Critical Analysis: Liberty Global (NASDAQ:LILAK) vs. Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ)

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) and Liberty Global (NASDAQ:LILAK) are both computer and technology companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, dividends, earnings, profitability, valuation and risk.

Volatility & Risk

Verizon Communications has a beta of 0.38, meaning that its share price is 62% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Liberty Global has a beta of 0.89, meaning that its share price is 11% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

62.1% of Verizon Communications shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 53.0% of Liberty Global shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.1% of Verizon Communications shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 9.7% of Liberty Global shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Verizon Communications and Liberty Global, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Verizon Communications	0	9	7	2	2.61
Liberty Global	0	1	2	0	2.67

Verizon Communications currently has a consensus target price of $47.41, suggesting a potential upside of 12.48%. Liberty Global has a consensus target price of $10.27, suggesting a potential upside of 76.10%. Given Liberty Global’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Liberty Global is more favorable than Verizon Communications.

Profitability

This table compares Verizon Communications and Liberty Global’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Verizon Communications	13.14%	19.66%	5.13%
Liberty Global	-17.85%	-44.60%	-6.19%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Verizon Communications and Liberty Global”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Verizon Communications	$134.79 billion	1.32	$17.51 billion	$4.20	10.04
Liberty Global	$4.46 billion	0.26	-$657.00 million	($4.03)	-1.45

Verizon Communications has higher revenue and earnings than Liberty Global. Liberty Global is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Verizon Communications, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Verizon Communications beats Liberty Global on 11 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Verizon Communications

Verizon Communications Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of communications, technology, information, and entertainment products and services to consumers, businesses, and governmental entities worldwide. It operates in two segments, Verizon Consumer Group (Consumer) and Verizon Business Group (Business). The Consumer segment provides wireless services across the wireless networks in the United States under the Verizon and TracFone brands and through wholesale and other arrangements; and fixed wireless access (FWA) broadband through its wireless networks, as well as related equipment and devices, such as smartphones, tablets, smart watches, and other wireless-enabled connected devices. The segment also offers wireline services in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, as well as Washington D.C. through its fiber-optic network, Verizon Fios product portfolio, and a copper-based network. The Business segment provides wireless and wireline communications services and products, including FWA broadband, data, video and conferencing, corporate networking, security and managed network, local and long-distance voice, and network access services to deliver various IoT services and products to businesses, government customers, and wireless and wireline carriers in the United States and internationally. The company was formerly known as Bell Atlantic Corporation and changed its name to Verizon Communications Inc. in June 2000. Verizon Communications Inc. was incorporated in 1983 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

About Liberty Global

Liberty Latin America Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, provides fixed, mobile, and subsea telecommunications services. The company operates through C&W Caribbean, C&W Panama, Liberty Networks, Liberty Puerto Rico, and Liberty Costa Rico segments. It offers communications and entertainment services, including video, broadband internet, fixed-line, telephony, and mobiles services to residential and business customers; and business products and services that include enterprise-grade connectivity, data center, hosting, and managed solutions, as well as information technology solutions for small and medium enterprises, international companies, and governmental agencies. The company also operates a sub-sea and terrestrial fiber optic cable network that connects approximately 40 markets. It provides its services under the brands of C&W, Liberty Costa Rica, Liberty Communications, BTC, Flow, and Mas Móvil. The company was incorporated in 2017 and is based in Hamilton, Bermuda.