UPDATE: Time Warner Posts Better-Than-Expected Q2 Profit

Time Warner TWX reported upbeat second-quarter profit. The New York-based company posted quarterly earnings of $850 million, or $0.95 per share, up from $771 million, or $0.81 per share, in the year-ago period. Its adjusted earnings per share climbed to $0.98 from $0.76. Its sales surged 3% to $6.79 billion compared to $6.61 billion. However, analysts were projecting a profit of $0.84 per share on sales of $6.99 billion. Revenue at Turner climbed 5% to $2.8 billion, while revenue at HBO jumped 17% to $1.4 billion. Revenue at Warner Bros. slipped 2% to $2.9 billion in the quarter. Its operating income rose 13% to $1.6 billion in the quarter. Time Warner repurchased around 51 million shares of common stock for about $3.5 billion from January 1, 2014 through August 1, 2014. In June, the company's approved an additional $5 billion of share repurchases. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bewkes said, “We had another strong quarter, reflecting the strength of our businesses and our potential for continued growth as we deliver on our strategic plan to be the world's leading video content company.” Time Warner reaffirmed its outlook for full year. Twenty-First Century Fox FOX announced Tuesday that it is withdrawing its bid for Time Warner TWX. Time Warner shares fell 10.20% to $76.50 in pre-market trading.