Communications Services Shares Rise Ahead of Earnings -- Communications Services Roundup

Communications services companies climbed ahead of some big sector earnings.

After the market closed, Google parent Alphabet posted a profit of $11.2 billion, blasting through an earlier pandemic-fueled slow patch and returning to the steady growth that made the tech conglomerate one of the corporate world's most stable bets.

But Twitter shares fell more than 11% in off-hours trading after it said it added 1 million daily users in the third quarter from the second quarter, well below analysts' expectations and a far cry from the 20 million gained in the June period.

The coronavirus pandemic continued to affect the performance of Comcast, a cable and entertainment conglomerate that suffered from limited capacity at theme parks and movie theaters but signed up a record number of broadband subscribers in the latest quarter.

Meanwhile, Netflix has raised the price of its standard plan to $13.99 from $12.99 - and its premium plan to $17.99 from $15.99 - saying "we're updating our prices so that we can continue to offer more variety of TV shows and films."

WPP is the latest advertising holding company to show signs of recovery from the global pandemic, saying some clients increased spending after making cuts earlier in the year. WPP, whose portfolio includes creative agency group VMLY&R and media-buying giant GroupM, reported GBP2.97 billion in sales in the third quarter, beating expectations of GBP2.3 billion, according to FactSet.

A company that has accused Quibi Holdings of infringing on patented technology is seeking a court order barring the streaming-video service from distributing some of its assets to investors as it winds down the business until the legal dispute is resolved. Interactive-video company Eko is asking for Quibi to be forced to set aside at least $101.9 million and for bank accounts and other assets connected to the technology to be frozen, according to papers filed Wednesday in a federal court in Los Angeles.

 Write to Amy Pessetto at [e-mail] 

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

10-29-20 1747ET