TEO vs VIV: How Telecom Argentina and Telefonica Brasil Compare (2026)
Last updated August 2026
Short answer
TEO and VIV are similarly sized, but VIV trades noticeably cheaper on forward earnings (12.24x vs 16.54x): the market is paying up for TEO's profile and pricing VIV more conservatively, or for faster growth. Which you prefer comes down to the drivers you believe, and whether adding either over-concentrates what you already own.
TEO vs VIV: the tie-breaker metrics
Same yardstick, side by side (as of August 2026). Valuation lined up like this is most meaningful for two names in the same corner of the market, which these are. Figures are approximate; verify before investing.
| Metric | TEO | VIV | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward P/E | 16.54 | 12.24 | Valuation on next year's expected earnings, the same yardstick for both. Lower is cheaper for that growth; higher means the market is paying up. |
| Trailing P/E | 25.61 | 16.15 | Valuation on the last 12 months. A big drop from trailing to forward means the market expects earnings to jump, so more growth is already in the price. |
| Beta | 0.35 | 0.22 | Volatility vs the market. Above 1 swings harder than the index; below 1 is steadier. Higher beta means bigger drawdowns to hold through. |
| Price vs 52-week range | 75% of range | 25% of range | Where today's price sits between the 52-week low and high. Near the high is momentum with less margin of safety; near the low is out of favor or a discount, depending on why. |
| Price / book | 1.10 | 3.08 | How much you pay over book value. Very high can signal an asset-light, high-return business or a rich price. |
Reading it: VIV is the cheaper of the two on forward earnings, but cheaper is not the same as better. Pair the valuation with growth (how far the forward P/E sits below the trailing P/E) and risk (beta) before you decide.
Before you buy: how TEO and VIV affect your concentration
The metrics above tell you which is the marginally better business. The bigger risk for most people is not picking the slightly worse stock, it is over-concentrating. TEO and VIV share themes, so owning both, or adding either to what you already hold, can quietly push a large share of your portfolio into one bet.
This is the part a generic comparison page cannot answer, because it depends on what you own. Connect your brokerage and Walnut shows your real, combined TEO and VIV exposure, flags overlap with your existing positions, and tells you if adding one would tip you past a concentration you are comfortable with, read-only by default, with your login staying at your broker. Walnut is not an investment adviser.
What does Telecom Argentina (TEO) do?
Telecom Argentina S.A. is the largest integrated telecommunications operator in Argentina, selling mobile, fixed broadband, cable television and fixed voice under the Personal and Flow brands, plus fintech through Personal Pay. It is controlled through a shareholders' agreement between Cablevision Holding (the Grupo Clarin vehicle) and Fintech Telecom, with Argentina's ANSES pension fund holding roughly 11% of total capital. In February 2025 it closed the roughly US$1.245 billion purchase of Telefonica Moviles Argentina, the local Movistar business, which took the Argentine mobile market from three national operators to two. As of June 30, 2026 the combined group served about 19.4 million mobile lines under Telecom and another 19.5 million under the acquired Movistar unit, roughly 5.9 million fixed broadband accesses and about 3.8 million pay TV subscribers, with smaller operations in Paraguay (Nucleo), Uruguay, Chile and US wholesale.
What does Telefonica Brasil (VIV) do?
Telefonica Brasil, which operates under the Vivo brand, is the largest telecommunications company in Brazil. It provides mobile voice and data service, fiber and fixed broadband, pay TV, and digital services to consumers and businesses across the country. The company is the mobile market leader with roughly 103 million mobile accesses and about a 38% share, and it has been aggressively expanding fiber-to-the-home, reaching around 31 million homes passed and roughly 7.8 million connected homes by the end of 2025. Vivo makes money primarily from recurring monthly mobile and broadband subscriptions, with postpaid mobile and FTTH fiber the main growth engines while legacy fixed voice and DSL decline.
TEO vs VIV: how do they differ?
Both fit overlapping themes, but they are not interchangeable. The useful comparison is which set of drivers and risks you want exposure to.
- TEO drivers: Integrating Movistar Argentina while giving part of it away; Pricing above inflation as disinflation takes hold.
- VIV drivers: Market-leading mobile franchise; Fiber (FTTH) expansion.
Which fits which kind of investor
A faster-growing, richer-valued name usually swings harder, so it suits a longer horizon and a higher tolerance for volatility; a steadier, more cash-generative business suits a more conservative or income-minded investor. The honest test is which set of risks you could hold through a drawdown: The single largest risk is that the reported numbers are an artifact of Argentine macro rather than operations: IAS 29 restatement, the inflation index chosen and the peso-versus-dollar path can move net income by hundreds of billions of pesos in either direction without a single subscriber changing behavior, and the 2025 full-year loss versus the 2026 first-half profit is the clearest illustration. For VIV, as an ADR, VIV carries meaningful currency risk: even when Vivo grows in Brazilian reais, a weaker real reduces the dollar value of both the share price and the dividend for US holders.
TEO or VIV: which should you pick?
TEO vs VIV: the full fundamentals
TEO. All peso figures are restated under IAS 29 hyperinflation accounting into the measuring unit at June 30, 2026, and prior-year comparatives are re-expressed using the 33.5% annual national CPI, so nominal growth and real growth are very different numbers here. Dollar conversions above use roughly 1,500 Argentine pesos per dollar and are approximations, because the constant-currency peso figures and the spot rate refer to different moments. Each ADR represents five Class B shares under a JP Morgan deposit agreement, which is why the ADR price is about five times the underlying BYMA-listed TECO2 share price translated into dollars.
VIV. VIV trades as a high-yield emerging-market telecom, valued more on its dividend and cash generation than on growth. The company distributes essentially all of its net income to shareholders, so the ADR behaves like an income holding whose dollar return depends on both operating results and the Brazilian real. All figures are approximate and as of July 2026.
Headline figures (approximate, August 2026): TEO shows revenue (1h 2026) ~P$5.08 trillion, roughly ~$3.4B at ~1,500 pesos per dollar, +16.0% vs 1H25 in constant pesos, operating income before d&a (1h 2026) ~P$1.82 trillion, a ~35.8% margin, up ~5.8 points year over year, net income (1h 2026) ~P$869 billion, versus a ~P$101 billion net loss in 1H 2025, full-year 2025 result revenue ~P$8.33 trillion with a net loss of ~P$145 billion; VIV shows net operating revenue (fy2025) ~R$59.6 billion (~$11 billion), net income (fy2025) ~R$6.2 billion (~$1.1 billion), revenue growth (fy2025) ~7% year over year, dividend yield (adr) ~5% to 6%.
The bottom line: TEO vs VIV
TEO and VIV are related but distinct: same themes, different businesses and risks. Neither wins in the abstract; the right pick is whichever thesis you actually believe, sized so you are not over-concentrated in one theme. Walnut can show your combined TEO and VIV exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.
Wondering how TEO or VIV fits the portfolio you already own? Walnut is an AI investing app that connects your brokerage read-only and answers questions like that about your actual holdings: overlap, concentration, and how each position tracks the S&P 500. Compare the best AI portfolio analyzers or see the best AI investing apps in 2026.
Investing in Telecom Argentina with AI
Connect the broker you already use and ask Walnut's AI how TEO fits what you actually hold: whether you own it already through a fund, what it would do to your concentration, and how it has tracked the S&P 500. Read-only by default, and you approve anything before it reaches your broker.
FAQ
What is the difference between TEO and VIV?
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Telecom Argentina S.A. Telefonica Brasil, which operates under the Vivo brand, is the largest telecommunications company in Brazil. They show up together because they share investment themes, but they are different businesses, so the better fit depends on which thesis you are expressing.
Is TEO or VIV the better stock?
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Neither is universally better; they suit different views and risk levels. Walnut is informational, not investment advice. Compare what each does, the tie-breaker metrics above, and the risks, then decide which fits your thesis and what you already own.
Which is cheaper, TEO or VIV?
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On forward P/E (as of August 2026), TEO trades at 16.54x and VIV at 12.24x, so VIV is the cheaper of the two on next year's expected earnings. A lower multiple is not automatically the better buy: a richer valuation can be justified by faster growth, and a lower one can reflect real risk. Weigh the multiple against how fast each business is compounding.
Should you own both TEO and VIV?
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Because they share themes, owning both concentrates you in that theme. That can be intentional (a focused bet) or accidental (less diversification than it looks). Walnut can show your combined exposure across both, and whether adding either over-concentrates you, before you buy.
What are the risks of TEO vs VIV?
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TEO: The single largest risk is that the reported numbers are an artifact of Argentine macro rather than operations: IAS 29 restatement, the inflation index chosen and the peso-versus-dollar path can move net income by hundreds of billions of pesos in either direction without a single subscriber changing behavior, and the 2025 full-year loss versus the 2026 first-half profit is the clearest illustration. Dollar-denominated borrowings against peso revenue mean a renewed devaluation would reverse the foreign exchange gains that produced the recent profit, and Argentine capital controls have historically restricted transferring funds abroad, which affects both debt service and any distribution reaching ADR holders. Execution risk on the antitrust remedy is live and unresolved: transferring 6 million mobile customers, spectrum and 211,400 broadband subscribers requires finding a buyer and effectively funding a new national competitor, and the terms, timing and price of that transfer are not yet known. Competitively, Claro remains the other national mobile operator, Starlink is named in the company's own filings as having reached a meaningful Argentine subscriber base in under a year, and low-earth-orbit satellite broadband lowers the barrier to entry in exactly the fixed markets where Telecom's pricing has already lagged inflation. Finally, this is a controlled company with a shareholders' agreement between Cablevision Holding and Fintech Telecom, ADR holders vote only through the depositary, cash distributions have been small and irregular (some past distributions were made in Argentine sovereign bonds rather than cash), and Argentine consumer-protection courts have repeatedly ordered customer reimbursements. VIV: As an ADR, VIV carries meaningful currency risk: even when Vivo grows in Brazilian reais, a weaker real reduces the dollar value of both the share price and the dividend for US holders. The Brazilian telecom market is competitive, with Claro (America Movil) and TIM Brasil fighting for the same customers, plus regional fiber players like Brisanet and numerous small ISPs pressuring broadband pricing. The business is capital-intensive, requiring continuous spending on 5G and fiber, and the very high payout ratio leaves limited buffer if earnings weaken. The company is also exposed to Brazilian macro and political conditions, including interest rates, inflation, and regulation, and Telefonica S.A.'s roughly 74% control means minority ADR holders have limited influence over strategy.
Walnut is informational, not investment advice. This page is descriptive and not a recommendation to buy or sell TEO or VIV; figures are approximate and dated (as of August 2026). Verify current data before investing.