Comcast Corp (CMCSA)

“The bigger, the better” if there is one company that would like to highlight this view is Comcast Corporation. The largest broadband cable provider in the United States offers a wide variety of consumer entertainment and communication products and services, serving more than 21 million video subscribers, 8 million high-speed Internet subscribers and 1 million phone subscribers.

With operations being spread across more than 35 states, the company is the market leader in multi-channel video program distribution (MVPD) with approximately 28% market share (including proportional shares of non-wholly owned cable systems). Comcast enjoys a reputation as a savvy cable operator, and has shown impressive growth since its acquisition of AT&T Broadband in late 2002. Strategically moving ahead, its recent transactions include the acquisition of Adelphia cable systems and the dissolution of its Texas joint venture with Time Warner Cable.

The advent of the new technology has enabled telecom companies to provide triple-play services, high-speed Internet, video on demand and telephone services over a single broadband connection. With wireless and broadband services being projected as the key growth drivers for the U.S. telecom services industry, Comcast expects increasing digital video penetration through 2008. Going forward, increase in subscribers base, though marginal, and a gradual hike in its average revenue per unit (ARPU) envisages positive operating environment for the company.

Comcast is focusing on the residential market in the near-term, but will likely begin to address opportunities in the business market in future years to promote ongoing revenue growth. With cable segment revenue growth of 10-11% being anticipated for 2006, the company’s strong customer growth indicates that VoIP and the triple play bundle are working, driving solid unit growth across all services. Though, the higher P/E multiple vis-à-vis industry’s calls for apprehension, but overall we believe our thesis for Comcast continues to play out.

People are hurting, but they will continue to pay for the ability to sit on their duffs and watch videos of goats licking electric fences on youtube and making sure they DVR "American Idol" until the bank comes and kicks them out of their house.

How is that for optimism?

As my best performer during the recent meltdown, I have to suggest this as a better than average company during the good and the bad. What ever their problems were, it would appear they are on the fast trak now.

Comcast triple play is smokin... they are killing Bellsouth and this is why ATT (T) wanted Bellsouth... Big brother was helping little brother to cut cost and compete with Cable. Cable will win at home and the Bells will win at work places because workplaces must have power to their phone under all circumstances.

They're finally getting they're technology act together, VOD is huge (bye bye Blockbuster and Netflix) and the deal with TiVo is good news.

Too volitile an industry to go more than a year out though.

Plus, how can you bet against a monopoly?

Comcast relies upon COAX based cable for its life. Verizon will compete with fiber optic cable (FiOS), cherry-picking the best markets that Comcast has, leaving Comcast with its most expensive (least profitable) customers only. Comcast is not ready for competition or adaptable to meet it. Comcast faces a long slow painful decline in the face of a superior competititor.

According to recent news, Comcast has just received letters from the FCC questioning their practice of interfering/delaying/censoring internet traffic.

For the non-geeks out there, the issue centers on a file-sharing protocol call Bittorrent. The RIAA and MPAA have been claiming that this file-sharing system is mainly used for piracy of copyrighted content.

True or now, the issue before the FCC is that legitimate distributors of files have also been blocked. One firm distributes its own films via Bittorrent, and many forms of legitimate software a passed around the same way.

Initially, Comcast denied cutting out any internet traffic. After a multitude of independent investigations by geeks, newspapers, and security researchers confirmed that it was, indeed, happening, Comcast then claimed that it was well within their right to "shape" the traffic.

Many groups and individuals have taken this up as a cause celebre over privacy and censorship. With such a high profile case coming before the FCC, Comcast will have do divert time and money to break even.

If they get fined, it could crack the financial foundations of the company. One complaint requests a fine of over $190,000 per user who could be affected.

In the end, Comcast won't go under (my humble Foolish opinion); but huge fines and the continual debate over monopolization could bruise this company from head to toe.

I think they are better than their competition

growth....high definition...leader in cable segment.

Disposable income is drying up. Entertainment at home will be the fallback leisure.

Comcast is a company with a monopolist attitude: high prices and low on service. Until recently, that may have been OK because they had a monopoly. But with competition from satellite TV and IP TV over fiber being real, they must change their attitude. This means lower prices and better customer service. Having dealt with them, and knowing a few people who work for them, I don't believe they can do it.

This is a no brainer, this stock is not going away and is going to outpreform for a long time to come. I can't beleive they took flack for trying to spend on the business, these capX numbers seem completely justified to me and I am little without understanding as to why the bears would claw this one down. This is a case where the metric is not the only piece to this puzzle of gross margin per subscriber. Yes margins operating margins are increasing but this is so that the company as stated in their filing and in their conference call this was to reduce the legacy infrastructure that they have out in the market right now.... I think more and more competition will be coming to mimic what comcast has done, but there is something to be said about first mover advantage and I don't see this management slowing down doing deals with youtube etc to get deals to get content on the ondemand network, which is a not talked about enough part of their business as they have everything from buying cars to being able to get a date on their... and let's face it, most of america still uses the tv over the computer for entertainment, what a better way to get youtube influence then to have it on comcast ondemand. This is a total win win in my opinion.

Beat earnings and raised dividend in a time when other companies are missing earnings and cutting dividends

The monopoly in my area. Customer service is wretched (putting it mildly) and they charge for just about everything they can think of......and a lot. Verizon just got approved for a franchise license so this should have Comcast looking at new ways to keep their current customers........like lowering prices. Will be intersting to see just how much of an effect Fios has on this, but I am already considering switching.

People will wear clothes with holes before they cancel their digital cable. Need I say more? This is a bargin and is sure to rise in the next few months.

Simple: if you can't afford gas, stay home and watch TV. Comcast has been working real hard to get their share of the market across this Nation. They certainly should get an A for effort. Nothing like a pocket full of money and sheer determination. They are a good solid company and it looks like they're on they're way up!

God, I don't envy cable companies. Having worked at CMCSA for six months, its a goddamn mess of local acquisitions and standards. You need superman like management to get around the gov't regulation, lightining-fast tech changes, and aging infrastructure.

CMCSA went fiber in most areas before it was hip, because they saw that analog cable was unreliable. Their investment is just starting to pay off as they can offer on-demand movies, 100's of HD channels, etc. Expect services and quality to go up when they soon ditch analog channels from their boxes (despite your digital box, channels under #100 are still analog, using up 80% of the line's bandwidth).

right now they're experiencing growing pains having risen to the top of the cable segment. but their coverage is across some of the wealthiest markets, and internet demand is going in one direction, and HD TV is here. Won't be a superstar stock but will appreciate faster than the S&P hands down

Gotta love a solid company near its 52 week low.

Comcast is not without its problems, but overall the company is a cash machine and is poised for outstanding growth over the next few years.

Many gurus are in this stock. Company management is improving and becoming more shareholder friendly. Most people don't appreciate what a fortress Comcast is. Yes, there are threats from the telcos. But the threat works both ways: Comcast is successfully penetrating the voice business. The telcos will have a much harder time eating Comcast's lunch than visa versa. Comcast's tech infrastructure gives them an advantage.