Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE:LYV) Announces Earnings Results

Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE:LYV) announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The company reported ($1.06) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.00) by ($0.06), Zacks reports. The company had revenue of $6.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.12 billion. Live Nation Entertainment had a return on equity of 97.90% and a net margin of 3.66%.

Here are the key takeaways from Live Nation Entertainment’s conference call:

• Guidance: Management reiterated a target of double‑digit AOI growth in 2026, citing double‑digit sponsorship momentum (over 70% booked) and expected double‑digit concerts growth while ticketing is only expected to deliver mid‑single‑digit underlying growth with some one‑time headwinds.
• Venue Nation pre‑opening costs are ramping (from about $25M last year to ~$50M in 2026), which will pressure near‑term AOI even though management expects venues to reach steady‑state profitability over a 2–3 year maturation period as international expansion continues.
• DOJ ruling: A judge dismissed key monopoly claims around promotion and booking—reducing breakup risk and narrowing the government’s case—although venue‑facing ticketing claims will still proceed to trial.
• Ticketmaster has tightened broker access and increased identity verification and face‑value exchange, cutting broker concert listings roughly in half, which management says shrinks scalping but may shift secondary activity to other platforms and invites evolving state‑level regulation.
• Demand and supply dynamics remain strong globally: management reports robust fan demand, roughly 80% of shows booked, and double‑digit increases in arenas, stadiums and amphitheaters—supporting their optimistic outlook for 2026.

Live Nation Entertainment Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:LYV traded up $1.68 on Thursday, hitting $157.46. The company had a trading volume of 3,751,752 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,741,342. The stock has a market cap of $36.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 114.10, a P/E/G ratio of 10.61 and a beta of 1.18. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $145.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $150.13. Live Nation Entertainment has a 1-year low of $112.88 and a 1-year high of $175.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.41.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Live Nation Entertainment

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Live Nation Entertainment by 3.3% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 17,376 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,269,000 after purchasing an additional 547 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Live Nation Entertainment by 15.8% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 798 shares of the company’s stock worth $121,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Live Nation Entertainment by 6.0% in the 2nd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 27,496 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,160,000 after purchasing an additional 1,550 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Live Nation Entertainment by 15.9% during the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 26,340 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,983,000 after buying an additional 3,604 shares during the period. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its stake in Live Nation Entertainment by 344.3% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,208 shares of the company’s stock worth $334,000 after buying an additional 1,711 shares during the last quarter. 74.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Live Nation Entertainment News

Here are the key news stories impacting Live Nation Entertainment this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Quarterly revenue beat analyst estimates, driven by sustained concert demand — a sign that ticketing and live events momentum remains strong. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Company release and PR highlight double-digit growth in 2025 and say momentum carries into what management calls a “record-breaking 2026,” supporting revenue outlook and investor confidence. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Trading was temporarily halted for LYV at 3:35 PM for “News pending,” a short-term market event that can amplify intraday volatility. (Trading status reported by exchange)
• Neutral Sentiment: Management will present at Morgan Stanley’s TMT conference on March 3 — a forthcoming event where management commentary and Q&A could move the shares. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Reported EPS missed estimates: Q4 EPS of ($1.06) vs. consensus ($1.00) — a modest miss that could weigh on near-term sentiment despite the revenue beat. Press Release
• Negative Sentiment: Significant legal risk: a federal judge rejected Live Nation’s bid to dismiss the DOJ/state antitrust lawsuit, allowing remaining claims to proceed to trial next month — this preserves the risk of penalties, remedies or operational constraints that could pressure valuation. Article Title Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Recent coverage notes LYV underperformed peers and the stock has shown sensitivity to the antitrust headlines, which has prompted intraday weakness on some sessions. Article Title

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Evercore raised their target price on Live Nation Entertainment from $168.00 to $188.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Live Nation Entertainment from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $161.00 to $155.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. UBS Group began coverage on Live Nation Entertainment in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $164.00 price target for the company. Roth Mkm set a $174.00 price objective on shares of Live Nation Entertainment in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Live Nation Entertainment from $172.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 16th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Live Nation Entertainment currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $172.45.

Live Nation Entertainment Company Profile

Live Nation Entertainment is a global live entertainment company that promotes, operates and sells tickets for live events. The company’s core activities include concert promotion and production, venue operations and management, ticketing services through its Ticketmaster platform, artist management and development, and sponsorship and advertising services tied to live events. These integrated businesses are designed to connect artists, fans and commercial partners across the live event ecosystem.

The company in its current form was created following the 2010 merger of Live Nation and Ticketmaster, combining a promoter and venue operator with one of the industry’s largest ticketing platforms.