Entertainment and cable stocks rise on strong earnings

It’s been a good couple of days for entertainment and cable companies.

Shares of DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc., CBS Corp. and Time Warner Cable Inc. rose Thursday after those companies reported strong quarterly earnings.

Glendale-based DreamWorks Animation jumped 8.8% to $26.95 at the close of trading in New York Thursday. New York-based CBS increased 3.9% to $54.88. New York company Time Warner Cable rose 3.2% to $117.68.

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Comcast, the Philadelphia cable giant that owns NBCUniversal, rose 1.7% to $45.84, after surging 5.5% Wednesday.

Sony Corp., the Tokyo-based consumer electronics and media giant, reported Wednesday that it returned to profitability for its first fiscal quarter. Its stock gained 4.4% to $21.96.

Dreamworks Animation on Wednesday reported net income of $22.2 million, or $0.26 a share, on revenue of $213.4 million during the quarter ended June 30. That beat analyst expectations of 20 cents a share.

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The studio’s profits were boosted by the animated caveman movie “The Croods,” which has taken in $584 million worldwide. The comedy contributed $71.8 million of revenue to the quarter.

Less successful was the studio’s most recent release, “Turbo,” about a garden snail who wants to win the Indy 500. The company’s executives said the film will ultimately turn a profit.

CBS’ earnings climbed to $472 million, or 76 cents a share, compared to $427 million, or 65 cents a share, for the year-earlier period. Those numbers beats analysts’ estimates of 72 cents a share. It was the company’s biggest ever quarterly profit.

Wall Street analysts have been especially pleased with the performance of the TV thriller “Under the Dome,” which has drawn unusually high ratings for a summer drama.

Time Warner Cable on Thursday reported second-quarter earnings that surpassed analyst estimates even as the company lost subscribers.

Comcast reported earnings before the market opened Wednesday. Its second-quarter profit rose 29% with the help of NBCUniversal $6 billion in revenue, the company said.

Satellite television giant DirecTV did not fare so well. The El Segundo company on Thursday reported worse than expected second-quarter earnings on its loss of subscribers in the U.S.

Shares of DirecTV fell 1.3% to $62.

The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average, the major stock indices, both advanced for the day.

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‘The Croods’ helps DreamWorks Animation profit top expectations

Twitter: @rfaughnder

ryan.faughnder@latimes.com