Sep 30, 2021

Live Nation Q3 2021 Earnings Report

All business segments returned to positive operating income and AOI, with Ticketmaster delivering its highest operating income and AOI quarter ever.

Key Takeaways

Live Nation Entertainment reported a strong third quarter, marking a return to live events at scale. All business segments achieved positive operating income and AOI, with Ticketmaster delivering record results. Fan demand drove double-digit growth in pricing and on-site spending, and leading indicators point to a record 2022.

All business segments returned to positive operating income and AOI.

Ticketmaster delivered its highest operating income and AOI quarter ever.

Fan demand led to double-digit growth in pricing and on-site spending.

Show count is up double-digits for 2022 relative to 2019.

Total Revenue
$2.7B
Previous year: $184M
+1366.7%
EPS
$0.19
Previous year: -$2.45
-107.8%
Total Estimated Fans
16.85M
Previous year: 269K
+6164.7%
Gross Profit
$729M
Previous year: $53.3M
+1268.2%
Cash and Equivalents
$4.63B
Previous year: $2.63B
+76.3%
Free Cash Flow
-$191M
Previous year: $951M
-120.1%
Total Assets
$13.3B
Previous year: $10.9B
+22.5%

Live Nation

Live Nation

Live Nation Revenue by Segment

Forward Guidance

Live Nation anticipates a record 2022, driven by strong leading indicators across all business segments. The company expects a record fourth quarter for Ticketmaster's transacted fee-bearing GTV and is focused on cost savings to enable future growth.

Positive Outlook

  • Confirmed show count across amphitheaters, arenas and stadiums is up double-digits relative to the same time in 2019 for 2020 shows.
  • Through mid-October, 22 million tickets have already been sold for shows in 2022.
  • Ticketmaster expects a record fourth quarter transacted fee-bearing GTV, even after already selling 65 million fee-bearing tickets for events next year.
  • Ticketmaster has added clients representing 14 million net new fee-bearing tickets so far this year.
  • Confirmed pipeline for sponsorship and advertising business for 2022 is up double-digits relative to this time in 2019 for 2020.

Challenges Ahead

  • The company expects to continue to have bumps in the road in the coming months.
  • It will take some time for international artists to be touring on a truly global basis.
  • The company had an operational burn of $384 million.
  • One-time items impacted the operational contribution margin.
  • The company had non-operational cash uses, including capital expenditures, acquisition activity, net advances and interest payments of $197 million.

Revenue & Expenses

Visualization of income flow from segment revenue to net income