Comcast offset its declining television business by scooping up more broadband customers, helping the Philadelphia cable giant eclipse expectations for earnings in the second quarter.  The company, which bought Sky as part of a series of media megadeals last year, reported adjusted earnings per share grew to 78 cents a share on sales of $26.9bn. Wall Street analysts were looking for 75 cents a share. Comcast and its rivals have been challenged by a shift away from traditional television and towards alternatives such as Netflix. That trend continued in the quarter: Comcast lost 224,000 video customers in the three months ended June 30. (FT)

 

Ford shares are lower this morning after the automaker reported second-quarter earnings that were short of expectations and issued a disappointing forecast for the year.  Ford, which has slashed thousands of jobs this year, is also investing $11 billion by 2022 in electric and hybrid vehicles to try to keep pace in a changing industry. (SA)

 

Facebook reported better-than-expected earnings and revenue on Wednesday as advertisers continued flocking to the site.  Revenue was $16.9 billion in the quarter, and Daily active users amount to just shy of 1.6 billion. The company also announced a $5 billion settlement with the Federal Trade Commission following the 2018 Cambridge Analytica scandal in which the data of 87 million Facebook users was improperly accessed. (CNBC)

 

S&P 500 is up 4, and the NASDAQ is up 2. The MSCI International Index is up 3/10’s of a %.

Oil is up $.90 at $56.78 a barrel.

Gold is up $4.8=70 today at $1428 an ounce. 

 

With Northwest Quadrant Wealth Management, a Registered Investment Advisor I am Josh Fenili.