Here are some highlights from this past week's earnings coverage on BloggingStocks:

• Aol Inc. (AOL) reported a better-than-expected Q4 profit and said its revenue also topped estimates.
• Burger King Holdings Inc. (BKC) higher Q2 earnings topped analysts' estimates but same-store sales fell.
• Clorox Co. (CLX) higher Q2 earnings beat expectations and it lifted its full-year earnings guidance.
• Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) Q4 earnings more than doubled and beat Wall Street expectations, but shares fell.
• Gap Inc. (GPS) shares jumped after it forecast earnings above analysts' expectations, boosted by January sales.

Comcast (CMCSA) published fourth-quarter numbers earlier today. On a reported basis, net income more than doubled to 33 cents per share. According to Reuters, the cable company earned 29 cents per share on an adjusted basis, beating estimates by two pennies.

Management loves to promote its ability to generate free cash flow. There was an increase in this metric of just under 21% for the twelve-month period. I love free-cash generation, and I appreciate this example of growth, but one thing should be pointed out: operational cash flow was flat. As the earnings release stated, a reduction in capital expenditures was mostly responsible for the expansion. Free cash flow was down 11% for the fourth quarter itself, sorry to say.

Another quarter has come and gone for telecommunications expert Verizon (VZ). And with it, another opportunity for management to flaunt its cash-generation abilities. Earnings may be down, but I've said it before and I'll say it again here: When Wall Street thinks Verizon, it thinks attractive dividend yield.

On an adjusted basis, the company made 54 cents per share in the fourth quarter. This was seven cents less than last year's income figure. Unfortunately, it was also a penny below expectations, according to our earnings preview.

I'm reiterating my buy rating for Comcast Corp (CMCSA), first recommended on April 22, 2009, at a price of $14.05. Here's why:

Comcast still looks attractive, on a revenue-growth basis, even without the proposed 51% stake purchase of NBC Universal from General Electric Company (GE) for $13.75 billion, subject to federal regulatory approvals.

General Electric Company (GE) is not a stock beloved by its shareholders. I'm one of them, and I can tell you that I sometimes find myself still unable to process the fall the once mighty icon of Wall Street has taken because of too much financial exposure. I look to every earnings report for signs of a true recovery in the conglomerate, a restoration to its former glory. The latest Q4 report doesn't necessarily do anything to point me in such direction, but I keep trying to tell myself it's going to be a while, and to hang in there.

According to the company press release, GE, whose colleagues include Citigroup, Inc. (C) and United Technologies (UTX), experienced a 10% drop in total sales and a 22% decline in per-share profit, the latter coming in at 28 cents from continuing operations. Thankfully, 28 cents was a couple pennies above the estimate given at Earnings.com.

NBC Universal, which recently was the subject of a proposed transaction between General Electric (GE) and Comcast (CMCSA), is having a serious problem with The Jay Leno Show. It's not performing well in the ratings. But wait, there's more, as a typical infomercial narrator might intone: The Tonight Show isn't faring any better under the aegis of Conan O'Brien.

Worse, the issues with the 10 PM Leno programming asset go beyond just his ratings. The show is exerting a negative halo effect over the local newscasts. If you don't have a strong lead-in, then the content that follows will suffer.

Netflix, Inc. (NFLX) is trading down today. Looks like investors aren't in the mood for the stock just before the new year begins. At the time of this writing, shares of the online DVD-rental concern were off by nearly 3%.

Kind of sad, when you think about it. Netflix is up big on the year. It was a great story of capital appreciation: buy the dips, and you made out. Whenever you thought the company was about to head into a downturn, it ended up proving you wrong. When things seemed just absolutely awful, like they did back in the first quarter, Netflix was resilient in the face of financial adversity.

The DVD market continues to disappoint. There's an article over at The Hollywood Reporter discussing the industry and its sorry state. According to the piece, sales of discs are down 13% at the end of the third quarter.

Interestingly enough, the article goes on to give a positive spin to the news by pointing out that the Blu-ray format is gaining traction, and that digital distribution and rental of discs are also acting as offsetting elements. While that may be true, I'm not so sure I can be as positive, because I still believe that the studios have a long way to go in terms of answering the DVD issue.

With close to 60 million users, Twitter is a force corporate marketing departments just can't ignore. The reach offered by this microblogging platform is profound, and skipping it means yielding digital turf to the competition.

Yet, as the country's major brands have flocked to Twitter, not all have mastered it. Some merely push headlines and deals, while others have used it as a way to open a dialogue with their customers, build relationships and ultimately grow their businesses. A study by The Big Money sought to determine the dozen companies that are mastering Twitter and why they are the masters.

Comcast (CMCSA) agreed to take a majority-ownership of NBC Universal from General Electric (GE). Comcast announced a 40% dividend increase and said its will complete its $3.6 billion stock-buyback effort during the next three years. CMCSA overall option implied volatility of 35 is versus its 26-week average of 39, according to Track Data, suggesting decreasing price movement.

Barrick Gold (ABX) closed at $47.93. Gold is recently up 0.24% to $1215.90 according to Bloomberg. Barrick Gold announced on December 1 that it has eliminated all gold hedges and now has full leverage to the gold price on the industry's largest gold production and reserves. December and January option implied volatility of 43 is near its 26-week average of 44 according to Track Data, suggesting non-directional price movement.

Option Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com

U.S. stock futures were higher Thursday morning as investors' confidence was boosted by an announcement that Bank of America (BAC) will be paying back the $45 billion it received in bailout funds and at news that General Electric (GE) and Comcast (CMCSA) are finalizing their deal to form a joint entertainment company. Data on retail sales and jobs are also in focus this morning.

On Wednesday, U.S. stocks ended up mixed as Wall Street reacted to different news, such as the lower job losses number from ADP, record gold prices, the Fed's Beige Book and GM's management shakeup.

U.S. stock futures were mixed and basically flat Wednesday morning with so much on investors' minds after the Dow closed at a 14-month high Tuesday. A jobs report could be an early indication of Friday's non-farm payroll. Also, the shakeup at General Motors and soaring gold prices will be in focus.

Stocks rallied Tuesday as concerns about Dubai's debt problems waned and gold hit a record above $1,200. Also, GE (GE) and Comcast (CMCSA) moving closer to a deal on NBC Universal, as well as decent November car sales and higher home sales boosted sentiment, even as a manufacturing index fell. The Dow Jones industrial average added 127 points, or 1.2%, closing at the highest point since Oct. 2, 2008. The S&P 500 index gained 1.2%, and the Nasdaq composite rose 1.5%.

U.S. stock futures advanced Tuesday morning as concerns over the Dubai debt problems waned. World markets and commodities rebounded, with gold reaching yet another record. In the U.S., as investors digest news about the GE-Comcast deal for NBC Universal, they also await some indicators, including manufacturing, housing and auto sales.

Already Monday, the fears about Dubai's debt had faded and bank stocks rallied. A weaker dollar, higher commodity prices and a decent beginning to the holiday sales season helped U.S. stocks close higher.

"We all know that, despite the big run-up recently, many stocks are still below their highs of a year or two ago," observes turnaround expert George Putnam.

In The Turnaround Letter, he suggests, "But what about some of the biggest, best known and best managed companies that are trading below where they were ten years ago? That's pretty tempting to us." Here, he looks at eight stocks that can now be bought at prices below their 1999 highs.

"Sure, late 1999 was the last gasp of the Internet bubble, and so that explains some of the tech names. But our list includes retail, beverage, entertainment, drug and other low-tech businesses.

Blockbuster (BBI) is a terrible company and stock. After perusing the third-quarter report, published Friday after the bell, I don't see any reason to modify such a rough statement.

Sorry about that, but what else can I say about a huge revenue decline and a wider loss coupled with a story that continues to deteriorate? According to the Q3 earnings release, Blockbuster experienced a 21% drop on the top line. On an adjusted basis, the company lost 20 cents per share, compared to 9 cents per share in the comparable period a year ago. Helping to drive this abject performance was a 14% contraction in same-store sales.