LibertyGlobal - Stocks

Instrument description

Liberty Global is a multinational telecommunication company that provides a wide range of services that includes broadband internet, video, mobile, fixed-line telephony, and other communications services to customers, clients, and businesses all across the world and particularly in Europe.

Liberty Global is based in London, Denver, and Amsterdam and the company is known by many names which are Liberty Global PLC, Liberty Global Inc., and Liberty Global BV but the first one to publicly trade is Liberty Global PLC which is also the largest provider of internet services outside the US.

Liberty Global operates in more than 6 countries with 20,600 employees. The company posted annual revenue of $11.5 billion in 2019, and $25.3 million came from the internet, video, and voice customers. Liberty Global has almost 20200 employees. Liberty Global was ranked 88 in 2016 by Forbes in the list of world’s most innovative companies. Liberty Global generates nearly $11.54 billion revenue every year and a net income of $11.52 billion.

History of Liberty Global

Liberty Global was formed in London in 2005 due to a merger between Liberty Media and UnitedGlobalCom. The new company functioned in over 18 countries after its launch, and it was a household name across 23 million homes, which made it the largest internet broadband providers in the world.

Liberty Global acquired Unitymedia, which was a German firm in November 2009 for $5.2 billion. In 2010, Liberty Global sold its stake in Jupiter Telecommunications. In January 2013, Liberty Global increased its stake in Telenet, (which was a Belgian firm) from 50.2% to 58%.

Liberty Global bought British firm ‘Virgin Media’ in June 2013 for $24 billion, which was noted at that time as the largest cable deals in history. In October 2013, Liberty Global sold Chellomedia to AMC Networks for $1.035 billion.

In January 2014, Liberty Global acquired Dutch company ‘Ziggo’ for €10 billion. In May 2014, Liberty Global did a joint venture with Discovery Communications to launch All3Media, and the deal was valued at £500 million. In July 2014, a 6.4% stake valued at £481 million, was done by Liberty Global in ITV PLC, which is a British media company.

Liberty Global bought Cable & Wireless Communications in November 2015 for $5.3 billion. In July 2016, Liberty Global invested £7.5 million in Technetix. In 2017, Liberty Global sold UPC Austria to T-mobile Austria for €1.9 billion.

In January 2018, the Liberty Latin America was separated from the parent company ‘Liberty Global.’ In May 2018, Liberty Global announced to sell its operations in Hungary, Czech Republic, Germany, and Romania to Vodafone for $22.7 billion. In 2019, Liberty Global announced to provide internet speed up to 1 Gbps (Gigabit per second) across many cities of Europe through its GigaCities program. Recently in August 2020, Liberty Global showed interest in buying Sunrise Communications for $7.4 billion.

Current Business and Investment of Liberty Global

Liberty Global is an international telecommunication company that excels in television and broadband services. The products and services of the company include TV platforms, Broadband, Wi-Fi, connectivity products, and TV content. Liberty Global operates in particular geographical segments that are UK and Ireland, Central and Eastern Europe, Switzerland, Belgium, and Central and Corporate. Liberty Global provides services in seven European countries are Ireland, Poland, Belgium, Netherlands, Switzerland, UK, and Slovakia.

Liberty Global offers a wide range of audio and video services that include basic video service such as

• Digital video programming
• Electronic programming guide
• Video on demand
• Premium channel packages
• Digital video recorders
• Mobile applications
• Set-top boxes

Liberty Global is known to provide authentic and enhanced media content that includes sports, entertainment, documentaries, news, children, movies, lifestyles, and other media channels. The enhanced features include parental controls, address books, online storage options, and security, Wi-Fi, and internet services.

Liberty Global offers Wi-Fi community routers for homes, Connect Box (an innovative device that provides in house internet coverage), and Wi-Fi access points in train stations, bars, restaurants, and shopping malls. Liberty Global also offers circuit-switched telephony services, short message service, advanced data, wireless, and cloud-based services.

Risk and Potential in Liberty Global Environment

Liberty Global is a popular and successful company in the media and entertainment sector. The company has a wide and diversified portfolio of services, which includes television channels, internet, and broadband access, and video services. Liberty Global has over 20 million customers that include both television viewers and internet users. SWOT analysis is a vital strategic tool that allows a business company to evaluate its internal and external factors and take steps for future growth. The SWOT analysis of Liberty Global is given by

• Strengths

Liberty Global is one of the largest providers of broadband internet service, particularly in Europe. The company is operational in 13 countries and offers a wide range of innovative products and services. Liberty Global was one of the pioneers in launching digital telephony. The company has done many pertinent acquisitions over the years, which has helped it to maintain a strong stock value.

• Weaknesses

Liberty Global is limited mostly in the European region and must expand to other developing regions of the world. The company has not done development in other segments of telecommunication. The speed of Research and Development (R&D) is low as compared to other similar companies.

• Opportunities

Liberty Global has a chance to expand its operations by reaching out in developing and emerging markets. The company should increase its focus on 4G and 5G technology. Liberty Global should increase its ownership in Telenet. The company should enhance and improve digital communication systems.

• Threats

Liberty Global faces difficulty to maintain its progress due to changing government rules and intense competition in the broadband internet services. The competitors of Liberty Global include Comcast Corporation, News Corporation, Sirius XM, Charter Communications, and Cablevision.

Stock Analysis of Liberty Global

Liberty Global is listed and actively trades on the NASDAQ with the ticker symbols ‘LBTYA.’ The company is listed under the ‘Consumer Services’ Sector, and the industry is ‘Cable/Satellite TV.’ Liberty Global is also a member of other indices such as the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), London Stock Exchange (LSE), S&P-100 Index, and S&P-500 Index.

The all-time high share price of Liberty Global (LBTYA) was $89.98 on January 6, 2014, and the average price in the last 52 weeks is $22.14.

In May 2020, Liberty Global PLC announced to merge with Telefonica SA for a deal valued at $38 billion, which will be one of the biggest deals in the telecom sector. The merger will combine Liberty Global, which is the biggest Cable provider with Telefonica SA, which is Britain’s 2nd largest mobile operator. Both the companies will invest almost £10 billion in the UK market in the next five years, which will help competition against Vodafone, Comcast Sky, and Three.

Liberty Global’s share was trading at $17.30 on March 11, 2020, and after which, Coronavirus was declared a pandemic by WHO (World Health Organization). But surprisingly, where all businesses have been badly affected by the Coronavirus, Liberty Global’s share is trading at an increased value of $22.31 now. Liberty Global released its financial report of the second quarter on August 3, 2020, that showed revenue at $2.7 billion and Earnings per Share (EPS) at $0.86 per share while predicted was $0.92.

The information above is for education purposes only and cannot be considered as investment advice. Past performance is not reliable indicator of future results.