NBC Expected to Lift Comcast Quarterly Earnings

Turns out that NBC is suddenly not such a drag on the fortunes of its (relatively) new owner, Philadelphia-based Comcast: The Peacock Network’s relatively strong fall showing is expected to power its parent company’s quarterly earnings International Business Times reports:

For fiscal-year 2012, analysts expect Comcast to report net income of $5.22 billion, or $1.93 per share, compared with $4.38 billion, or $1.58 per share, last year. The company is expected to report annual revenue of $62.49 billion, compared with $55.84 billion last year. Comcast reports on Wednesday before the opening bell.

Analysts are mostly optimistic about Comcast, which has reported higher profits for the last three quarters, with percentages in the double digits. Out of 23 analysts, 14 rated Comcast stock a Buy. The mean estimate was Overweight, but still better than any of Comcast’s pay-TV competitors. “We believe Comcast is best positioned to mitigate the pressures of rising programming costs, emerging players and new technologies,” Yong wrote.

Which is probably just as well, since we no longer have a fresh supply of Kabletown jokes to make about Comcast anymore.