Comcast now has more Internet subscribers than cable customers

Comcast announced that it now has more Internet subscribers than cable subscribers.

The country’s largest cable provider’s $45 billion bid for Time Warner Cable collapsed. However, Comcast wants to move on from the failed merger, and announcing a blockbuster increase in broadband subscriptions is a step in the right direction for the company.

CEO Brian Roberts told investors during an earnings call on Monday: “Of course we’re disappointed… …But really, we’ve moved on.”

Comcast said that the number of Internet customers rose by 407,000 in the first quarter of 2015, the biggest increase since early 2013, representing revenue growth of more than 10 percent.

The number of video customers, on the other hand, declined by 8,000 in the quarter, compared to the addition of 24,000 cable-TV subscribers in the previous year.

Analysts expected an increase in the number of video customers, but the robust gain in Internet customers certainly offset the loss in video customers.

 

Comcast Q1 2015 financial results

The company posted profit of $2.06 billion in the first quarter, or 81 cents per share, up 10 percent from $1.87 billion last year.

Revenue rose by 2.6 percent to $17.85 billion.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected per-share profit of 74 cents on revenue of $17.4 billion.

Company also announced plans to buy back $2.5 billion more stock, ramping up its total 2015 share-repurchase plan to $6.75 billion.

“We are off to a great start in 2015, with 7.6% operating cash flow growth and record quarterly free cash flow,” Comcast CEO Brian Roberts said. (Cash flow means how much money is flowing in and out of a business over a specific period)

“Cable had a terrific quarter, once again reflecting strong results in high-speed Internet and business services. We have made progress in transforming the customer experience while delivering improved products and innovations faster than ever before.”

Now that a TWC deal is out of the question, the company needs to focus on retaining its current dominance in the broadband market.