Millicom International Cellular (NASDAQ:TIGO) Issues Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.40 EPS

Millicom International Cellular (NASDAQ:TIGO) announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The technology company reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.98 by ($0.40), FiscalAI reports. Millicom International Cellular had a return on equity of 18.39% and a net margin of 9.19%. The firm had revenue of $2.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.17 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 60.8% on a year-over-year basis.

Here are the key takeaways from Millicom International Cellular’s conference call:

• Millicom delivered 5.4% organic service-revenue growth and record adjusted EBITDA of $1.1 billion, up 7.7%, with a 48% margin. Third-quarter Equity Free Cash Flow rose 27% to $316 million, and the company maintained its full-year target of about $1.1 billion.
• Leverage declined to 2.53, and management said its path to below 2.5 remains intact. Executives also said the Colombia integration’s most intensive phase is largely behind them and expect the market to approach a 50% EBITDA margin in 2027.
• Home customers fell by 86,000 sequentially, reflecting earthquake-related disruption in Colombia and the company’s pricing strategy; management expects continued pressure on home subscriber additions in Q4. B2B growth may also moderate near term as certain projects roll off.
• Millicom reached a settlement resolving pending material litigation and claims in Guatemala, removing a source of financial and regulatory uncertainty. The settlement resulted in a high-double-digit-million-dollar expense in the quarter.

Millicom International Cellular Stock Up 2.6%

TIGO traded up $2.03 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $79.12. 1,341,076 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,362,367. Millicom International Cellular has a 1 year low of $46.85 and a 1 year high of $107.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.37 billion, a PE ratio of 19.98 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $87.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $83.17.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Zacks Research raised Millicom International Cellular from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Millicom International Cellular from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $100.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Millicom International Cellular from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Millicom International Cellular from $52.40 to $60.10 and gave the company a “sector underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Millicom International Cellular from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $85.68.

About Millicom International Cellular

Millicom International Cellular SA is a telecommunications and digital services company operating under the Tigo brand in Latin America. The company provides mobile voice and data services, fixed broadband, pay television, cable connectivity and other communications services to consumers, businesses and government organizations.

Its consumer offerings include wireless plans, home internet, television and digital entertainment services. Through Tigo Money and related financial technology products, Millicom also provides mobile money, digital payments and other financial services in selected markets.