There wasn't much evidence of a global financial crisis or an economic downturn in Comcast's third-quarter results. The company posted earnings of $771 million, or 26 cents per share, 4 cents per share ahead of Wall Street's forecast for 22 cents per share. Comcast's profit shot up 38 percent from $560 million, or 18 cents per share, last year. If consumer spending has stalled, Comcast isn't feeling the effects yet.
"I want to begin the call by stepping back and just commenting on the obviously unique and challenging economic time that we are all living through in the United States. Is cable a good business? Is Comcast ready? I think absolutely yes," said Comcast CEO Brian Roberts on the quarterly conference call.
Roberts also swore up and down that the company wouldn't have to tap the capital markets for the "foreseeable future."
So why did the stock fall close to 10 percent in Wednesday's trading session? Competition from the telcos -- specifically from AT&T -- may be keeping some investors on the sidelines.
"We are actually seeing more competition from AT&T than Verizon right now and that was the exact opposite a year ago . . . AT&T has so much broader a footprint that we actually think they are having a greater effect on our business than Verizon," said COO Stephen Burke on Wednesday's conference call.
