Liberty Global (LBTYA Quick QuoteLBTYA - Free Report) reported consolidated net earnings of $358.2 million in the first quarter of 2026, compared with a net loss of $1.32 billion in the year-ago quarter.

Revenues increased 8.8% year over year to $1.27 billion. On a rebased basis, revenues increased 2.9% year over year.

Consolidated Liberty Telecom revenues grew 4.4% year over year to $1.09 billion, supported by contributions from Telenet of $759.4 million, Wyre of $198.9 million and Virgin Media Ireland (VM Ireland) of $127 million.

Outside its core telecom operations, Liberty Corporate revenues increased 15.3% year over year to $239.2 million, while Liberty Growth surged 39.5% to $177.6 million. Intercompany eliminations of $227.5 million partially offset the gains, but the overall mix still drove a higher top line versus the year-ago period.

Liberty Global Ltd Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Liberty Global Ltd price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Liberty Global Ltd Quote

LBTYA stock climbed 3.28% after its earnings release on Friday, reflecting stronger performance in the reported quarter.

LBTYA Highlights JV Operating Trends

Liberty Global’s 50%-owned joint ventures continued to show diverging operational patterns beneath the headline results. Virgin Media O2 generated revenues of $3.22 billion, rising 3.1% year over year on a reported basis and down 6.5% on a rebased basis. VMO2 lost 6,900 fixed-line customer relationships and 5,300 broadband subscribers in the quarter. VMO2 also lost 60,400 postpaid mobile subscribers.

VMO2 JV adjusted EBITDA was $1.09 billion, up 1.7% year over year on a reported basis and down 7.0% on a rebased basis.

VodafoneZiggo generated revenues of $1.15 billion, up 9.2% year over year on a reported basis and down 1.8% on a rebased basis. VodafoneZiggo lost 15,100 fixed-line customer relationships and 8,500 broadband subscribers in the reported quarter. Yet, VodafoneZiggo added 24,700 postpaid mobile subscribers, supported by stronger performance on the hollandsnieuwe brand and new product propositions.

VodafoneZiggo JV adjusted EBITDA was $482.0 million, up 4.1% year over year on a reported basis and down 6.4% on a rebased basis.

LBTYA Shows EBITDA Expansion and Cost Actions in Q1

Profitability improved on a consolidated basis, with adjusted EBITDA increasing to $366.5 million, which grew 12.9% from the prior-year quarter.

Consolidated Liberty Telecom adjusted EBITDA increased 11.2% year over year to $376.6 million, driven by strong performance at Telenet, where adjusted EBITDA rose 18% to $183.9 million.

In the reported quarter, Wyre posted adjusted EBITDA of $154.3 million, while Virgin Media Ireland generated $38.4 million. Liberty Corporate adjusted EBITDA improved meaningfully to a loss of $2.3 million versus a loss of $14.5 million a year ago, aligning with management’s focus on reshaping the corporate operating model and driving a materially better cost profile versus recent periods.

LBTYA Q1 Subscriber Details

Telenet lost 13,500 fixed-line customer relationships and added 17,100 broadband subscribers in the quarter. Telenet also lost 9,100 postpaid mobile subscribers.

Telenet’s first-quarter 2026 monthly ARPU per fixed-line customer relationship was €63.19, down modestly by 0.2% year over year.

Virgin Media Ireland lost 3,300 fixed-line customer relationships and 2,500 broadband subscribers in the reported quarter. VM Ireland added 1,800 postpaid mobile subscribers.

VM Ireland’s first-quarter 2026 monthly ARPU per fixed-line customer relationship was €60.67, down 0.5% year over year.

Liberty Global Advances Value Unlock and Portfolio Rotation

Management continued to emphasize its value-unlock roadmap, with the acquisition of Vodafone’s 50% stake in VodafoneZiggo expected to close in July 2026 and preparations continuing toward a potential spin-off of its interest to shareholders in the second half of 2027. The company framed the quarter as another step in building the blocks required for that separation while maintaining operational progress across markets.

Capital rotation also remained active within Liberty Growth. During the quarter, Liberty Global exited half of its 5% stake in ITV and disposed of a portion of its EdgeConneX investment, generating combined disposal proceeds of about $180 million in the period and $300 million through April. The Liberty Growth portfolio remained concentrated, with a fair market value cited at roughly $3.4 billion at March 31, 2026.

Q1 Balance Sheet & Cash Flow

At the end of the first quarter of 2026, Liberty Global had $2.71 billion in total liquidity, including cash and cash equivalents of $1.83 billion, SMAs of $46.3 million and unused borrowing capacity of $836.7 million.

The total principal amount of debt and finance leases was about $8.5 billion, down from $8.6 billion at the end of the fourth quarter of 2025. Average debt tenor was 2.8 years, with 38% not due until 2029 or thereafter.

Net cash provided by operating activities was $107.6 million, down 16.7% year over year from $129.2 million.

LBTYA Reaffirms 2026 Guidance as Liquidity Remains Solid

LBTYA reiterated full-year 2026 guidance across key operating units. Virgin Media O2 continues to expect a 3% to 5% year-over-year decline in total service revenues and a 3% to 5% decline in adjusted EBITDA.

VodafoneZiggo maintained its outlook for stable to low-single-digit revenue decline and mid- to high-single-digit adjusted EBITDA decline, with capital intensity expected at 23%-25% of revenues.

Telenet reiterated expectations for stable revenue and low-single-digit growth in adjusted EBITDA.

LBTYA’s Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider

Currently, Liberty Global carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Lumen Technologies (LUMN Quick QuoteLUMN - Free Report) , Atmos Energy (ATO Quick QuoteATO - Free Report) and Chesapeake Utilities (CPK Quick QuoteCPK - Free Report) are some better-ranked stocks that investors can consider in the broader Zacks Utilities sector. Lumen Technologies currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), while Atmos Energy and Chesapeake Utilities carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) each. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Lumen Technologies shares have appreciated 20% year to date. LUMN is set to report its first-quarter 2026 results on May 5.

Atmos Energy shares have gained 12.4% year to date. ATO is set to report its second-quarter fiscal 2026 results on May 6.

Chesapeake Utilities shares have returned 1.8% year to date. CPK is set to report its first-quarter 2026 results on May 7.