Comcast CEO: 'Connectivity Is Our Focal Point'

‘We're on track to have our 14th consecutive year of 1 million broadband net additions,’ Comcast Chairman and CEO Brian Roberts told investors during the company's second-quarter 2019 earnings call.

Comcast is staying true to its roots: Executives for the cable giant said they see a "solid pipeline" for broadband innovation that will help build on its consistently strong connectivity revenue.

"In the U.S., connectivity is our focal point, enabled by our world-class network. We're on track to have our 14th consecutive year of 1 million broadband net additions," Chairman and CEO Brian Roberts told investors during the company's second-quarter 2019 earnings call Thursday morning.

Comcast's Cable Communications, which includes high-speed internet, voice, video, wireless and business services, rose 3.9 percent during the second quarter and generated revenue of $14.45 billion, up from $13.91 billion in the second quarter of 2018. The company said those gains primarily were driven by increases in high-speed internet, continually increasing business services and newfound wireless revenue.

[Related: Comcast Acquires Deep Blue Communications To Boost Managed Wi-Fi Chops]

High-speed internet, specifically, rose 9.4 percent to $4.66 billion, up from $4.26 billion a year ago. For second-quarter 2019, Comcast added a total of 209,000 net-new high-speed internet customers, with residential customer relationships increasing by 123,000 and business customer relationships growing by 29,000.

Michael Cavanagh, Comcast's senior executive vice president and CFO, said that the strength of Comcast's network and its "best-in-class" connectivity products will continue to drive profitable growth for the Philadelphia-based company.

"Consistent with the shift in our business toward connectivity, we will continue to invest in our network, which will enhance our competitive position in broadband by enabling us to stay ahead of customers’ high and increasing expectations, as evidenced by the rapid growth in data consumption," Cavanagh said.

Comcast's business services revenue jumped 9.9 percent to $1.93 billion in the second quarter compared with $1.76 billion in the same quarter a year ago. The carrier has been working to expand its relationships with business customers through value-added services, such as wireless backup and SD-WAN.

Voice revenue, on the other hand, continued its decline, falling to $982 million in second-quarter 2019 from $994 million during the second quarter of 2018.

As of last quarter, Comcast's Cable Communications results now include numbers for Xfinity Mobile, its wireless service that was introduced in 2017. Xfinity Mobile gained 181,000 net additions during second-quarter 2019 with revenue of $244 million, up 21 percent from last year's $202 million. That figure has risen steadily since the carrier introduced a wireless voice option. Xfinity Mobile, Cavanagh said, is an important contributor to the company's growth in its cable segment.

For the quarter ended June 30, Comcast missed Wall Street's revenue estimates of $27.06 billion, reporting $26.86 billion. However, revenue increased year over year by 23.6 percent, up from $21.74 billion in second-quarter 2018. Net income in the quarter was $3.13 billion, dipping 2.8 percent from last quarter's ending balance of $3.22 billion. The cable giant posted adjusted earnings per share of 78 cents, up 13 percent, compared with 69 cents per share for the first quarter of last year.