Comcast’s in-line Q3 earnings should alleviate cable TV concerns, analyst says

Comcast Corp. reported losing 125,000 cable TV subscribers during the third quarter, but Jefferies analyst Scott Goldman chose to focus on the media, telecom and entertainment company’s overall in-line earnings. Goldman said he expects Comcast’s results to alleviate investor concerns around video losses. Shares of Comcast were down 3.6% after the company reported. “We view the results positively in light of weakness into the print,” Goldman wrote in a note to investors. “The results are likely to alleviate investor concerns, though forward looking commentary will be closely watched.” Comcast shares are up 6.7% in the year to date, while the S&P 500 index is up 14.2% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 18.1%.

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S&P 500, Dow attempt rebound after biggest drop in 7 weeks

The S&P 500 and Dow industrials opened higher on Thursday, however the Nasdaq Composite was under pressure, as investors focused on the latest policy update from the European Central Bank and a deluge of corporate results, on one of the busiest days for earnings. The S&P 500 opened 5 point, or 0.2%, higher to 2,562. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 96 points, or 0.4%, to 23,421. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index declined 5 points, or 0.1%, to 6,560. Among the worst performers on the S&P 500, Celgene Corp. shares plunged 17% after the company reported a third-quarter profit beat and revenue miss and lowered its 2017 profit and revenue outlook. Among the best performers, Twitter surged 12% after the social media group reported narrower losses.

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Burger King parent Restaurant Brands International’s earnings beat estimates

Restaurant Brands International Inc. reported third-quarter net income of $91.4 million, or 37 cents per share, up from $86.3 million, or 36 cents per share, for the same period last year. Adjusted EPS was 58 cents, ahead of the 48-cents FactSet consensus. Revenue totaled $1.21 billion, up from $1.08 billion last year and beating the $1.19 billion FactSet consensus. Restaurant Brands portfolio includes Burger King, Tim Hortons and Popeyes. Same-restaurant sales grew 0.3% at Tim Hortons, were up 3.6% at Burger King, but fell 1.8% at Popeyes. Restaurant Brands shares are up 49.5% for the past year outpacing the S&P 500 index , which is up 19.5% for the period.

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Charter shares fall 6% after company misses Q3 earnings, reports accelerated subscriber losses

Shares of Charter Communications Inc. were down nearly 6% in premarket trade on Thursday after the telecommunications company reported third-quarter earnings below Wall Street expectations and a loss of 104,000 TV subscribers. The company reported net income of $48 million, or 19 cents per share, compared with $189 million, or 69 cents per share during the same quarter a year ago. FactSet’s per-share earnings consensus was 98 cents. Revenue for the quarter was $10.46 billion, up from $10.04 billion a year ago, but below FactSet’s $10.49 billion consensus. Charter’s TV subscriber losses accelerated in the quarter. The company lost 104,000 TV subscribers in the quarter, compared with 51,000 last year. Customer additions for its internet business, where it added 249,000, helped offset overall declines. Shares of Charter Communications are up nearly 20% in the year to date, while the S&P 500 index is up more than 14% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 18%.

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Worldwide spending on mobile expected to reach $1.7 trillion by 2021: IDC

Worldwide spending on smartphone hardware, software and services will reach $1.72 trillion in 2021 with the U.S. accounting for about a quarter of the spend, International Data Corporation (IDC) said Thursday. “Although annual growth is expected to slow over the 2016-2021 forecast period, IDC still expects spending on mobility-related hardware, software, and services to see a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 2.7%,” the research firm said. “Worldwide mobility spending will total $1.58 trillion in 2017, an increase of 4.3% over 2016.” The U.S. is expected to account for nearly one quarter of the spend, making it the biggest regional market at $392 billion, said IDC. Mainland China is expected to take second place at $337 billion, followed by Japan, Brazil and the U.K.

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Yellen reportedly out of race to be Fed chief

Janet Yellen is no longer in the race to serve a second term as chair of the Federal Reserve, Politico reported, citing a person who talks “regularly” with President Donald Trump. That would leave the race to Fed Gov. Jerome Powell and Stanford economist John Taylor. The same report quoted someone “close to the process” as saying Trump changes his mind about it every day.

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UPDATE: Celgene shares drop 15% on updated 2017 guidance

Celgene Corp. shares dropped 15% in premarket trade Thursday after the company reported a third-quarter profit beat and revenue miss and lowered its 2017 profit and revenue outlook. Earnings for the latest quarter rose to $988 million, or $1.21 per share, from $171 million, or $1.21 per share in the year-earlier period. Adjusted earnings-per-share were $1.91, above the FactSet consensus of $1.87. Revenue rose to $3.29 billion from $2.98 billion, below the FactSet consensus of $3.42 billion. Sales of Revlimid, Otezla, Abraxane and Vidaza came in below consensus, while sales of Pomalyst beat the consensus. Celgene also lowered its 2017 revenue and EPS guidance, bringing revenue guidance to about $13 billion, compared with previous guidance of $13 billion to $13.4 billion, and bringing EPS guidance down to $4.78 to $5.19, compared with previous guidance of $5.36 to $5.62. The company’s updated 2017 revenue outlook is below the FactSet consensus of $13.23 billion, and its new 2017 EPS guidance is below the FactSet consensus of $5.33. Celgene also increased the lower end of its adjusted EPS guidance, bringing its 2017 EPS outlook to $7.30 to $7.35 from previous guidance of $7.25 to $7.35, compared with the FactSet consensus of $7.32. Celgene shares have dropped 13.2% over the last three months, compared with a 3.2% rise in the S&P 500 .

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Twitter’s stock soars toward biggest gain 13 months, set to snap losing streak at 8 sessions

Shares of Twitter Inc. shot up 10.5% in active premarket trade Thursday, putting them on track to open at a 3-month high, after the social media company’s profit and revenue beat offset the admission that it overstated active users. Trading volume was 4.6 million shares more than an hour before the open, compared with the full-day average of 12.0 million shares, according to FactSet. The stock, which was headed for the biggest one-day percentage gain since Sept. 23, 2016, should snap an 8-session losing streak, which was the longest such streak since the 8-day stretch ending Jan. 13, 2016. It was also on track for the biggest one-day post-earnings rise since it soared 16% on Feb. 6, 2015, after reporting fourth-quarter 2014 results. The stock had tumbled 12.6% over the past three months through Wednesday, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 had edged up 1.8% and the S&P 500 had gained 3.2%.

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European Central Bank to cut bond purchases to 30 billion euros a month in January

The European Central Bank on Thursday announced it would extend its bond buying program through September 2018, but slow the pace of purchases to 30 billion euros a month beginning in January from its current monthly pace of 60 billion euros. The ECB said it could extend the purchases beyond September “if necessary,” and that if conditions deteriorated, it stood ready to increase the size of the program in terms of size and/or duration. Also, the ECB will continue to reinvest principal payments from maturing securities it has purchased “for an extended period,” the bank said. The ECB had been widely expected to extend the program past its scheduled end date in December but to reduce the size of purchases by 20 billion to 40 billion euros. The ECB, as expected, left interest rates unchanged and reiterated that rates would remain at present levels well beyond the end of its asset-buying program. More details are expected when ECB President Mario Draghi holds a news conference in Frankfurt at 2:30 p.m. local time, or 8:30 a.m. Eastern.

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Celgene shares drop 11% on updated 2017 guidance

Celgene Corp. shares dropped 11.2% in premarket trade Thursday after the company reported a third-quarter profit beat and revenue miss and lowered its 2017 profit and revenue outlook. Earnings for the latest quarter rose to $988 million, or $1.21 per share, from $171 million, or $1.21 per share in the year-earlier period. Adjusted earnings-per-share were $1.91, above the FactSet consensus of $1.87. Revenue rose to $3.29 billion from $2.98 billion, below the FactSet consensus of $3.42 billion. Sales of Revlimid, Otezla, Abraxane and Vidaza came in below consensus, while sales of Pomalyst beat the consensus. Celgene also lowered its 2017 revenue and EPS guidance, bringing revenue guidance to about $13 billion, compared with previous guidance of $13 billion to $13.4 billion, and bringing EPS guidance down to $4.78 to $5.19, compared with previous guidance of $5.36 to $5.62. The company’s updated 2017 revenue outlook is below the FactSet consensus of $13.23 billion, and its new 2017 EPS guidance is below the FactSet consensus of $5.33. Celgene also increased the lower end of its adjusted EPS guidance, bringing its 2017 EPS outlook to $7.30 to $7.35 from previous guidance of $7.25 to $7.35, compared with the FactSet consensus of $7.32. Celgene shares have dropped 13.2% over the last three months, compared with a 3.2% rise in the S&P 500 .

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