Comcast Corp. (CMCSA - Analyst Report) reported mixed financial results in the second quarter of 2015. Revenues surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate while earnings per share were in line with the same. Comcast currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).  

GAAP net income in the second quarter of 2015 came in at $2,137 million or 84 cents per share compared with $1,992 million or 76 cents in the prior-year quarter. Quarterly adjusted earnings per share of 84 cents were exactly in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate.

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Meanwhile, total revenue stood at $18,743 million, up 11.3% year over year and also above the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $18,126 million.

Quarterly operating costs and expenses totaled $12,477 million, up 13% year over year. However, quarterly operating income came in at $4,105 million, representing annualized growth of 7.9%. Operating margin was 21.9% compared with 22.6% in the prior-year quarter. During the second quarter, Comcast repurchased 27.4 million worth of common shares for $1.6billion and paid dividends of $628 million.

In the second quarter of 2015, Comcast generated $6,266 million of cash from operations compared with $5,804 million in the year-ago quarter. Free cash flow stood at $1,501 million as against $1,155 million in the prior-year quarter.

Cash and marketable securities, at quarter end, were $3,630 million against $4,512 million at the end of 2014. Total debt at second-quarter end was $48,523 million as against $48,234 million at the end of 2014. The debt-to-capitalization ratio stood at 0.46, compared with 0.45 at the end of 2014.

Cable Communications Segment

Quarterly total revenue of $11,729 million reflected a 6.3% year-over-year rise. Operating cash flow was $4,798 million, up 5.1% year over year. Within this segment, video revenues were $5,431 million, up 3.7% from the prior-year quarter. High-Speed Internet revenues totaled $3,101 million, up 10% year over year. Voice revenues were $903 million, down 2.1% year over year. Advertising revenues totaled $582 million, down 0.9% from the year-ago quarter. Business Services revenues were $1,161 million, up 20.4% year over year. Other revenues were $551 million, up 10.9% from the prior-year quarter.

As of Jun 30, 2015, Comcast had 22.548 million (up 6% year over year) High-Speed Internet customers; 11.319 million (up 2.9% year over year) Voice customers; and 22.306 million (down 0.7% year over year) Video customers. The company added a net of 180,000 High-Speed Internet customers compared with 203,000 in the year-ago quarter.

Similarly, Comcast gained 49,000 Voice customers as against 137,000 in the prior-year quarter. However, it lost 69,000 video subscribers compared with 144,000 in the year-ago quarter. In the reported quarter, Comcast gained 42,000 triple-play subscribers and 46,000 double-play subscribers but lost 56,000 single-play subscribers.

NBC Universal Segment

Quarterly total revenue of $7,230 million reflected a 20.2% year-over-year increase. Operating cash flow was $1,712 million, indicating a 19.4% year-over-year rise. Within this segment, Cable Networks revenues were $2,450 million, down 1% year over year. Broadcast TV revenues came in at $1,813 million, down 0.2% year over year. Filmed Entertainment revenues were $2,266 million, highlighting a rise of a whopping 92.7% from the year-ago quarter. Theme Parks revenues were $773 million, up 25.7% year over year.

Latest Development

Comcast is set to foray into the over-the-top video delivery market with the launch of its Internet TV service, “Stream.” Priced at $15 per month, the new streaming service will allow customers to stream live TV programs from major broadcast networks including HBO on their smartphones, tablets and laptops while at home. It will also allow access to Comcast’s TV Everywhere and cloud DVR services together with multiple on-demand programming while at home or away.

Comcast’s peers are also not far behind in their attempts to make their presence felt in the Internet TV space. In Feb 2015, Dish Network Corp. (DISH - Analyst Report) commercially launched its Internet TV service called “Sling TV” across the U.S. Verizon Communications Inc.’s (VZ - Analyst Report) Internet TV offering is slated to hit the market later this year. Further, in Mar 2015, PlayStation Vue – the highly awaited cloud-based TV service of Sony Corp. (SNE - Snapshot Report) – joined the Internet TV race.