LBTYK
Liberty Global plc
LBTYK offers stronger valuation, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
VZ
Verizon Communications Inc.
VZ has the edge over LBTYK overall, supported by lower modeled downside.
LBTYK Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Strong | |
| Under pressure | |
| Under pressure | |
| Weak |
LBTYK's revenue is currently strong, but its profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are under pressure.
VZ Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Under pressure |
VZ's profitability and cash flow are currently healthy, and its revenue is stable, but its balance sheet is under pressure.
LBTYK PE Valuation
LBTYK has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
VZ PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 8.3x | $32.43 | -30% |
| Forward | 9x | $46.55 | — |
| Fair | 11x | $43.63 | -6.3% |
| Current | 12x | $46.55 | — |
| Expensive | 14x | $56.75 | +22% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
VZ's PE is in its fair range at 12x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 9.0x next year's earnings, in its cheap range.
LBTYK Forward outlook
There aren't enough analyst estimates for LBTYK to show an outlook.
VZ Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Growth | |
| Stable | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| High |
Analysts expect VZ's earnings to grow and its profitability to improve, with its revenue holding steady.
LBTYK Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -$7.45 | -$1.36 |
| Q2 2026 | -$9.04 | -$1.15 |
| Q1 2026 | -$16.06 | -2918% |
| Q4 2025 | -$20.86 | -509% |
| Q3 2025 | -$6.09 | -$0.70 |
| Q2 2025 | -$7.89 | -$5.39 |
| Q1 2025 | $0.57 | +$4.03 |
| Q4 2024 | $5.10 | +$10.08 |
LBTYK lost $7.45 per share over the past year, a bigger loss than the year before.
VZ Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $5.19 | +32% |
| Q3 2026 | $3.93 | -16% |
| Q2 2026 | $3.85 | -10% |
| Q1 2026 | $4.11 | -2.1% |
| Q4 2025 | $4.06 | -1.9% |
| Q3 2025 | $4.68 | +103% |
| Q2 2025 | $4.29 | +61% |
| Q1 2025 | $4.20 | +57% |
| Q4 2024 | $4.14 | +51% |
VZ has the edge over LBTYK on earnings quality, reporting a profit while its opponent remains loss making.
LBTYK Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $1.9B | +59% |
| Q2 2026 | $1.2B | -7.7% |
| Q1 2026 | $1.3B | +8.8% |
| Q4 2025 | $1.2B | +9.6% |
| Q3 2025 | $1.2B | -38% |
| Q2 2025 | $1.3B | -32% |
| Q1 2025 | $1.2B | -40% |
| Q4 2024 | $1.1B | -42% |
LBTYK's revenue is recovering but still below its 2021 peak: $1.9B last quarter, up 59% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -0.9% | -0.3 points |
| Q2 2026 | 0.3% | -2.1 points |
| Q1 2026 | 1.9% | -3.3 points |
| Q4 2025 | -8.6% | -4.3 points |
| Q3 2025 | -0.7% | -5.9 points |
| Q2 2025 | 2.3% | +1.3 points |
| Q1 2025 | 5.2% | +4 points |
| Q4 2024 | -4.3% | +6.4 points |
LBTYK's operating margin was −0.9% last quarter, about level with the same quarter a year ago.
VZ Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $34.3B | +1.5% |
| Q2 2026 | $34.3B | -0.7% |
| Q1 2026 | $34.4B | +2.9% |
| Q4 2025 | $36.4B | +2% |
| Q3 2025 | $33.8B | +1.5% |
| Q2 2025 | $34.5B | +5.2% |
| Q1 2025 | $33.5B | +1.5% |
| Q4 2024 | $35.7B | +1.6% |
VZ has the edge over LBTYK on sales, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 25% | +1.3 points |
| Q2 2026 | 21% | -2.7 points |
| Q1 2026 | 24% | +0.1 points |
| Q4 2025 | 14% | -7.1 points |
| Q3 2025 | 24% | +6.2 points |
| Q2 2025 | 24% | -0.2 points |
| Q1 2025 | 24% | +1 points |
| Q4 2024 | 21% | +19 points |
VZ has the edge over LBTYK on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
LBTYK Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $184.8M | +$225.9M |
| Q2 2026 | -$117M | +$53.1M |
| Q1 2026 | -$290M | -$175.9M |
| Q4 2025 | $193.3M | -78% |
| Q3 2025 | -$41.1M | -140% |
| Q2 2025 | -$170.1M | -166% |
| Q1 2025 | -$114.1M | -$9M |
| Q4 2024 | $870.3M | +85% |
LBTYK's free cash flow has turned negative after years in the green: −$29M over the past year.
VZ Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $11.5B | +2.2% |
| Q2 2026 | $10.4B | +16% |
| Q1 2026 | $8B | +2.6% |
| Q4 2025 | $9.1B | -13% |
| Q3 2025 | $11.3B | +14% |
| Q2 2025 | $9B | -5.4% |
| Q1 2025 | $7.8B | +9.9% |
| Q4 2024 | $10.4B | +20% |
VZ has the edge over LBTYK on cash generation, producing positive trailing cash flow while its opponent burns cash.
LBTYK Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +2.1% | +7.1M shares |
| 1 year | +2.2% | +7.4M shares |
| 3 years | -57% | -457M shares |
| 5 years | -68% | -732M shares |
| Available history | -74% | -1B shares |
LBTYK has 347M diluted shares, up 2.2% from a year ago, despite $134M in buybacks over the past year.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $100M |
| Q2 2026 | — |
| Q1 2026 | — |
| Q4 2025 | $33.9M |
| Q3 2025 | $56.2M |
| Q2 2025 | $64.1M |
| Q1 2025 | $37.9M |
| Q4 2024 | $177.9M |
LBTYK spent $134M buying back its own shares over the past year, down 60% from the year before.
VZ Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.2% | -10M shares |
| 1 year | -1.7% | -72M shares |
| 3 years | -1.3% | -55M shares |
| 5 years | +0.4% | +17M shares |
| Available history | +0.5% | +21M shares |
VZ has the edge over LBTYK on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $500M |
| Q2 2026 | $1B |
| Q1 2026 | $2.5B |
LBTYK Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 14.9x | High |
| Q2 2026 | 5.9x | High |
| Q1 2026 | 6.5x | High |
| Q4 2025 | 6.4x | High |
| Q3 2025 | 24.1x | High |
| Q2 2025 | 12.9x | High |
| Q1 2025 | 8.3x | High |
| Q4 2024 | 6.6x | High |
LBTYK's net debt is about 15 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), down from more than 20 years a year ago.
VZ Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 3.3x | Elevated |
| Q2 2026 | 3.4x | Elevated |
| Q1 2026 | 3.4x | Elevated |
| Q4 2025 | 2.9x | Moderate |
| Q3 2025 | 2.8x | Moderate |
| Q2 2025 | 3.0x | Moderate |
| Q1 2025 | 3.0x | Elevated |
| Q4 2024 | 3.0x | Elevated |
VZ has the edge over LBTYK on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
LBTYK Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 54.2 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 57.5 | Neutral |
LBTYK's weekly RSI is 54 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 57 (neutral).
VZ Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 50.9 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 44.6 | Neutral |
VZ's weekly RSI is 51 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 45 (neutral).
LBTYK PE vs Communication Services Sector
| Metric | LBTYK | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | N/A | 16x | — |
LBTYK has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
VZ PE vs Communication Services Sector
| Metric | VZ | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 12x | 16x | 28% below |
| PE % | 58 | 26 | 32 pts above |
VZ is trading at 12x earnings, a 28% discount to the Communication Services sector's median of 16x.
LBTYK Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $8.72 | 19% above |
| 20 week MA | $9.63 | 7.8% above |
| 50 week MA | $10.7 | 3.2% below |
| 100 week MA | $11.0 | 5.5% below |
| 200 week MA | $10.6 | 1.8% below |
LBTYK has bounced recently, but its long-term trend is still down: it's above its 8- and 20-week averages, but 1.8% below its 200-week average.
VZ Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $45.1 | 3.1% above |
| 20 week MA | $46.3 | 0.5% above |
| 50 week MA | $46.1 | 1.1% above |
| 100 week MA | $44.2 | 5.4% above |
| 200 week MA | $41.4 | 12% above |
VZ has the edge over LBTYK on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
LBTYK Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $11.4 | $12.5 | +8.9% |
| 2021 | $12.5 | $14.9 | +19% |
| 2022 | $14.9 | $10.1 | -32% |
| 2023 | $10.1 | $9.76 | -3.7% |
| 2024 | $9.76 | $12.9 | +32% |
| 2025 | $12.9 | $11.0 | -15% |
| 2026 YTD | $11.0 | $10.4 | -5.6% |
LBTYK has finished lower in three of the last six years. It's down 5.6% so far in 2026.
VZ Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $61.5 | $58.8 | -4.4% |
| 2021 | $58.8 | $52.7 | -10% |
| 2022 | $52.7 | $38.4 | -27% |
| 2023 | $38.4 | $37.7 | -1.8% |
| 2024 | $37.7 | $39.9 | +5.9% |
| 2025 | $39.9 | $40.5 | +1.4% |
| 2026 YTD | $40.5 | $46.6 | +15% |
VZ has the edge over LBTYK on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.