TV deals but aggressive promotions from Verizon Communications Inc.

BY THE NUMBERS: Analysts, on average, expect Comcast's revenue to increase by 3.5 percent to $8.85 billion from a year ago. They expect earnings per share to fall by a penny to 25 cents, according to a survey by Thomson Reuters.

ANALYST TAKE: Tuna Amobi from Standard & Poor's expects Comcast to add about 300,000 new digital cable customers, at least 350,000 phone customers and 250,000 Internet subscribers. He sees Comcast continuing to lose basic cable subscribers.

WHAT'S AHEAD: Comcast is negotiating to buy a 51 percent stake in NBC Universal from General Electric Co. and a deal is expected to be announced shortly. NBC Universal will be spun off and GE will have the option to divest its remaining 49 percent stake over the next few years.