TDS vs IDT vs UNIT Stock Comparison

Telephone & Data Systems, Idt and Uniti Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
IDT Idt Corp
$80.56 +19.6% 1M +58.2% 1Y
Market cap
$2.01B
P/E
23.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.30B
Div. yield
–
Broadband and Cable Communication Services
3 wins
UNIT Uniti Group Inc.
$5.08 -43.0% 1M -18.3% 1Y
Market cap
$1.23B
P/E
1.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.54B
Div. yield
–
Broadband and Cable Communication Services
3 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Telephone & Data Systems leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Telephone & Data Systems 5, Uniti 3, Idt 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionTDSIDTUNITLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $3.84B $2.01B $1.23B TDS
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 11.0x 23.3x 1.2x UNIT
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 9.2x 18.1x — TDS
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +3.8% +5.4% +199.7% UNIT
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 27.7% 6.7% 28.2% UNIT
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 6.6% — 1.1% TDS
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA -1.8x — 8.1x TDS
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.02% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -8.7% +58.2% -18.3% IDT
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +13.9%/yr +11.4%/yr -26.5%/yr TDS
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 30.6% 26.6% 51.6% IDT
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 58/100 59/100 52/100 IDT

Percentile Scorecard

TDSIDTUNIT

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

AxisTDSIDTUNIT
Valuation 52 #24 of 49 40 #30 of 49 42 #29 of 49
Growth 59 #19 of 45 73 #13 of 45 98 #2 of 45
Profitability 57 #20 of 45 61 #18 of 45 50 #23 of 45
Financial Health 98 #2 of 49 92 #5 of 49 19 #40 of 49
Shareholder Returns 22 #29 of 37 28 #27 of 37 –
Overall 58 59 52
  • TDS ranked among 51 companies in Telecommunications
  • IDT ranked among 51 companies in Telecommunications
  • UNIT ranked among 51 companies in Telecommunications

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodTDSIDTUNITSPY
1 month -0.5%+19.6%-43.0% -0.2%
3 months +5.0%+18.9%-51.2% +3.9%
6 months -19.7%+54.4%-55.8% +8.2%
Year to date -12.9%+57.3%-27.5% +12.9%
1 year -8.7%+58.2%-18.3% +12.3%
3 years +100.6%+189.9%-26.3% +87.4%
3 years, per year +26.1%+42.6%-9.7% +23.3%
5 years +91.8%+71.3%-78.5% +67.9%
5 years, per year +13.9%+11.4%-26.5% +10.9%
10 years +35.4%+412.5%-89.4% +261.1%
10 years, per year +3.1%+17.8%-20.1% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureTDSIDTUNITSPY
Volatility, 1Y 30.6%26.6%51.6% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 30.7%24.1%50.9% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.510.251.55 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.282.19-0.36 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -68.4%-66.9%-81.7% -25.4%
From 52-week high -25.0%-4.6%-60.2% -1.2%
52-week high $47.59$84.47$12.75 $779.14
52-week low $32.96$47.25$4.85 $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.

MultipleTDSIDTUNIT
P/E now vs peer median 11.7xmedian 11.8x 23.2xmedian 11.8x 1.3xmedian 11.8x
P/S now vs peer median 3.3xmedian 1.1x 1.4xmedian 1.1x 0.3xmedian 1.1x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 3.2xmedian 6.8x 11.3xmedian 6.8x 9.1xmedian 6.8x
P/FCF now vs peer median -9.7xmedian 5.9x 27.6xmedian 5.9x -1.4xmedian 5.9x
P/B now vs peer median 0.8xmedian 1.2x 4.7xmedian 1.2x 7.4xmedian 1.2x
PEG now vs peer median 0.15median 0.24 0.78median 0.24 —median 0.24

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 monthsTDSIDTUNIT
Revenue $1.26B $1.30B $3.54B
Gross profit $746.62M $496.79M $1.83B
Operating income $465.89M $121.17M $114.40M
Net income $544.60M $95.09M $1.08B
Free cash flow -$424.28M $67.96M -$834.80M
R&D – $55.74M –
EPS (diluted) $3.00 $3.46 $3.94
Cash & equivalents $2.19B $220.69M $608.90M
Total debt $680.09M – $10.65B
Shares (diluted) 116.29M 25.02M 252.90M
Enterprise value -$1.41B $1.06B -$570.11M

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
MetricTDSIDTUNIT
P/E 11.7x 23.2x 1.3x
P/FCF -9.7x 27.6x -1.4x
P/Operating cash flow 30.7x 20.6x 2.4x
P/S 3.3x 1.4x 0.3x
P/B 0.8x 4.7x 7.4x
P/Tangible book 1.1x 4.8x -1.2x
EV/EBITDA 3.2x 11.3x 9.1x
EV/EBIT 5.6x 13.3x 98.2x
EV/Revenue 2.1x 1.2x 3.2x
EV/FCF -6.1x 23.8x -13.5x
EV/Operating cash flow 19.4x 17.7x 22.2x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.15 0.78 –

Growth

14 metrics
MetricTDSIDTUNIT
Revenue growth (1Y) 3.8% 5.4% 199.7%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -38.2% 1.6% –
Gross profit growth (1Y) 9.5% 11.3% 79.2%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) -35.6% 11.6% –
Operating income growth (1Y) 360.1% 20.7% -80.1%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 161.7% 25.9% –
Net income growth (1Y) 1,371% 17.2% 2,951%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 174.9% 28.9% –
EPS growth (1Y) 413.1% 15.1% 1,560%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 77.2% 29.8% –
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -88.1% -28.3% –
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -47.7% 20.2% –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -139.9% -36.1% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -8.8% 30.7% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricTDSIDTUNIT
Gross margin 59.4% 38.3% 51.7%
EBITDA margin 65.4% 11.0% 35.0%
Operating margin 37.0% 9.3% 3.2%
Pretax margin 61.4% 10.0% 26.9%
Net margin 27.7% 6.7% 28.2%
FCF margin -33.7% 5.2% -23.6%
Operating cash flow margin 10.6% 7.0% 14.3%
Return on equity 10.0% 24.6% 447.6%
Return on assets 6.4% 13.0% 8.3%
Return on invested capital 6.6% – 1.1%
Return on capital employed 6.1% 31.9% 1.0%
Asset turnover 0.2x 1.8x 0.3x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 0.2x 1.0x 0.5x
Stock comp / revenue 1.4% 0.8% 0.9%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricTDSIDTUNIT
Debt / assets 8.1% – 82.0%
Debt / equity 0.1x – 65.9x
Net debt / EBITDA -1.8x – 8.1x
Debt / FCF -1.6x – -12.8x
Liabilities / assets 35.6% 48.2% 98.8%
Equity / assets 64.4% 51.8% 1.2%
Interest coverage 6.1x – –
Current ratio 3.8x 1.9x 1.2x
Quick ratio 3.7x 1.1x 0.8x
Cash ratio 3.6x 0.7x 0.5x
Altman Z-score 1.75 6.19 0.67

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricTDSIDTUNIT
Dividend yield 0.4% 0.3% –
Net buyback yield – 1.1% –
Shareholder yield 0.4% 1.5% 0.0%
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.

ConsensusTDSIDTUNIT
Forward P/E 9.2xFY2026 18.1xFY2027 –
EPS, next fiscal year $3.90FY2026 $4.45FY2027 $-1.94FY2026
EPS growth, next FY – +16.5%FY2027 -139.8%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after -94.6% -4.3% –
Revenue, next fiscal year $1.32BFY2026 $1.41BFY2027 $3.44BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +7.2%FY2026 +8.2%FY2027 +54.2%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -8.3% -1.5% +12.5%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersTDSIDTUNIT
Held by institutions 92.5% 60.0% 89.3%
Institutions holding 348 197 279
Change in shares held, QoQ +5.4% +5.5% -1.4%
Institutions buying 182 108 155
Institutions selling 113 65 78
Buyers to sellers 1.61 1.66 1.99

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.

TDSIDTUNIT
TDS 1.00 0.18 0.26
IDT 0.18 1.00 0.17
UNIT 0.26 0.17 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, TDS, IDT and UNIT?

Telephone & Data Systems (TDS) is the largest by market capitalisation: Telephone & Data Systems (TDS) $3.84B, Idt (IDT) $2.01B, Uniti (UNIT) $1.23B.

Which stock is cheaper, TDS, IDT and UNIT?

Uniti (UNIT) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Telephone & Data Systems (TDS) 11.0x, Idt (IDT) 23.3x, Uniti (UNIT) 1.2x). On next year's consensus earnings, Telephone & Data Systems (TDS) is cheapest (Telephone & Data Systems (TDS) 9.2x, Idt (IDT) 18.1x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Uniti (UNIT) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Telephone & Data Systems (TDS) +3.8%, Idt (IDT) +5.4%, Uniti (UNIT) +199.7%.

Which company is more profitable?

Uniti (UNIT) has the highest net margin (Telephone & Data Systems (TDS) 27.7%, Idt (IDT) 6.7%, Uniti (UNIT) 28.2%). On return on invested capital, Telephone & Data Systems (TDS) leads (Telephone & Data Systems (TDS) 6.6%, Uniti (UNIT) 1.1%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Idt (IDT) returned the most: Telephone & Data Systems (TDS) -8.7%, Idt (IDT) +58.2%, Uniti (UNIT) -18.3%. Over five years, Telephone & Data Systems (TDS) compounded fastest (Telephone & Data Systems (TDS) +13.9%/yr, Idt (IDT) +11.4%/yr, Uniti (UNIT) -26.5%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Telephone & Data Systems (TDS) 0.02%, Idt (IDT) 0.00%, Uniti (UNIT) 0.00%. Idt (IDT) and Uniti (UNIT) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Idt (IDT) has been the steadiest (Telephone & Data Systems (TDS) 30.6%, Idt (IDT) 26.6%, Uniti (UNIT) 51.6%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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 5. 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.