Comparing Swisscom (OTCMKTS:SCMWY) and Liberty Global (NASDAQ:LBTYA)

Swisscom (OTCMKTS:SCMWY) and Liberty Global (NASDAQ:LBTYA) are both utilities companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, risk, institutional ownership, dividends, profitability, valuation and analyst recommendations.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Swisscom and Liberty Global, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Swisscom	0	4	0	0	2.00
Liberty Global	1	6	2	0	2.11

Liberty Global has a consensus price target of $14.26, indicating a potential upside of 20.01%. Given Liberty Global’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Liberty Global is more favorable than Swisscom.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Swisscom and Liberty Global”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Swisscom	$12.54 billion	30.76	$1.75 billion	$2.97	25.07
Liberty Global	$4.63 billion	0.87	$1.59 billion	($9.77)	-1.22

Swisscom has higher revenue and earnings than Liberty Global. Liberty Global is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Swisscom, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Swisscom and Liberty Global’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Swisscom	9.29%	10.05%	3.45%
Liberty Global	-60.38%	-22.64%	-10.77%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

37.2% of Liberty Global shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.0% of Swisscom shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 13.3% of Liberty Global shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility and Risk

Swisscom has a beta of 0.29, indicating that its stock price is 71% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Liberty Global has a beta of 1.17, indicating that its stock price is 17% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Swisscom beats Liberty Global on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Swisscom

Swisscom AG provides telecommunication services primarily in Switzerland, Italy, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Swisscom Switzerland, Fastweb, and Other Operating. The company offers mobile and fixed-network services, such as telephony, TV, broadband, and mobile offerings, as well as sells terminal equipment; and telecom and communications solutions for large corporations and small and medium-sized enterprises. It also provides cloud, outsourcing, workplace, mobile phone, networking, business process optimization, SAP, and security and authentication solutions, as well as a range of services to the banking industry; Internet of Things solutions; digitization services to the healthcare sector; IT systems for health insurance companies; fixed-line and mobile networks by other telecommunication service providers; and roaming to foreign operators whose customers use its mobile networks, as well as broadband services and regulated products. In addition, the company plans, operates, and maintains network infrastructure and IT systems; provides support functions to finance, human resource, and strategy, as well as management of real estate and vehicle fleet; and offers broadband and mobile services, such as telephony, mobile offerings, and broadband services, as well as ICT solutions for residential, business, and wholesale customers. Further, it provides IT and network services; online and telephone directories; and cross-platform retail media and security communication services, as well as builds and maintains wired and wireless networks. The company was founded in 1998 and is based in Bern, Switzerland.

About Liberty Global

Liberty Global Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, provides broadband internet, video, fixed-line telephony, and mobile communications services to residential and business customers. It offers value-added broadband services, such as WiFi features, security, anti-virus, firewall, spam protection, smart home services, online storage solutions, and web spaces; and Connect Box that delivers in-home Wi-Fi service. 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; 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 a second or third phone line at an incremental cost. Further, the company offers business services comprising voice, advanced data, video, wireless, cloud-based services, and mobile and converged fixed-mobile services to small or home offices, small businesses, and medium and large enterprises, as well as on a wholesale basis to other operators. It operates in Belgium, Switzerland, Ireland, Slovakia, and internationally. Liberty Global Ltd. was founded in 2004 and is based in Hamilton, Bermuda.