Liberty Latin America (NASDAQ:LILA) Releases Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.14 EPS

Key Points

• Liberty Latin America missed earnings expectations in the quarter, reporting adjusted EPS of -$0.11 versus the $0.03 consensus, while revenue of $1.08 billion also came in slightly below estimates.
• On the conference call, management highlighted some operational positives, including $405 million in adjusted OIBDA, 50,000 net mobile postpaid additions, and improving free cash flow trends.
• The company is still dealing with meaningful balance-sheet pressure, with $8.4 billion of consolidated debt and especially high leverage at Liberty Puerto Rico, even as it restarted share repurchases and announced a $500 million preferred equity dividend.

Liberty Latin America (NASDAQ:LILA - Get Free Report) posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The company reported ($0.11) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.03 by ($0.14), FiscalAI reports. Liberty Latin America had a negative net margin of 11.20% and a negative return on equity of 44.68%. The business had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.09 billion.

Here are the key takeaways from Liberty Latin America's conference call:

• Q1 beat expectations: Adjusted OIBDA was $405 million and the company added 50,000 mobile postpaid subscribers, while adjusted free cash flow before partner distributions improved by about $40 million year‑over‑year to negative $64 million.
• Management announced a $500 million notional preferred equity dividend paying 9% and restarted share repurchases, with roughly $184 million remaining under the buyback authorization.
• Jamaica is recovering faster than expected after Hurricane Melissa — the company added back ~30,000 residential revenue‑generating customers in Q1 and is increasingly confident of returning to run‑rate adjusted OIBDA and a smaller free‑cash‑flow hit in 2026.
• Leverage and Puerto Rico liquidity remain material risks: consolidated debt is $8.4 billion with net leverage ~4.5x, while Liberty Puerto Rico carries very high leverage (reported borrowing group net ~8x, restricted‑subsidiary covenant ~14x) and may need asset‑backed third‑party financing or creditor engagement.
• Liberty Networks showed strong wholesale demand (rebased revenue +9%) driven by subsea projects (MANTA, El Salvador), but timing and project costs (El Salvador) depressed Q1 adjusted OIBDA, with meaningful high‑margin revenue expected once builds go live.

Liberty Latin America Price Performance

LILA stock traded down $0.18 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $7.63. 474,272 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 245,849. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $8.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $7.99. The stock has a market cap of $1.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.08 and a beta of 0.75. Liberty Latin America has a fifty-two week low of $4.34 and a fifty-two week high of $9.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.40, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Brian D. Zook sold 94,494 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.04, for a total value of $759,731.76. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 6,813 shares in the company, valued at $54,776.52. This represents a 93.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 11.96% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Liberty Latin America

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LILA. AQR Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Liberty Latin America in the first quarter valued at $104,000. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in Liberty Latin America by 7.3% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 214,637 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,359,000 after purchasing an additional 14,547 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC increased its stake in Liberty Latin America by 230.6% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 49,660 shares of the company's stock valued at $314,000 after purchasing an additional 34,640 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in Liberty Latin America during the first quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Liberty Latin America by 12.2% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 662,784 shares of the company's stock worth $4,042,000 after acquiring an additional 71,873 shares during the last quarter. 18.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Liberty Latin America in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $13.00.

Liberty Latin America Company Profile

Liberty Latin America is a telecommunications company that provides video, broadband internet, telephony and mobile services across Latin America and the Caribbean. The company's operations span consumer and business markets, offering cable television packages, high-speed broadband connections, fixed-line voice services and wireless data plans. Through its brands, including Flow in several Caribbean territories and VTR in Chile, Liberty Latin America focuses on delivering converged digital solutions designed to meet both residential and enterprise needs.

Formed in 2018 as a spin-off from Liberty Global, Liberty Latin America built its initial footprint by integrating legacy assets acquired from Cable & Wireless Communications and Columbus Communications.

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