U.S. stocks gained on Thursday, with the S&P 500 ending its losing streak. The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced more than 400 points, or 1.63%, to 24,984.55, the S&P 500 index rose 1.86% to 2,705.57 and the Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 2.95% to 7,318.34.
Shares of Comcast Corp. (CMCSA, Financial) gained 5.04% on Thursday after the company posted third-quarter earnings of 65 cents per share on $22.14 billion in revenue, reflecting 5% year-over-year growth. The company beat earnings estimates by 4 cents, and beats revenue expectations by $310 million.
“This is an exciting and important time in Comcast’s history," Chairman and CEO Brian Roberts said. "To highlight a few of the achievements in our businesses this quarter, Comcast Cable’s EBITDA growth was the fastest in six years, and customer relationship growth accelerated, driven by the best broadband net additions for a third quarter in 10 years. At NBCUniversal, our TV businesses continued their strong performance.”
In addition, net income increased 9.3% to $2.9 billion and adjusted EBITDA increased 2.5% to $7.3 billion.
For the nine months ended Sept. 30, earnings were $1.98 per share, a 23% increase. On an adjusted basis, earnings per share rose 22.4% to $1.91.
During the quarter, Comcast paid $871 million in dividends and repurchased 35.6 million shares for $1.3 billion.
Gainers
- Xilinx Inc. (XLNX, Financial)
- Ford Motor Co. (F, Financial)
- Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN, Financial)
- Whirlpool Corp. (WHR, Financial)
- American Airlines Group Inc. (AAL, Financial)
- Kimco Realty Corp. (KIM, Financial)
Losers
- Align Technology Inc. (ALGN, Financial)
- Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD, Financial)
- EQT Corp. (EQT, Financial)
- Southwest Airlines Co. (LUV, Financial)
- Hershey Co. (HSY, Financial)
Global markets
The main European stock markets traded higher. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 rose 0.59%, France's CAC 40 gained 1.60%, Germany's Dax jumped 1.03% and Spain's IBEX 35 advanced 1.24%.
In Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 tumbled 3.72%, India’s BSE Sensex retreated 1.01%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng slid 1.01% and China's Shanghai Composite jumped 0.02%.
Disclosure: The author holds no positions in any stocks mentioned.
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