Comcast Reports 4th Quarter and Year End 2010 Results

Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ: CMCSA, CMCSK) today reported results for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2010.

Brian L. Roberts, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Comcast Corporation, said, "I am pleased to report healthy results for 2010, marked by accelerating growth during the year and real strength in financial and customer metrics in the fourth quarter. These results highlight effective execution in our residential, commercial and programming businesses, as well as the positive impact of a robust advertising market. Our results also demonstrate that our ongoing investments in technology and in products and services, combined with our focus on enhancing the customer experience, are bearing fruit.

"Now that we have completed the NBCUniversal transaction, we are uniquely positioned, with scale in distribution and content, to drive product leadership and innovation even further and to expand the entertainment choices we offer consumers.

"We have the right strategic mix of assets, strong momentum and many opportunities to build value for our shareholders. To underscore our optimism in our new company, we are increasing the dividend by 19% and accelerating our stock repurchases to $2.1 billion this year.”

Consolidated Financial Results

Fourth quarter and full-year 2010 results are consistent with historical reporting for Comcast Corporation. Beginning in the first quarter of 2011, NBCUniversal’s results will be consolidated in Comcast’s financial statements.

Revenue increased 7.2% in the fourth quarter of 2010 to $9.7 billion, while Operating Cash Flow increased 9.0% to $3.7 billion and Operating Income increased 10.8% to $2.0 billion, primarily reflecting strong operating results in the Cable segment.

For the year ended December 31, 2010, revenue increased 6.1% to $37.9 billion, Operating Cash Flow increased 6.4% to $14.6 billion, and Operating Income increased 10.6% to $8.0 billion. Excluding $80 million of NBCUniversal-related transaction costs in 2010 and $20 million in 2009, Operating Cash Flow increased 6.9%.

For additional detail on revenue and operating expenses, customer metrics, and capital expenditures, please refer to the trending schedules on Comcast’s Investor Relations website at www.cmcsa.com or www.cmcsk.com.

(1) Includes NBCUniversal transaction expenses of $20 million in the 4^th quarter of 2009, $23 million in the 4^th quarter of 2010 and $80 million for full year 2010.

Earnings per Share¹ (EPS) for the quarter ended December 31, 2010 was $0.36, a 9.1% increase from the $0.33 reported in the fourth quarter of 2009. Excluding NBCUniversal transaction-related costs, income tax benefits and other non-recurring items, fourth quarter 2010 EPS increased 20.7% to $0.35 compared to $0.29 in the fourth quarter 2009 (see Table 4).

EPS for the year ended December 31, 2010 was $1.29, a 2.4% increase from the $1.26 reported in 2009. Excluding NBCUniversal transaction-related costs, income tax benefits, one-time financing expenses and other non-recurring items, EPS for 2010 increased 18.0% to $1.31 compared to $1.11 in 2009 (see Table 4).

Capital Expenditures for the quarter ended December 31, 2010 decreased 4.8% to $1.5 billion, even with increased investment in Comcast Business Services and other strategic initiatives. For the year ended December 31, 2010, capital expenditures decreased 3.0%, to $5.0 billion, representing 13.1% of total revenue.

Free Cash Flow (excluding any impact from the Economic Stimulus packages) increased 46.0% to $1.1 billion in the fourth quarter of 2010 from $768 million in the fourth quarter of 2009. The increase in Free Cash Flow primarily reflects growth in consolidated operating cash flow, lower capital expenditures and changes in operating assets and liabilities (see Table 4). Free Cash Flow for the year ended December 31, 2010 totaled $5.4 billion, a 22.0% increase from $4.4 billion in 2009.

Note: The definition of Free Cash Flow remains unchanged and specifically excludes any impact from the 2008-2010 Economic Stimulus packages.

Cable Segment Results

For the quarter ended December 31, 2010, revenue from the Cable segment increased 6.9% to $9.2 billion compared to $8.6 billion in the fourth quarter of 2009. This increase reflects growth across our Video, High-Speed Internet and Voice residential services, a 53% increase in Business Services and a 29% increase in advertising revenue. Reflecting a growing number of residential customers taking multiple products, rate adjustments, and a higher contribution from Comcast Business Services, the monthly average total revenue per video customer increased 10.6% to $133.43.

For the year ended December 31, 2010, revenue from the Cable segment increased 5.6% to $35.8 billion compared to $33.9 billion in 2009.

For the quarter ended December 31, 2010, Operating Cash Flow from the Cable segment increased 8.7% to $3.8 billion compared to $3.5 billion in last year’s fourth quarter. This quarter’s Operating Cash Flow margin was 41.2% compared to 40.5% in the fourth quarter of 2009. These results primarily reflect lower high-speed Internet and voice expenses, partially offset by increases in video programming and marketing expenses.

For the year ended December 31, 2010, Operating Cash Flow from the Cable segment increased 6.4% to $14.6 billion compared to $13.7 billion in 2009. Operating Cash Flow margin was 40.7% in 2010 compared to 40.4% reported in 2009.

Customers. As of December 31, 2010, the Cable segment’s Video, High-Speed Internet and Voice customers totaled 48.4 million, an increase of 1.3 million or 2.7% over the prior year. In the fourth quarter, combined Video, High-Speed Internet and Voice customers increased by 414,000, reflecting sequential and year-over-year improvement in all three products. Digital video penetration is now 87%, reflecting an increasing number of customers taking higher levels of digital services as well as the completion of the All-Digital initiative in 75% of our footprint. In 2010, 1.0 million additional video customers subscribed to an advanced service like HD and/or DVR, with advanced service customers now representing 51% of total digital video customers.

Programming Segment Results

For the quarter ended December 31, 2010, revenue from the Programming segment increased 13.6% to $419 million compared to $368 million in the same time period in 2009. Fourth quarter Operating Cash Flow increased 1.6% to $46 million compared to the same period last year, even as the Programming segment incurred higher programming and marketing expenses in the fourth quarter.

For the year ended December 31, 2010, the Programming segment reported revenue of $1.7 billion, an 11.8% increase from the $1.5 billion reported in 2009, while Operating Cash Flow increased 20.6% to $469 million compared to $389 million last year. These results reflect higher affiliate revenue, a strong advertising market across all networks, ratings strength at E! and increased investment in programming.

Corporate and Other

Corporate and Other includes corporate overhead, Comcast Interactive Media (CIM), Comcast-Spectacor, and other operations and eliminations between Comcast's businesses. For the quarter ended December 31, 2010, Corporate and Other revenue increased 10.5% to $147 million from the $135 million reported in the fourth quarter of 2009, primarily reflecting the impact of the acquisition of Paciolan at Comcast-Spectacor. The Operating Cash Flow loss was $105 million compared to a loss of $108 million for the same time period in 2009. Fourth quarter 2010 Operating Cash Flow includes $23 million of NBCUniversal transaction expenses compared to $20 million in last year’s fourth quarter.

For the year ended December 31, 2010, Corporate and Other reported revenue of $501 million, a 27.8% increase over the $393 million reported in 2009, reflecting organic growth and the impact of the acquisition of Paciolan at Comcast-Spectacor, as well as strong advertising revenue growth at CIM. The Operating Cash Flow loss for the year was $434 million compared to a loss of $361 million in 2009. Excluding approximately $80 million of expenses related to the NBCUniversal transaction in 2010, this year’s Operating Cash Flow loss would have been $354 million.

Share Repurchase and Dividend

During the fourth quarter of 2010, Comcast repurchased 15.9 million of its common shares for $300 million. For the full year, Comcast repurchased 69.9 million of its common shares for $1.2 billion, reducing the total number of shares outstanding by 2.5%. In addition, Comcast made four cash dividend payments totaling $1.1 billion, resulting in a total return of capital to shareholders of $2.3 billion for 2010.

Today, Comcast announced its intent to accelerate its share repurchases, and now expects to repurchase the $2.1 billion remaining under its share repurchase authorization by the end of 2011, subject to market conditions. This represents a 75% increase over the $1.2 billion repurchased in 2010.

In addition, Comcast announced that it increased its planned annual dividend by 19% to $0.45 per share. In accordance with the increase, the Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.1125 a share on the company’s common stock, payable on April 27, 2011 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on April 6, 2011.

Notes:

1 Earnings per share amounts are presented on a diluted basis.

All percentages are calculated on whole numbers. Minor differences may exist due to rounding.

Conference Call Information

Comcast Corporation will host a conference call with the financial community today, February 16, 2011 at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time (ET). The conference call and related materials will be broadcast live and posted on its Investor Relations website at www.cmcsa.com or www.cmcsk.com. Those parties interested in participating via telephone should dial (800) 263-8495 with the conference ID number 35153607. A replay of the call will be available starting at 12:30 p.m. ET on February 16, 2011, on the Investor Relations website or by telephone. To access the telephone replay, which will be available until Wednesday, February 23, 2011 at midnight ET, please dial (800) 642-1687 and enter the conference ID number 35153607. To automatically receive Comcast financial news by email, please visit www.cmcsa.com or www.cmcsk.com and subscribe to email alerts.

Caution Concerning Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned that such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events or our actual results to differ materially from those expressed in any such forward-looking statements. Readers are directed to Comcast’s periodic and other reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for a description of such risks and uncertainties. We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

In this discussion, we sometimes refer to financial measures that are not presented according to generally accepted accounting principles in the U.S. (GAAP). Certain of these measures are considered "non-GAAP financial measures” under the SEC regulations; those rules require the supplemental explanations and reconciliations that are in Comcast’s Form 8-K (Quarterly Earnings Release) furnished to the SEC.

About Comcast Corporation

Comcast Corporation (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK) (www.comcast.com) is one of the nation's leading providers of entertainment, information and communications products and services. Comcast is principally involved in the operation of cable systems through Comcast Cable and in the development, production and distribution of entertainment, news, sports and other content for global audiences through NBCUniversal. Comcast Cable is one of the nation's largest video, high-speed Internet and phone providers to residential and business customers. Comcast is the majority owner and manager of NBCUniversal, which owns and operates entertainment and news cable networks, the NBC and Telemundo broadcast networks, local television station groups, television production operations, a major motion picture company and theme parks.