Liberty Global Earnings Preview: Analysts Expect Rising Revenue, Falling EPS - Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA), Charter Communications (NASDAQ:CHTR)

Liberty Global LBTYA unveils its next round of earnings this Wednesday, November 2, 2011. Here's Benzinga's essential guide to Liberty Global's third quarter earnings report.

Earnings and Revenue:

Analysts are looking ahead to a positive EPS of 30 cents/share and revenues of $2.65 billion. Liberty Global's latest numbers will no doubt be compared with the company's year-ago quarter, when it reported a profit of 37 cents/share on revenues of $2.25 billion. We'll have to wait for Wednesday to see if the company reports a decline in EPS and a boost in revenue from the year-ago quarter, as analysts are predicting.

Here's how the company's reported EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past:

Quarter	Q2	Q1	Q4	Q3
EPS Estimate	$0.27	$0.20	$0.24	-$0.10
EPS Actual	$0.26	$0.83	$0.18	$0.37

Stock Performance:

As of October 27, 2011, Liberty Global's current share price was $42.75. Since January 1st, shares have given investors a return of 20.8%.

Average Stock Rating:

The average rating by analysts is a Moderate Buy. The strength of this rating has crept upwards over the past three months.

Competitors:

Looking for a sympathy stock to trade or interested in the performance of other companies in the same sector? Take a look at some of Liberty Global's peers.

Charter Communications CHTR: Moderate Buy with a -$0.67 recent quarter EPS
Comcast CMCSA: Moderate Buy with a $0.42 recent quarter EPS
Cablevision Systems (CVC): Hold with a $0.24 recent quarter EPS
NET Servicos de Comunicacao S.A (NETC): Strong Sell with a $0.21 recent quarter EPS

The cable TV company's industry has seen price/earnings growth of 1.3% during the current fiscal year.

Finally, a description of the company's main areas of operation: Liberty Global is an international provider of video, voice, and broadband internet services, with consolidated broadband communications and direct-to-home satellite operations mainly in Europe, Japan, and Chile.

Take Action:

Now that you have reviewed all the numbers, be ready to move if the upcoming Liberty Global earnings report has any surprises. Also, come back to Benzinga after the announcement for a full recap and a guide to your next steps.

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