TDS vs IDT vs LBTYA Stock Comparison

Telephone & Data Systems, Idt and Liberty Global Prices as of Oct 29, 2026 Peers: Industry group
IDT Idt Corp
$81.78 +8.2% 1M +59.5% 1Y
Market cap
$1.90B
P/E
23.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.30B
Div. yield
0.33%
Broadband and Cable Communication Services
3 wins
LBTYA Liberty Global Ltd.
$7.70 -16.8% 1M -28.1% 1Y
Market cap
$2.62B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$4.88B
Div. yield
–
Broadband and Cable Communication Services
1 win

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Telephone & Data Systems leads on 8 of the 12 questions below (Telephone & Data Systems 8, Idt 3, Liberty Global 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionTDSIDTLBTYALeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $3.91B $1.90B $2.62B TDS
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 11.1x 23.6x -0.9x TDS
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 8.7x 18.4x — TDS
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +3.8% +5.4% +5.4% LBTYA
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 27.7% 6.7% -62.1% TDS
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 6.6% — -0.5% TDS
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA -1.8x — 5.8x TDS
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.47% 0.33% 0.00% TDS
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -13.5% +59.5% -28.1% IDT
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +12.6%/yr +11.1%/yr -12.3%/yr TDS
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 30.8% 26.6% 35.1% IDT
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 58/100 58/100 46/100 IDT

Percentile Scorecard

TDSIDTLBTYA

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisTDSIDTLBTYA
Valuation 52 #24 of 49 38 #31 of 49 67 #17 of 49
Growth 59 #19 of 45 73 #13 of 45 16 #38 of 45
Profitability 57 #20 of 45 61 #18 of 45 18 #37 of 45
Financial Health 98 #2 of 49 92 #5 of 49 58 #21 of 49
Shareholder Returns 22 #29 of 37 28 #27 of 37 69 #12 of 37
Overall 58 58 46
  • TDS ranked among 51 companies in Telecommunications
  • IDT ranked among 51 companies in Telecommunications
  • LBTYA ranked among 51 companies in Telecommunications

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodTDSIDTLBTYASPY
1 month -0.6%+8.2%-16.8% +0.7%
3 months +1.1%+23.7%-26.2% +3.7%
6 months -24.7%+63.1%-33.5% +7.1%
Year to date -17.2%+59.7%-30.9% +12.8%
1 year -13.5%+59.5%-28.1% +11.9%
3 years +87.7%+193.0%-2.8% +85.2%
3 years, per year +23.4%+43.1%-0.9% +22.8%
5 years +81.1%+69.1%-48.0% +67.6%
5 years, per year +12.6%+11.1%-12.3% +10.9%
10 years +31.6%+442.3%-53.5% +262.0%
10 years, per year +2.8%+18.4%-7.4% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureTDSIDTLBTYASPY
Volatility, 1Y 30.8%26.6%35.1% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 31.1%24.1%32.2% 12.6%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.510.260.45 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.442.24-0.80 0.94
Max drawdown, 5Y -68.4%-66.9%-50.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -28.7%-3.2%-40.9% -1.2%
52-week high $47.59$84.47$13.03 $779.14
52-week low $32.96$47.25$7.50 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleTDSIDTLBTYA
P/E now vs peer median 11.1xmedian 11.5x 23.6xmedian 11.5x -0.9xmedian 11.5x
P/S now vs peer median 3.1xmedian 1.1x 1.5xmedian 1.1x 0.5xmedian 1.1x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 2.9xmedian 6.8x 11.5xmedian 6.8x 8.3xmedian 6.8x
P/FCF now vs peer median -9.2xmedian 5.9x 28.0xmedian 5.9x -10.3xmedian 5.9x
P/B now vs peer median 0.7xmedian 1.3x 4.8xmedian 1.3x 0.3xmedian 1.3x
PEG now vs peer median 0.14median 0.25 0.79median 0.25 0.38median 0.25

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsTDSIDTLBTYA
Revenue $1.26B $1.30B $4.88B
Gross profit $746.62M $496.79M $3.28B
Operating income $465.89M $121.17M -$86.80M
Net income $544.60M $95.09M -$3.01B
Free cash flow -$424.28M $67.96M -$254.80M
R&D – $55.74M –
EPS (diluted) $3.00 $3.46 $-8.64
Cash & equivalents $2.19B $220.69M $2.42B
Total debt $680.09M – $8.35B
Shares (diluted) 116.29M 25.02M 351.13M
Enterprise value -$1.12B $970.29M -$5.22B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricTDSIDTLBTYA
P/E 11.1x 23.6x -0.9x
P/FCF -9.2x 28.0x -10.3x
P/Operating cash flow 29.2x 20.9x 2.1x
P/S 3.1x 1.5x 0.5x
P/B 0.7x 4.8x 0.3x
P/Tangible book 1.0x 4.9x 0.3x
EV/EBITDA 2.9x 11.5x 8.3x
EV/EBIT 5.1x 13.6x -98.5x
EV/Revenue 1.9x 1.3x 1.8x
EV/FCF -5.6x 24.2x -33.6x
EV/Operating cash flow 17.9x 18.0x 6.7x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.14 0.79 0.38

Growth

14 metrics
MetricTDSIDTLBTYA
Revenue growth (1Y) 3.8% 5.4% 5.4%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -38.2% 1.6% 5.8%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 9.5% 11.3% 7.8%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) -35.6% 11.6% 3.9%
Operating income growth (1Y) 360.1% 20.7% -215.0%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 161.7% 25.9% -58.3%
Net income growth (1Y) 1,371% 17.2% 8.5%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 174.9% 28.9% 4.7%
EPS growth (1Y) 413.1% 15.1% 10.2%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 77.2% 29.8% -2.2%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -88.1% -28.3% -16.3%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -47.7% 20.2% -19.4%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -139.9% -36.1% -158.0%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -8.8% 30.7% -29.5%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricTDSIDTLBTYA
Gross margin 59.4% 38.3% 67.2%
EBITDA margin 65.4% 11.0% 21.0%
Operating margin 37.0% 9.3% -1.8%
Pretax margin 61.4% 10.0% -57.5%
Net margin 27.7% 6.7% -62.1%
FCF margin -33.7% 5.2% -5.2%
Operating cash flow margin 10.6% 7.0% 26.0%
Return on equity 10.0% 24.6% -31.2%
Return on assets 6.4% 13.0% -13.8%
Return on invested capital 6.6% – -0.5%
Return on capital employed 6.1% 31.9% -0.5%
Asset turnover 0.2x 1.8x 0.2x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 0.2x 1.0x -0.4x
Stock comp / revenue 1.4% 0.8% 3.4%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricTDSIDTLBTYA
Debt / assets 8.1% – 38.8%
Debt / equity 0.1x – 0.9x
Net debt / EBITDA -1.8x – 5.8x
Debt / FCF -1.6x – -32.8x
Liabilities / assets 35.6% 48.2% 56.1%
Equity / assets 64.4% 51.8% 43.9%
Interest coverage 6.1x – -0.2x
Current ratio 3.8x 1.9x 1.3x
Quick ratio 3.7x 1.1x 1.1x
Cash ratio 3.6x 0.7x 0.9x
Altman Z-score 1.71 6.23 0.72

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricTDSIDTLBTYA
Dividend yield 0.5% 0.3% –
Net buyback yield – 1.1% 3.4%
Shareholder yield 0.5% 1.5% 3.4%
Payout ratio (earnings) 16.1% – –
Payout ratio (FCF) -20.6% – –
Dividend growth (1Y) 0.5% – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) -16.6% – –

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusTDSIDTLBTYA
Forward P/E 8.7xFY2026 18.4xFY2027 –
EPS, next fiscal year $3.90FY2026 $4.45FY2027 $-1.51FY2026
EPS growth, next FY – +16.5%FY2027 –
EPS growth, the year after -94.6% -4.3% –
Revenue, next fiscal year $1.32BFY2026 $1.41BFY2027 $4.97BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +7.2%FY2026 +8.2%FY2027 +1.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -8.3% -1.5% -6.3%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersTDSIDTLBTYA
Held by institutions 92.5% 60.0% 50.2%
Institutions holding 348 197 294
Change in shares held, QoQ +5.4% +5.5% +0.6%
Institutions buying 182 108 145
Institutions selling 113 65 95
Buyers to sellers 1.61 1.66 1.53

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

TDSIDTLBTYA
TDS 1.00 0.17 0.19
IDT 0.17 1.00 0.13
LBTYA 0.19 0.13 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, TDS, IDT and LBTYA?

Telephone & Data Systems (TDS) is the largest by market capitalisation: Telephone & Data Systems (TDS) $3.91B, Idt (IDT) $1.90B, Liberty Global (LBTYA) $2.62B.

Which stock is cheaper, TDS, IDT and LBTYA?

Telephone & Data Systems (TDS) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Telephone & Data Systems (TDS) 11.1x, Idt (IDT) 23.6x, Liberty Global (LBTYA) -0.9x). On next year's consensus earnings, Telephone & Data Systems (TDS) is cheapest (Telephone & Data Systems (TDS) 8.7x, Idt (IDT) 18.4x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Liberty Global (LBTYA) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Telephone & Data Systems (TDS) +3.8%, Idt (IDT) +5.4%, Liberty Global (LBTYA) +5.4%.

Which company is more profitable?

Telephone & Data Systems (TDS) has the highest net margin (Telephone & Data Systems (TDS) 27.7%, Idt (IDT) 6.7%, Liberty Global (LBTYA) -62.1%). On return on invested capital, Telephone & Data Systems (TDS) leads (Telephone & Data Systems (TDS) 6.6%, Liberty Global (LBTYA) -0.5%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Idt (IDT) returned the most: Telephone & Data Systems (TDS) -13.5%, Idt (IDT) +59.5%, Liberty Global (LBTYA) -28.1%. Over five years, Telephone & Data Systems (TDS) compounded fastest (Telephone & Data Systems (TDS) +12.6%/yr, Idt (IDT) +11.1%/yr, Liberty Global (LBTYA) -12.3%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Telephone & Data Systems (TDS) has the highest dividend yield: Telephone & Data Systems (TDS) 0.47%, Idt (IDT) 0.33%, Liberty Global (LBTYA) 0.00%. Liberty Global (LBTYA) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Idt (IDT) has been the steadiest (Telephone & Data Systems (TDS) 30.8%, Idt (IDT) 26.6%, Liberty Global (LBTYA) 35.1%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, TDS, IDT and LBTYA?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Telephone & Data Systems (TDS) leads on 8. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.