It looks like the recession is good for the cable industry. Although Cablevision’s recent earnings report was a bit mixed, Comcast (NSDQ: CMCSA) reported a pretty strong Q2, as profits rose 53 percent to $967 million ($0.33 per share) boosted by favorable tax settlements and revenues were up 4.5 percent to $8.94 billion. The company handily beat analysts’ expectations, as a *Thomson Reuters* poll (via WSJ) called for EPS of $0.26 on revenues of $8.5 billion.
| 2Q 2009 | 2Q 2008 | Analysts Estimates For 2009 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| EPS | $0.33 | $0.21 | $0.26 |
| Net Income | $967M | $632M | NA |
| Revenue | $8.94B | $8.55B | $8.5B |
Earnings release | Webcast | Slides
Still advertising remains an area that is still very much affected by the recession and Comcast was not immune to the continued tightening of marketers’ budgets. Revenue from the Cable segment grew 4.6 percent to $8.5 billion, thanks to continued additions of residential and business subs. The cable segment’s gains were offset by lower ad revenue, the company said.
The monthly average total revenue per video customer was up 7.4 percent to $117.74. By the end of Q2, Comcast

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