Comcast stock climbed Wednesday after the company announced a bigger stock buyback amid slowing growth in high-speed internet services. Despite the gain, shares remain down by nearly a third thus far this year.
Before the market open on Wednesday, Comcast said its board of directors has increased the company's share repurchase program to $20 billion with no expiration date. Also, the company disclosed it has repurchased $9 billion in Comcast stock in 2022.
"We believe management is taking advantage of current share price dislocation to return even more capital to shareholders — a positive — and with broadband subscriber growth no longer a lever for the foreseeable future, this is the next best course of action to drive the stock," Raymond James analyst Frank Louthan said in a note to clients.
Comcast stock climbed 3% to close at 34.47 on the stock market today. Shares remain down 31% for 2022.
Comcast Stock: Hulu Stake To Be Sold?
Comcast Chief Executive Brian Roberts is set to speak at Goldman Sachs' Communacopia conference in San Francisco late Wednesday.
One topic at the Goldman Sachs conference could be Comcast's 33% stake in video streaming service Hulu. It's a joint venture with Walt Disney.
Disney is expected to buy out Comcast's stake by 2024 or sooner under an agreement. Analysts have estimated the stake's value in a range of $10 billion to $15 billion.
Comcast stock has been sliding since September 2021, when its chief financial officer at a Bank of America conference signaled a slowdown in broadband subscriber growth.
But Comcast has gained share in wireless phone services. The cable TV company has bundled broadband and wireless services to curb subscriber losses.
Follow Reinhardt Krause on Twitter @reinhardtk_tech for updates on 5G wireless, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and cloud computing.
