Liberty Global Ltd. (NASDAQ:LBTY.A) Released Earnings Last Week And Analysts Lifted Their Price Target To US$26.49

Liberty Global Ltd. (NASDAQ:LBTY.A) shareholders are probably feeling a little disappointed, since its shares fell 4.8% to US$19.81 in the week after its latest quarterly results. It was a pretty bad result overall; while revenues were in line with expectations at US$1.9b, statutory losses exploded to US$3.95 per share. This is an important time for investors, as they can track a company's performance in its report, look at what experts are forecasting for next year, and see if there has been any change to expectations for the business. We thought readers would find it interesting to see the analysts latest (statutory) post-earnings forecasts for next year.

View our latest analysis for Liberty Global

Taking into account the latest results, Liberty Global's 13 analysts currently expect revenues in 2025 to be US$7.80b, approximately in line with the last 12 months. Losses are predicted to fall substantially, shrinking 74% to US$3.01. Before this earnings announcement, the analysts had been modelling revenues of US$7.80b and losses of US$3.00 per share in 2025.

The average price target fell 9.4% to US$26.49, with the ongoing losses seemingly a concern for the analysts, despite the lack of real change to the earnings forecasts. There's another way to think about price targets though, and that's to look at the range of price targets put forward by analysts, because a wide range of estimates could suggest a diverse view on possible outcomes for the business. Currently, the most bullish analyst values Liberty Global at US$53.00 per share, while the most bearish prices it at US$20.00. So we wouldn't be assigning too much credibility to analyst price targets in this case, because there are clearly some widely different views on what kind of performance this business can generate. With this in mind, we wouldn't rely too heavily the consensus price target, as it is just an average and analysts clearly have some deeply divergent views on the business.

Of course, another way to look at these forecasts is to place them into context against the industry itself. From these estimates it looks as though the analysts expect the years of declining revenue to come to an end, given the flat forecast out to 2025. That would be a definite improvement, given that the past five years have seen revenue shrink 12% annually. Compare this against analyst estimates for the broader industry, which suggest that (in aggregate) industry revenues are expected to grow 3.3% annually. So it's pretty clear that, although revenues are improving, Liberty Global is still expected to grow slower than the industry.

The Bottom Line

The most obvious conclusion is that the analysts made no changes to their forecasts for a loss next year. On the plus side, there were no major changes to revenue estimates; although forecasts imply they will perform worse than the wider industry. We note an upgrade to the price target, suggesting that the analysts believes the intrinsic value of the business is likely to improve over time.

Following on from that line of thought, we think that the long-term prospects of the business are much more relevant than next year's earnings. We have estimates - from multiple Liberty Global analysts - going out to 2026, and you can see them free on our platform here.

You still need to take note of risks, for example - Liberty Global has 2 warning signs (and 1 which is potentially serious) we think you should know about.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.