# Liberty Global (LBTYA.US)

Canonical: https://gigainvestors.com/s/LBTYA

Analysis as of: 2026-10-16T07:29:46.262Z. Financial observations: FY2000–FY2025.

Listing currency: USD. Reporting currency: USD.

## Verdict

Not a wonderful business

Quality tests for Buy: not passed (profit record: fail; earnings resilience is evidence only). Published buy qualification: no.

Share price: $8.04 per share; close as of 2026-10-15.

## Checklist

### understandable: fail

- 5 revenue declines in the last 10 years (informational)

- more than 2 net loss years

- operating margin variation exceeds 0.35

- Financial history: 10 years

- Years with declining revenue: 5

- Years with a net loss: 4

- Operating margin variation: 1.09×

Chart: Operating margin; fiscal year observations.

- FY2016: 0.11×

- FY2017: 0.07×

- FY2018: 0.07×

- FY2019: 0.06×

- FY2020: 0.18×

- FY2021: 0.13×

- FY2022: 0.04×

- FY2023: -0.07×

- FY2024: -0.00×

- FY2025: 0.01×

### moat: fail

- ROIC median below threshold

- ROIC worst years below threshold (more than 1 bad year allowed)

- Recent gross margin fell 5.8pp below the typical margin (limit 4pp)

- ROIC, median of available years: 2.5%

- ROIC, second-lowest year: -0.1%

- Typical minus recent gross margin: 5.8 pp

- Typical gross margin (annual median): 71.5%

- Recent gross margin (lower of latest and 3-year median): 65.8%

- Years with nonpositive capital: 0

- Capital spending / revenue: 12.9%

- ROIC including acquisitions, ten-year median: 6.3%

Chart: ROIC excluding acquisitions; fiscal year observations.

- FY2016: 3.6%

- FY2017: 2.5%

- FY2018: 2.7%

- FY2019: 2.4%

- FY2020: 9.4%

- FY2021: 4.3%

- FY2022: 0.4%

- FY2023: -0.9%

- FY2024: -0.1%

- FY2025: 0.4%

### economics: fail

- incremental invested capital return below threshold

- Owner earnings / net income, 5-yr: 1.29×

- Cash conversion uses consolidated totals: No

- Owner earnings, five-year total: $6.8B

- Net income, five-year total: $5.3B

- Return on incremental invested capital: 0.0%

- Working capital / revenue, annual change: -1.2 pp

- Working capital / revenue, change between three-year averages: -9.0 pp

- Working capital / revenue, final three-year average: 6.6%

Chart: Annual owner cash / profit; fiscal year observations.

- FY2021: 1.07×

- FY2022: 1.14×

- FY2023: 0.93×

- FY2024: 1.06×

- FY2025: 1.00×

### management: fail

- Historical market-dollar context (not the management verdict): 2016 to 2025 (9 years)

- buybacks leaned toward cheaper years (informational)

- ROIC first 3 years vs last 3 years: 2.7% vs -0.1%

- Per-share earnings: -1.21 to -9.52 (three-year endpoint medians)

- per-share value declined or ends nonpositive

- acquisition spending exceeds half of ten-year net income with low and deteriorating ROIC

- Management verdict uses per-share economic progress: Yes

- Ordinary dilution, 10-year annual growth: -9.7%

- Ordinary dilution, 5-year annual growth: -21.8%

- Market cap gain: -$50B

- Cumulative retained earnings: $8.6B

- Diluted shares, 10-year annual growth: -9.7%

- Diluted shares, 5-year annual growth: -21.8%

- $1 test, starting fiscal year: FY2016

- $1 test, ending fiscal year: FY2025

- Per-share value change: -$8.30

- Per-share value, starting three-year median: -$1.21

- Per-share value, ending three-year median: -$9.52

- Buybacks concentrated in cheaper years (correlation): 0.22

- Average buyback yield: 9.2%

- Buyback history: 10 years

- Debt-funded buybacks: No

- Acquisition spending: $7.5B

- Cumulative net income, 10 years: $15B

- ROIC, first three-year median: 2.7%

- ROIC, last three-year median: -0.1%

Chart: Earnings per share; fiscal year observations.

- FY2016: $0.98

- FY2017: -$1.69

- FY2018: $0.48

- FY2019: $8.41

- FY2020: -$1.39

- FY2021: $12.15

- FY2022: $2.96

- FY2023: -$9.52

- FY2024: $4.23

- FY2025: -$20.86

### accounting: pass

- Sloan accruals: -37.0%

- Receivables to sales index (DSRI): 1.12×

- Restructuring years, last five: 2

- Stock compensation / operating cash flow: 14.0%

- Earnings backed by cash: Yes

- Accounting red flags: 0

- Goodwill and intangibles / equity: 0.50×

Chart: Sloan accruals; fiscal year observations.

- FY2016: -7.8%

- FY2017: -14.7%

- FY2018: -9.9%

- FY2019: 14.1%

- FY2020: -9.8%

- FY2021: 21.1%

- FY2022: -3.2%

- FY2023: -14.8%

- FY2024: -1.7%

- FY2025: -37.0%

## Holders

- [Seth Klarman](https://gigainvestors.com/BAUPOST): tracked 13F investor; follow the investor page for holding quarter and amounts.

- [David Hoeft](https://gigainvestors.com/DAC): tracked 13F investor; follow the investor page for holding quarter and amounts.

- [David Einhorn](https://gigainvestors.com/GLRE): tracked 13F investor; follow the investor page for holding quarter and amounts.

- [Howard Marks](https://gigainvestors.com/oc): tracked 13F investor; follow the investor page for holding quarter and amounts.

## Price story

Down 72% since Oct 2021 · "VodafoneZiggo Adjusted EBITDA Decline: 8% due to fixed business decline and higher costs." (finance.yahoo.com, May 2025) · sales +12.4%

Story as of 2026-10-16T09:59:03.362Z; price observation 2026-10-15.

- 2026-02-19: Liberty Global (LBTYA) Hits 52-Week High on 2 Billion-Dollar Acquisitions ([finance.yahoo.com](https://finance.yahoo.com/news/liberty-global-lbtya-hits-52-110906184.html))

### Sales · FY2024–2025

sales +12.4%; source https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1570585/000157058526000014/lbtya-20251231.htm; observed 2026-02-18.

- FY2016: $14B 

- FY2017: $11B 

- FY2018: $12B 

- FY2019: $11B 

- FY2020: $12B 

- FY2021: $10B 

- FY2022: $4.0B 

- FY2023: $4.1B 

- FY2024: $4.3B 

- FY2025: $4.9B 

### Gross margin · FY2025

gross margin 65.8%; source https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1570585/000157058526000014/lbtya-20251231.htm; observed 2026-02-18.

- FY2016: 74.5% 

- FY2017: 73.6% 

- FY2018: 72.9% 

- FY2019: 71.8% 

- FY2020: 71.2% 

- FY2021: 70.7% 

- FY2022: 73.5% 

- FY2023: 68.8% 

- FY2024: 66.6% 

- FY2025: 65.8% 

## Owner memo

Memo as of 2026-10-16T08:06:05.509Z.

### How it makes money

Operates in telecom services; annual sales are USD 4.9 billion.

- Source: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1570585/000157058526000014/lbtya-20251231.htm (filed 2026-02-18); FY2025: revenue 4878500000; grossProfit 3208000000; margin = grossProfit / revenue.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-10-16); LBTYA.US: Liberty Global Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, provides broadband internet, video, fixed-line telephony, and mobile communications services to residential and business customers in Europe. It offers intelligent WiFi and broadband internet services, such as ONE Connect, which enables fast and flexible introductions of new hardware and services, as well as cloud-to-cloud open API integration; Smart Security that provides network security, safe browsing and fraud prevention measures; Smart Home, which provides enhanced entertainment and home automation and security services; and Connect Box, an intelligent WiFi and telephony gateway. The company provides various tiers of digital video programming and audio services, as well as digital video recorders and multimedia home gateway systems; Horizon 5, a cloud-based, multi-screen entertainment platform that combines linear television, including recording and replay features and video-on-demand services; Replay TV, a multimedia gateway service; video-on-demand that provides subscribers with access to a broad library of movies and television series; Horizon Go, an online mobile app; and channels, including general entertainment, sports, movies, series, documentaries, lifestyles, news, adult, children, and ethnic and foreign channels. In addition, it offers postpaid and prepaid mobile services; circuit-switched telephony services; and personal call manager, unified messaging, and multiple lines for additional fees. Further, the company offers business services comprising voice, advanced data, video, wireless, cloud-based services, and mobile and fixed-mobile convergence services to small businesses, and medium and large enterprises, as well as on a wholesale basis to other operators. It operates in Belgium, Ireland, Slovakia, and internationally. Liberty Global Ltd. was founded in 2004 and is based in Hamilton, Bermuda.

### Why customers stay

Margins ranged from 65.8% to 68.8% during 2023–25; it earns 2.5% on its capital.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-02-18); FY2023: grossProfit / revenue = 68.8%.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-02-18); FY2024: grossProfit / revenue = 66.6%.

- Source: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1570585/000157058526000014/lbtya-20251231.htm (filed 2026-02-18); FY2025: grossProfit / revenue = 65.8%.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-02-18); 10-year return on capital observations [[2016,0.036232435887672755],[2017,0.025329713238299096],[2018,0.026885878647165823],[2019,0.023757097676792533],[2020,0.0935374811981857],[2021,0.0433587678185803],[2022,0.0036563502309317104],[2023,-0.009472807941976106],[2024,-0.0006207324643078833],[2025,0.00370076694010563]]; median 0.024543405457545815. ROIC follows the displayed moat series; financial companies use return on tangible equity.

### Where the cash goes

Paid dividends in 2 of 10 years; bought back USD 192.1 million of shares.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-02-18); FY2016: growth capex 0; upkeep 1539900000; cash acquisitions 1393400000; owner earnings 4283100000. Growth capex plus acquisitions / owner earnings = 0.3253251149868086.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-02-18); FY2018: growth capex 0; upkeep 1453000000; cash acquisitions 82500000; owner earnings 3130500000. Growth capex plus acquisitions / owner earnings = 0.02635361763296598.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-02-18); FY2019: growth capex 0; upkeep 1168200000; cash acquisitions 23100000; owner earnings 13899500000. Growth capex plus acquisitions / owner earnings = 0.0016619302852620597.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-02-18); FY2021: growth capex 0; upkeep 1408000000; cash acquisitions 70800000; owner earnings 14372500000. Growth capex plus acquisitions / owner earnings = 0.004926074099843451.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-02-18); FY2022: growth capex 0; upkeep 891300000; cash acquisitions 0; owner earnings 1675500000. Growth capex plus acquisitions / owner earnings = 0.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-02-18); FY2024: growth capex 0; upkeep 908500000; cash acquisitions 199100000; owner earnings 1681500000. Growth capex plus acquisitions / owner earnings = 0.1184061849539102.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-02-18); Dividend observations: [[2016,0],[2017,0],[2018,0],[2019,0],[2020,0],[2021,0],[2022,0],[2023,427600000],[2024,0],[2025,245800000]]. Zero only counted when supported by a complete cash-flow statement.

- Source: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1570585/000157058526000014/lbtya-20251231.htm (filed 2026-02-18); FY2025: cash repurchases 192100000 USD.

### Are managers owners

Insiders own 4.1% of the company.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-10-16); LBTYA.US SharesStats.PercentInsiders = 4.064 percentage points; cache date 2026-10-16.

### What the price says

The price is 0.6 times annual sales; cash earnings are negative.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-02-18); Closing price 8.04 USD; reporting-to-trading FX 1; FY2025 annual sales per share 14.253477456262093; price multiple 0.5640728744737111. FY2025 cash earnings/share -20.85533410485691. Closing-price date 2026-10-15.

## Monthly share-price history (USD per share)

- 2016-10: $32.60 per share

- 2016-11: $31.32 per share

- 2016-12: $30.59 per share

- 2017-01: $36.48 per share

- 2017-02: $35.70 per share

- 2017-03: $35.87 per share

- 2017-04: $35.42 per share

- 2017-05: $30.58 per share

- 2017-06: $32.12 per share

- 2017-07: $33.86 per share

- 2017-08: $34.00 per share

- 2017-09: $33.91 per share

- 2017-10: $30.85 per share

- 2017-11: $31.76 per share

- 2017-12: $35.84 per share

- 2018-01: $37.38 per share

- 2018-02: $31.14 per share

- 2018-03: $31.31 per share

- 2018-04: $30.14 per share

- 2018-05: $28.51 per share

- 2018-06: $27.54 per share

- 2018-07: $28.23 per share

- 2018-08: $26.81 per share

- 2018-09: $28.93 per share

- 2018-10: $25.63 per share

- 2018-11: $24.83 per share

- 2018-12: $21.34 per share

- 2019-01: $24.40 per share

- 2019-02: $26.35 per share

- 2019-03: $24.92 per share

- 2019-04: $27.01 per share

- 2019-05: $24.60 per share

- 2019-06: $26.99 per share

- 2019-07: $26.67 per share

- 2019-08: $26.72 per share

- 2019-09: $24.75 per share

- 2019-10: $25.15 per share

- 2019-11: $22.55 per share

- 2019-12: $22.74 per share

- 2020-01: $20.52 per share

- 2020-02: $19.52 per share

- 2020-03: $16.51 per share

- 2020-04: $19.42 per share

- 2020-05: $21.24 per share

- 2020-06: $21.86 per share

- 2020-07: $23.41 per share

- 2020-08: $23.37 per share

- 2020-09: $21.01 per share

- 2020-10: $18.98 per share

- 2020-11: $22.52 per share

- 2020-12: $24.22 per share

- 2021-01: $24.14 per share

- 2021-02: $24.63 per share

- 2021-03: $25.66 per share

- 2021-04: $26.90 per share

- 2021-05: $27.31 per share

- 2021-06: $27.16 per share

- 2021-07: $26.85 per share

- 2021-08: $28.74 per share

- 2021-09: $29.80 per share

- 2021-10: $28.74 per share

- 2021-11: $26.40 per share

- 2021-12: $27.74 per share

- 2022-01: $27.12 per share

- 2022-02: $25.78 per share

- 2022-03: $25.51 per share

- 2022-04: $22.76 per share

- 2022-05: $24.32 per share

- 2022-06: $21.05 per share

- 2022-07: $21.76 per share

- 2022-08: $20.20 per share

- 2022-09: $15.59 per share

- 2022-10: $16.86 per share

- 2022-11: $20.08 per share

- 2022-12: $18.93 per share

- 2023-01: $21.69 per share

- 2023-02: $20.49 per share

- 2023-03: $19.50 per share

- 2023-04: $19.51 per share

- 2023-05: $16.30 per share

- 2023-06: $16.86 per share

- 2023-07: $18.57 per share

- 2023-08: $18.44 per share

- 2023-09: $17.12 per share

- 2023-10: $15.56 per share

- 2023-11: $16.00 per share

- 2023-12: $17.77 per share

- 2024-01: $19.70 per share

- 2024-02: $17.50 per share

- 2024-03: $16.92 per share

- 2024-04: $15.90 per share

- 2024-05: $16.67 per share

- 2024-06: $17.43 per share

- 2024-07: $19.49 per share

- 2024-08: $19.35 per share

- 2024-09: $21.11 per share

- 2024-10: $19.81 per share

- 2024-11: $14.13 per share

- 2024-12: $12.76 per share

- 2025-01: $11.51 per share

- 2025-02: $11.56 per share

- 2025-03: $11.51 per share

- 2025-04: $10.95 per share

- 2025-05: $9.63 per share

- 2025-06: $10.01 per share

- 2025-07: $10.02 per share

- 2025-08: $11.74 per share

- 2025-09: $11.46 per share

- 2025-10: $11.00 per share

- 2025-11: $11.41 per share

- 2025-12: $11.14 per share

- 2026-01: $11.09 per share

- 2026-02: $12.74 per share

- 2026-03: $12.09 per share

- 2026-04: $11.58 per share

- 2026-05: $12.51 per share

- 2026-06: $11.37 per share

- 2026-07: $10.61 per share

- 2026-08: $10.75 per share

- 2026-09: $9.13 per share

- 2026-10: $8.04 per share

## Annual estimated value (USD per share)

Historical values use today's bond yield for every fiscal year

Historical values use today's FX rate into trading currency for every fiscal year

Historical values use current restated fundamentals and current commodity classification; they are not point-in-time estimates

## Sources

[Original 10-K filing](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1570585/000157058526000014/lbtya-20251231.htm); period 2025-12-31, filed 2026-02-18.

Estimates depend on assumptions and are not guarantees or investment advice. Underlying data remains subject to its source licenses; public reading does not grant bulk redistribution rights.