What does the company do?
Comcast Corporation is a provider of cable services, offering a variety of entertainment, information and communications services to residential and commercial customers. As of December 31, 2008, its cable systems served approximately 24.2 million video customers, 14.9 million high-speed Internet customers and 6.5 million phone customers, and passed over 50.6 million homes in 39 states and the District of Columbia. It operates in two segments: Cable and Programming. The Cable segment, which generates approximately 95% of the Company’s consolidated revenue, manages and operates cable systems in the United States. The Cable segment also includes the operations of its regional sports networks. The Programming segment consists of its national programming networks, including E!, Golf Channel, VERSUS, G4 and Style. In June 2009, the Company acquired from Hearst its 50% interest in New England Cable News (NECN). Comcast owns 100% of NECN.
How much does the company sell and earn?
Investors need to know how much stuff or services a company sells, and how much of that total it keeps as income (or profit) to grow its business or return to shareholders. The more of each, the better. In general, look for companies that sell and earn more than peers.
- Comcast one-year sales: 35.34 Bil.
Difference from the average for the CATV Systems group: 113.53% - Comcast one-year income: 3.10 Bil.
Difference from the average for the CATV Systems group: 800.99%| Sales & Income (past 12 months) | Company | Industry |
|---|
| Sales | 35.34 Bil | 16.55 Bil | | Income | 3.10 Bil | 343.51 Mil |
How fast is the company growing?
- Comcast one-year sales growth: 4.30%.
Difference from the average for the CATV Systems group: 2.00 pct. pts. - Comcast one-year income growth: 25.70%.
Difference from the average for the CATV Systems group: 1.10 pct. pts.| Sales & Income Growth (past 12 months) | Company | Industry |
|---|
| Sales Growth | 4.30% | 2.30% | | Income Growth | 25.70% | 24.60% |
How profitable is the company?
Investors prefer companies that increase profit margins -- the percentage of sales that they keep -- every year. This is accomplished either by lowering expenses or raising prices. Look for companies that consistently find ways to squeeze more profits out of sales than their peers.
- Comcast one-year net profit margin: 8.7%
Difference from the company's 5-year average net profit margin: 1.7 pct. pts.
Difference from the average for the CATV Systems group: 7.0 pct. pts.
| Net profit margins (%) |
|---|
| Company | 8.7% | | Company 5-Yr Avg. | 7.0% | | Industry | 1.7% |
How is the company's financial health?
The debt/equity ratio shows how much a firm has borrowed as a percentage of its stock equity. The lower, the better.
- Comcast debt/equity ratio: 0.70.
Difference from the average for the CATV Systems group: -38.05%.
| | Company | Industry |
|---|
| Debt/equity ratio | 0.70 | 1.13 |
|
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