06/07/2017

Comcast stock value surges near $200B, speeds past Verizon

Comcast Corp.’s value on Wall Street — now almost $200 billion — has zoomed past that of Verizon Communications Inc., a stunning surge in recent months as investors are viewing the Philadelphia cable giant more favorably than the nation’s largest wireless carrier.

On Friday morning, Comcast was trading with a market capitalization, or what it would take to purchase all of its outstanding stock, of $199.5 billion, nosing ahead of Verizon, trading with a $189.7 billion market capitalization.

A decade ago, Verizon had a value roughly double that of Comcast.

But investor sentiment has soured on Verizon, which derives about 80 percent of its profits in the highly competitive wireless sector, with itand AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint locked in a four-way battle for consumers, analysts say. Verizon also has pulled the plug on expanding its Fios brand after it became exorbitantly expensive to roll out the fiber-based TV and internet services.