CBS Corp. Doubles Authorized Buybacks; Q2 Net Sinks 4%

CBS Corp.

second-quarter net earnings from continuing operations fell nearly 4 percent and the company doubled its stock buyback authorization to $6 billion. Adjusted earningsper share beat the Wall Street consensus and increased from a year earlier because of the effects of share repurchases. Second-quarter revenue fell 5.3 percent compared with the 2013 second quarter, when revenue benefited from benefited from the timing of TV licensing and the semifinals of an NCAA Men's Basketball Championship. Entertainment revenue fell 8.4 percent to $1.84 billion from $2.01 billion a year earlier on lower licensing and advertising sales. Cable Networks revenue was nearly flat at $516 million. Local Broadcasting revenue dropped 4.7 percent to e $665 million from $698 million in the same prior-year period, because of slower advertising sales. Publishing revenue grew 11 percent to $211 million from $189 million a year earlier, driven by higher print book sales. Digital sales equaled 25 percent of the unit's total sales. CBS posted net income from continuing operations of $439 million, or $0.72 cents a share, compared with $472 million or $0.70 cents a share a year earlier. Revenue fell to $3.19 billion from $3.37 billion. Adjusted income per share was $0.78 cents, up from $0.75 a year earlier. Analysts expected adjusted income of $0.71 cents. CBS changed hands recently after hours down 2.4 percent at $55.55.